NGO Spotlight: Amnesty International

In "The Secret History of the American Empire", author John Perkins prods readers to become active in or make financial contributions to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that take on the corporatocracy. Over the next couple of days, I will spotlight a few NGOs in order to gain a better understanding of their mission and share with people how they can support efforts for lasting change in the world. First on tap, Amnesty International.

Amnesty International

Many of us are familiar with Amnesty International from their letter writing campaigns in high school or college. The organization is committed to combating human rights violations throughout the world, whether it be poor working conditions, wrongful imprisonment, or genocide.

In there own words:

Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights to be respected and protected for everyone. We believe human rights abuses anywhere are the concern of people everywhere.

So, outraged by human rights abuses but inspired by hope for a better world, we work to improve people’s lives through campaigning and international solidarity.

Our mission is to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated.

Our members and supporters exert influence on governments, political bodies, companies and intergovernmental groups.

Activists take up human rights issues by mobilizing public pressure through mass demonstrations, vigils and direct lobbying as well as online and offline campaigning.

Perhaps one of the more interesting reasons to support Amenesty International is how they take on human rights violations in global corporations. Mona Cadena, a deputy director for Amnesty International explains in an excerpt from "The Secret History...".

"With over 1.8 million members in about 500 countries, we know the power of corporations. In fact, we buy stock in some of the worst offenders [of human rights violations]- enough so we can attend meetings and file shareholder resolutions requiring companies to adopt human rights policies in every country where they work."

Amnesty International was formed in 1961. It has 2.2 million supporters and subscribers in over 150 countries. They are currently leading efforts to protect the civilians of Darfur and highlighting the humanitarian crise in Sri Lanka. To get involved, visit Amnesty's website and learn about human rights. Then, join and/or make a donation.

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You can learn more about John Perkins and his mission to inspire lasting change at his website at http://www.johnperkins.org/.