What is Amnesty International?
Amnesty International (A.I.) is the world's largest volunteer human rights organization with more than a million members in 90 countries. A.I. supports respect for all human rights in all countries of the world. A.I. teaches people about human rights, especially those rights listed in the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A.I. members take action to protect people from violations of human rights.
The formal statement of what A.I. does is its mission statement: "Amnesty International's mission is to undertake 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."
A.I.'s work includes petitioning:
- for the immediate release of "Prisoners of Conscience" (POC's) who are innocent people that are jailed but have not used, or asked others to use, violence. Many POCs are in prison because they disagreed with their government, or because of their race, religion, gender, color, language, or sexual orientation;
- for fair trials for all political prisoners; and
- for the end of the use of torture and the death penalty worldwide.
Amnesty International is headquartered in London and has members in 150 countries.