Invictus, the story of former South African President and Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience, Nelson Mandela will hit theatres on December 11th, the day after International Human Rights Day.
Nelson Mandela served 27 years in prison for demanding political change in South Africa. Just 4 years later, in the country's first fully democratic election, he was elected as the first black President of South Africa.
The torch that Mandela carried for human rights nearly 20 years ago is kept burning by countless other human rights leaders today, including Aung San Suu Kyi. For 14 of the last 20 years, Suu Kyi has been punished for calling for political change in Myanmar.
Only time will tell, how human rights history will continue to be written.
During World Habitat Day, Monday, October 5th, we reflect on the basic right that all people have to adequate shelter.
This year, Amnesty International is shining a light on the crisis of forcible evictions in Africa. Years after being forcibly evicted, millions of people remain homeless and destitute. Governments across Africa have acted in violation of regional and international law, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.
With little hope of receiving compensation or re-housing in the near future, many families are driven deeper into poverty every day.
Three years after the murder of an American video journalist, Amnesty International still believes that the truth about his death has not yet come out.
Brad Will was shot and killed in Oaxaca City, Mexico, on October 27, 2006 as he filmed a clash between members of a local protest movement and officials of the local governing party.
According to the latest forensic evidence, it is highly unlikely that Juan Manuel Martínez - the man who has been held in custody for Will's death for over a year - could have committed the crime. Amnesty International believes that the Mexican government is using Martínez as a scapegoat so it will appear that progress is being made in Brad Will's case. Such actions at best violate international fair trial standards, and at worst, allow Brad Will's real killer to remain at large.
October 23 - November 15 2009 Regional Conferences: Come join other AI activists in your region for an exciting weekend to celebrate and strengthen the human rights movement.
Ken Coates Amnesty International member since 1976
"I was a pastor in the United Church of Christ for most of my adult life, so I was never rich—but I had enough and always shared it every year with Amnesty to help all of the courageous people around the world unjustly imprisoned for their beliefs. My donations to Amnesty have helped change the lives of people I've never met."
ImpactYour gifts enable us to make a big impact on human rights. Here are just some examples of our recent successes:
ROXANA SABERI FREED AI activists wrote over 26,000 messages on behalf of imprisoned Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi.
FUJIMORI BROUGHT TO JUSTICE An international coalition kept the legal case against Alberto Fujimori moving forward.
MA KHIN KHIN LEH RELEASED 20,000 petition signatures and thousands more letters on this school teacher's behalf made AIUSA's Special Focus Case a success.
Responsibility
Amnesty International USA uses 4/5 of every dollar you donate to fund our programs.
*Amnesty relies overwhelmingly on individual supporters' contributions – both large and small – and accepts no government money. Our broad base of member contributions ensures that Amnesty is not beholden to financial interests.
Amnesty's global human rights movement is truly people-powered. That's because individual contributions from people like you account for more than 80% of our annual income.
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