About the Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International's Urgent Action Network provides an effective and rapid response to urgent situations involving prisoners of conscience, detainees, and other individuals whose human rights are threatened. Functioning much like an emergency room staff in a hospital, members of the Urgent Action Network in 70 countries compose and send letters, e-mails, and faxes to many government officials who are in a position to ensure the safety and fair treatment of those whom AI seeks to protect.
Bulletins from Amnesty International’s London headquarters -- its International Secretariat -- are received by the AIUSA Urgent Action office in Washington, DC. These bulletins are immediately processed to the 3,500 individuals, AI chapters, schools, religious groups, and professional and special interests groups which make up the Urgent Action Network in the United States. Once the Urgent Action communications are generated and received, appropriate authorities quickly realize that their actions are witnessed by an international audience deeply concerned about the case’s outcome.
How It Started
In 1972, Brazil was ruled by a military regime. Detainees were regularly tortured during the initial days following arrest. In desperation, Amnesty researchers developed the Urgent Action technique as a means of acting rapidly when torture and "disappearance" were most likely.
Meet the Founders of AIUSA's Urgent Action Network
Ellen Moore and Scott Harrison started AIUSA's Urgent Action Network from their house in Colorado in 1975. Before they retired in 2006, they sat down with Steve Zaslow, a Colorado writer and a member of the Urgent Action Network, to talk about their work.
