History - Overview
Amnesty International was founded in 1961 by British lawyer Peter Benenson. He became angry after reading a report about two Portuguese students who had been imprisoned for raising their glasses in a toast to freedom.
In response, Benenson published an article - “The Forgotten Prisoners” - in the London Observer newspaper on May 28, 1961. He called on people to protest the imprisonment of men and women around the world because of their political and religious beliefs.
Thousands of people in many countries offered their help, and Amnesty International was born.
Working amidst a Cold War climate of political partisanship, Amnesty organizers set out to be politically impartial. Amnesty based its work on universal human rights, regardless of who a person was, where they lived, or the government responsible for the violation.
The method of organizing action was simple. Put concerned members of the public in touch with one another. Then ask each group of Amnesty volunteers to “adopt” a “prisoner of conscience” and start pestering the life out of the governments responsible until the prisoner was free.
Results came quickly. Josef Beran, the imprisoned Archbishop of Prague and one of the prisoners featured in Benenson’s article, was released in eighteen months. Beran said he was sure that pressure from Amnesty International members achieved his freedom.
There is often no precise way of knowing the impact of Amnesty’s work. Cases we work on can take a longer time - or much shorter time - to resolve than Beran’s. Since 1961, however, we know that at least one-third of the cases Amnesty members have taken up have ended in positive results: released prisoners, an end to torture, justice for those under attack, refugees given safety from harm.
Amnesty International’s files are also full of many first-hand-testimonies from people thanking Amnesty members for their effective actions and the much-needed hope and support they have given.
This message of hope can be seen in Amnesty International’s widely-recognized symbol: a burning candle set in barbed wire. The candle is ...
- The light of public attention that Amnesty members shine on the hidden abuses (the barbed wire) of human rights violators.
- The spark of public pressure that Amnesty members create in order to bring about positive change in people’s lives.
- The beacon of hope and solidarity for people who defend human rights, often at great personal risk, and for the many who become the targets of human rights abuse.
By the end of their first year of activity, Amnesty International members were appealing for the freedom of 210 “prisoners of conscience.” A year later, 1,300 prisoner cases had been taken up and 330 had been released.
Amnesty International grew to 70,000 members in 65 countries during its first ten years. By 1981 Amnesty had more than 300,000 members in about 100 countries. Today there are almost two million Amnesty members around the world.
Amnesty International still works to free prisoners of conscience. But Amnesty is constantly evolving in response to new threats to human rights, new understandings of what human rights are, and new opportunities to protect people’s human rights. Because Amnesty is an independent, democratic movement, our members always decide on any new directions for Amnesty’s mission.
1966
Amnesty begins publishing ground-breaking reports exposing the use of torture by governments around the world, including governments in Europe. Eradicating torture becomes a key part of Amnesty’s work.
1973
Amnesty issues its first Urgent Action on behalf of Luiz Rossi, an imprisoned professor in Brazil who was at risk of torture. Rossi says Amnesty’s appeals saved his life.
1970s
Amnesty helps expose the global problem of political killings and “disappearances.” Human rights violations have moved outside prison walls. Soon after, Amnesty begins to campaign to prevent mass human rights violations, such as those in Guatemala, Cambodia and Kosovo.
1977
Amnesty International receives the Nobel Peace Prize, and the United Nations Human Rights prize a year later.
1989
Amnesty publishes a ground-breaking report on the use of the death penalty around the world. Opposing the death penalty is a central part of Amnesty’s mission.
1992
Amnesty launches its first campaign - now part of our ongoing work - on the human rights of Indigenous peoples.
1994
Amnesty organizes its first-ever global campaign on the human rights of women - a priority area of work for the movement today.
1990s
Amnesty joins other organizations in calling for a permanent International Criminal Court - finally established in 2002. This is one of many examples of how Amnesty International is helping to build safeguards to protect human rights for the long-term.
2001 through to today
In the aftermath of the attacks on the U.S. in September 2001, Amnesty calls for “real security” based on full respect for human rights. Amnesty’s new Secretary General, Irene Khan, urges people to resist the shifting agendas of powerful states, and reject the politicized yardstick of “terrorism” by which states condemn the violence of their opponents and condone that of their allies.
Lighting Human Rights Day candles with children in a refugee camp in Pakistan on December 10, 2001, Khan says: “The world does not need a war against ‘terrorism’, it needs a culture of peace based on human rights for all.”
Today - amidst Amnesty International’s many changes, its remarkable development and its deeply human achievements - Amnesty members stand firmly and impartially on the side of human rights, human dignity and human safety for all people everywhere.
