posted May 14, 2008 07:32 AM              

About Amnesty International

Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights to be respected and protected for everyone.
We believe human rights abuses anywhere are the concern of people everywhere.

So, outraged by human rights abuses but inspired by hope for a better world, we work to improve people’s lives through campaigning and international solidarity.

Our 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.

Our members and supporters exert influence on governments, political bodies, companies and intergovernmental groups.

Activists take up human rights issues by mobilizing public pressure through mass demonstrations, vigils and direct lobbying as well as online and offline campaigning.

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Campaigning for those who need help

“They carried guns all the time. I was afraid of the guns. Actually, I was in constant fear.”
Fereh Musu Conteh, 13 years old, abducted by an armed group in Sierra Leone

Our campaigning remains firmly rooted in the power of individuals working in support of others who need protection or support.

Working with and for individuals the world over, we campaign so that every person may enjoy all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We undertake research and take action aimed at preventing and ending grave abuses of these rights, demanding that all governments and other powerful entities respect the rule of law. It means we campaign globally and locally where ever we can make a difference. For example, we take action to:

* Stop violence against women
* Defend the rights and dignity of those trapped in poverty
* Abolish the death penalty
* Oppose torture and combat terror with justice
* Free prisoners of conscience
* Protect the rights of refugees and migrants
* Regulate the global arms trade

Thousands of Amnesty International members respond to Urgent Action appeals on behalf of individuals at immediate risk. Publicity through the news media and the internet takes our message in many languages to millions of people.

Campaigning can change people’s lives – of victims and survivors of human rights abuses, of human rights activists and defenders and even of the abusers.

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Independent and democratic
We have a number of safeguards in place to protect our autonomy. We are:

* Independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion
* Democratic and self-governing
* Financially self-sufficient, thanks to the generous support of donations provided by individual members and supporters

posted May 17, 2008 01:13 AM            

Btw, in case you don't know what I'm talking about in Kosovo:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/woman_sacked_for_revealing_un_links_with_sex_trade.html

I'd love it if SOME organization were doing something about the UN, or even just made the attempt, and AI may be the only organization to have done anything. (Btw, by done, I mean more than making a few token cries of protest.) IF they did, major props to them. But my cynicism says they didn't.