Amnesty International (AI) 

...is a worldwide, voluntary movement of people who campaign for human rights.  Our vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international standards.  Our mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression and freedom from discrimination, within the context of our work to promote all human rights.

The beginning...

In 1961 a British lawyer, Peter Benenson, read a newspaper story of two Portuguese students sentenced to seven years in jail.  Their crime?  They had raised their glasses in a toast to freedom.  On May 28th of that year, the London Observer carried a full-page story - an "Appeal for Amnesty, 1961."  Benenson asked the readers to write letters asking for the release of the students who had been victims of injustice, as well as other "prisoners of conscience."  The response was so overwhelming that by the end of the year-long "Appeal for Amnesty," groups of letter writers had formed in a dozen countries.  Amnesty International was born.

Today... more than one million Amnesty International members worldwide are leading the struggle to defend human rights and save lives.

Members in over 140 countries create public pressure to stop human rights abuses by organizing campaigns on specific issues and countries.  Through writing letters, lobbying government officials, publicizing abuses, and organizing events, members are actively fighting for human rights.  Nearly one third of the worldwide members are in the US, and many belong to one of AIUSA's 1,600 local and student groups.

- As addressed in the Activist Toolkit 2002-2003