Amnesty International organisation

Amnesty International

Type	Non-profit NGO
Founded	July 1961 by Peter Benenson in the United Kingdom
Headquarters	Global General secretariat in London
Key people	Salil Shetty, Irene Khan, Seán MacBride, Martin Ennals, Peter Benenson, Thomas Hammarberg, Eric Baker, Arthur Fern, Ian Martin and Pierre Sané
Services	Media attention, direct-appeal campaigns, research, lobbying
Method	Protecting human rights
Members	2.2 million members and supporters
Motto	It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.[1]
Website	www.amnesty.org

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Amnesty International

Type	Non-profit NGO
Founded	July 1961 by Peter Benenson in the United Kingdom
Headquarters	Global General secretariat in London
Key people	Salil Shetty, Irene Khan, Seán MacBride, Martin Ennals, Peter Benenson, Thomas Hammarberg, Eric Baker, Arthur Fern, Ian Martin and Pierre Sané
Services	Media attention, direct-appeal campaigns, research, lobbying
Method	Protecting human rights
Members	2.2 million members and supporters
Motto	It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.[1]
Website	www.amnesty.org

Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty and AI) is an international non-governmental organisation. Its stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."^[2]
Founded in London in 1961, AI draws attention to human rights abuses and campaigns for compliance with international laws and standards. It works to mobilise public opinion to exert pressure on governments that perpetrate abuses.^[2] The organisation was awarded the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize for its "campaign against torture",^[3] and the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights in 1978.^[4]
In the field of international human rights organisations (of which there were 300 in 1996),^[5] Amnesty has the longest history and broadest name recognition, and "is believed by many to set standards for the movement as a whole."^[5]
There are seven key areas which Amnesty deals with:

• Women's Rights,
• Children's Rights,
• Ending Torture,
• Abolition of the death penalty
• Rights of Refugees
• Rights of Prisoners of Conscience
• Protection of Human dignity.

  Country focus

  Rank Country #Press Releases  % Total 1 United States 136 4.24 2 Israel (inc. West Bank and Gaza Strip) 128 3.99 3 Indonesia and East Timor 119 3.71 3 Turkey 119 3.71 4 People's Republic of China 115 3.58 5 Serbia and Montenegro 104 3.24 6 United Kingdom 103 3.21 7 India 85 2.65 8 USSR and Russian Federation 80 2.49 9 Rwanda 64 2.00 10 Sri Lanka 59 1.84 Source: Ronand et al. (2005:568)[5] Data for 1986–2000

  Rank Country #Reports  % Total 1 Turkey 394 3.91 2 USSR and Russian Federation 374 3.71 3 People's Republic of China 357 3.54 4 United States 349 3.46 5 Israel (inc. West Bank and Gaza Strip) 323 3.21 6 South Korea 305 3.03 7 Indonesia and East Timor 253 2.51 8 Colombia 197 1.96 9 Peru 192 1.91 10 India 178 1.77 Source: Ronand et al. (2005:568)[5] Data for 1986–2000

Amnesty International Sections, 2005

The AI Canadian headquarters in Ottawa 

• Amnesty International Sections, 2005
  Algeria; Argentina; Australia; Austria; Belgium (Dutch speaking); Belgium (French speaking); Benin; Bermuda; Canada (English speaking); Canada (French speaking); Chile; Côte d’Ivoire; Denmark; Faroe Islands; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Guyana; Hong Kong; Iceland; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Japan; Korea (Republic of); Luxembourg; Mauritius; Mexico; Morocco; Nepal; Netherlands; New Zealand; Norway; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Puerto Rico; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Taiwan; Togo; Tunisia; United Kingdom; United States of America; Uruguay; Venezuela

• Amnesty International Structures, 2005
  Belarus; Bolivia; Burkina Faso; Croatia; Curaçao; Czech Republic; Gambia; Hungary; Malaysia; Mali; Moldova; Mongolia; Pakistan; Paraguay; Slovakia; South Africa; Thailand; Turkey; Ukraine; Zambia; Zimbabwe

• IEC Chairpersons
  Seán MacBride, 1965–1974; Dirk Börner, 1974–1977; Thomas Hammarberg, 1977–1979; José Zalaquett, 1979–1982; Suriya Wickremasinghe, 1982–1985; Wolfgang Heinz, 1985–1996; Franca Sciuto, 1986–1989; Peter Duffy, 1989–1991; Annette Fischer, 1991–1992; Ross Daniels, 1993–1997; Susan Waltz, 1996–1998; Mahmoud Ben Romdhane, 1999–2000; Colm O Cuanachain, 2001–2002; Paul Hoffman, 2003–2004; Jaap Jacobson, 2005; Hanna Roberts, 2005–2006; Lilian Gonçalves-Ho Kang You, 2006–2007; Peter Pack, 2007–present

• General Secretaries

General Secretary	Office
Peter Benenson Peter Benenson	1961–1966
Eric Baker Eric Baker	1966–1968
Martin Ennals Martin Ennals	1968–1980
Thomas Hammarberg Thomas Hammarberg	1980–1986
Avery Brundage Ian Martin	1986–1992
Pierre Sané Pierre Sané	1992–2001
Irene Khan Irene Khan	2001–2010
Claudio Cordone Claudio Cordone	2010-2010
Salil Shetty Salil Shetty	2010 –