Amnesty International USA

Resolved: BE IT RESOLVED THAT AIUSA send the following resolution to the 2005 International Council Meeting:

The International Council decides:

(1) To amend AI's "Global Impact Goal 3: Protect the Right of Activists" in the IS Operational Plan 1 for 2004-2006 (known as ISOP1) and all subsequent Operational Plans to assert AI's commitment to working both for the release of prisoners of conscience and for the protection of human rights defenders, as called for in the Integrated Strategic Plan's (ISP's) Strategic Objective 3.2; and

(2) To amend the ISP to ensure that the IS maintains enough research capacity on all non-CAP countries in order to prepare summary reports for as many countries as possible in the annual AI report.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the AIUSA Board of Directors delivers the following message to the International Executive Committee:

Amnesty International owes its reputation largely to its work on individual cases. While we support the thematic work we are engaged in, we are concerned that in the move towards this work we are abandoning individual cases, including long term work on them. We call on Amnesty International to reaffirm its commitment on individual cases, both short and long term. We believe this step is crucial for AI to preserve its reputation as a human rights advocacy organization. Thus, we strongly recommend that the IS and AIUSA support sustained work on individuals for as long as their circumstances require.