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About Amnesty International

Irene Khan, AIUSA Sec. General
Irene Khan, Amnesty International Secretary General

Founded in London in 1961, Amnesty International is a Nobel Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with over 1.8 million members worldwide. Amnesty International undertakes research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights. Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) is the U.S. Section of Amnesty International.

Peter BenensonPeter Benenson
In May 1961, the late Peter Benenson (1921 - 2005) published an article, "The Forgotten Prisoners," in the London Observer after reading a brief article about two Portuguese students who had been arrested for making a toast to freedom in a Lisbon bar. Thousands of people responded to Benenson's article, and soon after Amnesty International was founded.
» Read Peter Benenson's comments about Amnesty International

Ginetta SaganGinetta Sagan
The late Ginetta Sagan, was a founder of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) and a former Honorary Chairperson of the AIUSA Board. For more than 50 years, she was a champion and fighter for human rights for the interests of all people, especially women and children. Every year, AIUSA honors Ginetta Sagan through the Ginetta Sagan Award.

AIUSA Executive Director Larry CoxLarry Cox, Executive Director, Amnesty International USA
Veteran human rights advocate Larry Cox was named executive director of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) in January 2006. Cox brings 30 years experience in human rights work to the organization, including more than a decade in the Ford Foundation's Human Rights Unit.

Jeff BachmanJeff Bachman, Chair, Amnesty International USA Board
PIRAN Specialist. Treasurer and Co-Chair. Currently an attorney with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Standing Committee on Membership Development (Western Region). Regional Planning Group (Western Region). Member, Legal Support Network; former member and chair of Legal Support Network's Steering Committee for a Permanent International Criminal Court. Former KOTARAN coordinator. Amnesty trainer and local group member. AIUSA member since 1988.


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