PRESENTING 2001 AGM PANELS

PANELS SESSION II, Saturday April 21, 5:30- 7:00 pm

Death Penalty Work in the United States: Strategic Considerations
The debate on the death penalty over the last year has given rise to calls for reform of the US capital punishment system as well as movements to establish moratoriums in various states. These developments have provided the anti-death penalty movement with opportunities to advance the debate and the potential to chart more effective courses of action toward eventual abolition. Do we push for incremental reform, moratorium, or the abolition of the death penalty? This panel will give Amnesty activists an opportunity to critically assess these options and examine the political, structural and organizational complexities that effect the US abolitionist movement.

Holding Torturers Accountable: Should Amnesty "Name Names"?
The Pinochet case is perhaps the best known example of the increasing efforts by many nations to investigate and mount prosecutions against alleged torturers. This panel will examine the global context in which Amnesty International is evaluating its existing anti-impunity work and crafting a bold strategy for the future (prosecution being just one part of a broader multi-tiered approach). We will discuss some of the key concerns this new strategy must address. What risks do we take by "naming names"? Are these risks outweighed by the potential benefits? How can Amnesty collaborate with other NGOs to bring perpetrators to justice? The panel will also examine the avenues for holding perpetrators accountable in the United States and the ways in which AI can support these opportunities.

The Military Profession and the Human Rights Community:
Dialogue or Disengagement in the 21st Century?
Amnesty International and other organizations have long documented human rights violations committed directly or indirectly by military and security forces.  Yet, recent events have cast the military in an altogether different role.  Humanitarian crises in Somalia, Bosnia, Haiti and Kosovo have given rise to military operations whose central goal has been to prevent or bring an end to gross human rights violations.  What is the role of military personnel with regard to upholding human rights standards?  What is the relationship between the training that security forces receive (or don't receive) and their likelihood to violate human rights?  How can governments reform national security forces that have long committed torture and other gross violations?  What is the relationship between the military and the human rights community?  Panelists will discuss these questions and more in a timely forum that explores the complex interconnections between the military profession and the international human rights community.

Raising the Bar - Human Rights Strategies in a Globalized Economy
Before the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) former Amnesty International Secretary General Pierre Sane offered an important challenge to all stakeholders in the economic and human rights arena - "Why can't the agents of globalization be the agents for the globalization of human rights"?

Speakers in this panel will include a representative for a social responsible investor and an NGO active in corporate work. As non-state actors, companies are "bound" by the UDHR, but the challenge is how to work with them in ways that have them see this fact as an opportunity and not a threat. Case studies from BERG casework (Mobil, Diamonds, etc.) and the student anti-sweatshop movement will be explored. Join us and several other "agents" as we explore new strategies for achieving this fundamental goal.

Panel 2: The Human Rights Agenda of Amnesty International, Part II. Tough Questions for the 2001 ICM.
What is the role for AI in situations of armed conflict, when armed humanitarian intervention appears to be indicated, when economic actors violate human rights or when sanctions or boycotts are advocated by other NGOs? We will discuss what we can currently do, as well as the questions that have been raised during the current Mandate Review Period. The most critical part of the panel will be the audience sharing their thoughts, concerns and opinions.

Facts on the Ground: Monitoring the Conflict in Israel and the Occupied Territories
This panel will look at the human rights situation in Israel and the Occupied Territories and what human rights activists can do and have been doing to work on the crisis. It will also look specifically at how Amnesty International has been dealing with the unfolding crisis, along with the perspectives from two human rights activists working in the field.

Many thanks to the panel organizers and those who offered suggestions for this series of panels!