http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6185
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL FACTS & BACKGROUND:
 

*       Aims a disproportionate share of its criticism for human rights
violations at the United States and Israel 

*       Opposed American invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq 

*       Accuses the U.S. and Israel of war crimes 

NGO Monitor <http://www.ngo-monitor.org/index.php>  has published the
results of its quantitative analysis
<http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article.php?operation=print&id=1427>  of Amnesty
International's publications in 2006. AI publishes six types of documents
addressing human rights: (a) detailed reports describing events in depth and
analyzing them in the context of international law; (b) open letters
addressed to an influential body, such as the United
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7147> Nations or
European  <http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7205>
Union, with the aim of influencing policy; (c) a monthly in-house magazine
called The Wire, featuring articles on events that are considered by Amnesty
officials to be the worst cases of human rights violations; (d) public
statements of AI's official position in response to specific events; (e)
press releases that announce newsworthy events and developments; and (f)
urgent actions, usually in the form of letter-writing campaigns, designed to
provide "an effective and rapid means of preventing some of the most
life-threatening human rights violations against individuals."

NGO Monitor has found that in 2006, Israel was the subject of 63 such
publications, more than any country in the Middle East except Iran.
Thirty-seven of the 63 documents about Israel were published by AI after the
outbreak of the 2006 Lebanon War where the Israeli military fought against
the terror group Hezbollah
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6256> . Thirty of
those documents were related to the war and accused Israel of
"disproportionate attacks," "war crimes," and "violations of international
humanitarian law." Of the 30 documents, 12 were exclusively focused on
Israeli actions during the conflict, whereas only 2 focused exclusively on
Hezbollah's actions.

The 63 AI publications devoted to Israel are significantly more numerous
than those focusing on other countries (or on major human-rights-abusing
organizations) in the region: Sudan (61 documents), Syria (51), Iraq (29),
Hezbollah (20), Algeria (19), Tunisia (15), Egypt (13), Jordan (12), the
Palestinian Authority (10), Libya (6), Saudi Arabia (6), and Morocco (5). 

Amnesty International was founded by the British lawyer and activist Peter
Benenson. In March 1961 Benenson, moved by a newspaper report of two
Portuguese students incarcerated for criticizing the regime of their
nation's dictator Antonio Salazar, published in a London newspaper an
editorial titled "The Forgotten Prisoners." In it, Benenson urged readers to
join his "Appeal for Amnesty in 1961" campaign to aid political dissidents
and prisoners of conscience worldwide. As part of the campaign, groups were
organized in several countries, including the United States. At a 1962
conference in Belgium, these groups formally joined as one organization,
Amnesty International (AI). 

Since the time of its founding, AI has presented itself as an ideologically
disinterested and apolitical organization. AI maintains that it "does not
support or oppose any government or political system, nor does it support or
oppose the views of the victims whose rights it seeks to protect. It is
concerned solely with the impartial protection of human rights." 

During the Cold War, however, AI focused scant attention on the human rights
abuses committed by the Soviet Union and its satellites via the Warsaw Pact.
Only in 1975, fully 13 years after its formation, did the organization
finally release a report -- "Prisoners of Conscience in the USSR" --
documenting the plight of political prisoners behind the Iron Curtain. In
its own defense, AI maintained that its work was complicated by the lack of
access to prisoners in the Communist world, and by the possibility that its
activism might trigger retaliation against political prisoners by the ruling
authorities. 

The consequences of this approach were evident in AI's assessment of human
rights in Communist Cuba, where throughout the 1970s the organization
underestimated the number of political prisoners while offering only mild
criticism of the Castro <file:///C:/individualProfile.asp?indid=912>
regime's persecution of political opponents. An AI annual report for 1976,
for instance, noted that the "persistence of fear, real or imaginary, was
primarily responsible for the early excesses in the treatment of political
prisoners." This cautiously diplomatic approach to the Castro dictatorship
did not prevent AI from being awarded the Nobel Peace
<http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6979> Prize the
following year. In his acceptance lecture
<http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1977/amnesty-lecture.htm
l> , Mumtaz Soysal, a little-known professor from Turkey, hailed what he
called AI's mission "to spotlight the victims in every society where
imprisonment results from political or religious belief ." 

A grossly disproportionate share of Amnesty International's criticism is
reserved for the United States. In the 1980s AI joined leftist
non-governmental organizations like the Church World Service and Americas
Watch in vocally opposing the Reagan administration's support for the Contra
resistance movement against Nicaragua's Communist dictatorship. 

In recent years, AI has emerged as a vocal critic of the U.S.-led war on
terror, opposing especially the American-led invasions of Afghanistan and
Iraq. AI's University of Oklahoma chapter endorsed
<http://www.envirosagainstwar.org/sayno/endorsers.html>  a May 1, 2003
document titled "10 Reasons Environmentalists Oppose an Attack on Iraq,"
which was published by Environmentalists Against War
<file:///C:/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6933> . 

AI has also condemned the U.S.-operated detention facilities in Guantanamo
Bay <file:///C:/guideDesc.asp?catid=135&type=issue> , Cuba. In March 2005,
Amnesty International-USA's then-Executive Director William
<http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=1800> Schulz
alleged <http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0526-03.htm>  that the
United States had become "a leading purveyor and practitioner" of torture
and urged that senior American officials -- including President Bush, former
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, former Undersecretary of Defense for
Policy Douglas Feith, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former Central
Intelligence Agency director George Tenet, and high-ranking officers at
Guantanamo Bay -- face prosecution by other governments for violations of
the Geneva Conventions and the U.N. Convention Against Torture. On May 25,
2005, Schulz announced
<http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,157733,00.html>  that
his organization "calls on foreign governments to uphold their obligations
under international law by investigating all senior U.S. officials involved
in the torture scandal." "The apparent high-level architects of torture," he
added, "should think twice before planning their next vacation to places
like Acapulco or the French Riveria because they may find themselves under
arrest as Augusto Pinochet famously did in London in 1998." Schulz's remarks
were echoed in May of 2005 by Amnesty International's Secretary General
Irene  <http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=922>
Khan, who charged <http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGPOL100142005>
that "Guantanamo [Bay] has become the gulag of our times."

In a 2002 report, AI admonished the Immigration and Naturalization Service
for its policy, instituted after the 9/11 attacks, of "prolonged detention
for minor immigration infractions" -- though it neglected to note that such
a policy, had it been in place prior to September 11, 2001, might have
exposed the three 9/11 hijackers who were in the United States illegally,
including two who already had previous immigration violations). In its
report <http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR510442002> , AI placed
the word "terrorism" in scare quotes, suggesting that it questioned the
serious nature of the phenomenon. 

In AI's calculus, the PATRIOT
<http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/guideDesc.asp%3fcatid=101&type=issue> Act
counterterrorism legislation "undermines
<http://www.amnestyusa.org/waronterror/patriotact/>  the human rights of
Americans and non-citizens, and weakens the framework for promoting human
rights internationally." In 2004 Irene Khan condemned
<http://web.amnesty.org/report2004/message-eng>  the "security agenda
promulgated by the U.S. Administration," calling it "bankrupt of vision and
bereft of principle." Khan further claimed that America had "openly eroded
human rights to win the 'war on terror.'" 

Amnesty International was a signatory to a March 17, 2003 letter
<http://www.sla.org/Documents/Patriot_II.htm>  exhorting members of the U.S.
Congress to oppose Patriot Act II on grounds that it "contain[ed] a
multitude of new and sweeping law enforcement and intelligence gathering
powers . that would severely dilute, if not undermine, many basic
constitutional rights." Fellow signers included the American-Arab
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6173>
Anti-Discrimination Committee, the American
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6145> Civil
Liberties Union, the American
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6507> Immigration
Lawyers Association, the American
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6348> Library
Association, the Arab
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6174> American
Institute, the Bill of
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6756> Rights
Defense Committee, the Center for
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6148>
Constitutional Rights, the Immigrant
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6499> Defense
Project of the New York State Defenders Association, the Immigrant
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6501> Legal
Resource Center, the Lawyers
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6936> ' Committee
for Civil Rights, the League of
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6189> United
Latin American Citizens, the Mennonite
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7106> Central
Committee, the Mexican
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6156> American
Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the National
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6160> Association
for the Advancement of Colored People, the National
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=153> Council of
La Raza, the National
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6503> Immigration
Law Center, the National
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6162> Lawyers
Guild, People for
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6400> the
American Way, and Women
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6777> Against
War.

In addition, Amnesty International has given its organizational endorsement
to the Community Resolution to Protect Civil Liberties campaign, which tries
to influence city councils to pass resolutions of noncompliance with the
provisions of the Patriot Act. Moreover, AI endorsed
<http://www.rightsworkinggroup.org/files/21LE4003AA%20CLRA%20org%20sign%20fo
r%20House%20to%20POST%20-%206-16-04.pdf>  the Civil Liberties Restoration
Act of 2004, which was designed to roll back, in the name of protecting
civil liberties, vital national-security policies that had been adopted
after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Local chapters of AI were signatories to a February 20, 2002 document
<http://www.refuseandresist.org/imm/012502ndsami.html> , composed by C.
<http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=1386> Clark
Kissinger's radical group Refuse
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6165> & Resist (a
front organization for the Revolutionary
<http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6197> Communist
Party), condemning military tribunals and the detention of immigrants
apprehended in connection with post-9/11 terrorism investigations. The
document charged that the U.S. government had indiscriminately "rounded up"
and incarcerated without cause more than 1,500 Arabs, Muslims, and South
Asians.

AI was a signatory to a November 1, 2001 document
<http://www.crlp.org/pr_01_1101ngos.html>  characterizing the 9/11 attacks
as a legal matter to be addressed by criminal-justice procedures rather than
by military retribution. Suggesting that the hijackers were motivated
chiefly by a desire to draw attention to global injustices perpetrated by
the United States, this document explained that similar future calamities
could be averted only if America would finally begin to "promote fundamental
rights around the world."

AI is an opponent, in all cases, of the death penalty, which it regards as
the "ultimate form of cruel and inhuman punishment," and has repeatedly
urged Congress to abolish it. Because the death penalty is currently a
legally permitted punishment in the United States, a 2003 AI report
characterized the U.S. as part of the "axis of executioners" along with
China and Iran. 

Another recurring target of disproportionate criticism from Amnesty
International is Israel. For example, AI rushed
<http://www.adl.org/Israel/jenin/>  to denounce Israel's April 2002 military
campaign in the Jenin refugee camp
<http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6443> . A November
2002 AI report  <http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGMDE151432002> on
the events -- bearing the title "Israel and the Occupied Territories,
Shielded from Scrutiny: IDF Violations in Jenin and Nablus" -- accused
Israel of "serious violations of international human rights or humanitarian
law." Among other criticisms, AI reproached Israel's allegedly ongoing
"occupation" of Jenin, though control of the city had in fact been ceded by
Israel to the Palestinian Authority <file:///C:/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6213>
in 1996. The AI report additionally accused the Israeli Defense Forces of
using Palestinian civilians as "human shields," though it was later
demonstrated that Palestinian terrorists, rather than Israeli soldiers, had
exploited the camp's residents as shields against incoming fire. In 2004
Irene Khan singled out Israel -- along with Colombia, Indonesia and Pakistan
-- as a state exhibiting an "appalling human rights record." 

In the summer of 2006, AI issued a de-contextualized censure of Israel's
retaliatory military campaign against the Lebanese-based terror group
Hezbollah <http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6256> .
In an August report
<http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/lebanon/document.do?id=ENGMDE180072006>
, AI accused Israeli forces of engaging in "war crimes" such as the
"deliberate destruction" of civilian infrastructure in Southern Lebanon,
omitting to note that Hezbollah terrorists had initiated the conflict and
then intentionally sought refuge amid residential areas. 

The current Executive Director of Amnesty International is Larry Cox, who
succeeded William Schulz in January 2006. 

AI has received funding from dozens of foundations, including the Columbia
<http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/administration/tiny_mce/funderprofile.asp
?fndid=5286&category=79> Foundation, the Ford
<http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/administration/tiny_mce/funderprofile.asp
?fndid=5176&category=79> Foundation, the Geraldine
<http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/funderprofile.asp?fndid=5194&category=79>
R. Dodge Foundation, the JEHT
<http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/funderprofile.asp?fndid=5267&category=79>
Foundation, the John
<http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/administration/tiny_mce/funderprofile.asp
?fndid=5223&category=79> D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the
Minneapolis
<http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/funderprofile.asp?fndid=5180&category=79>
Foundation, the Agape
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/funderprofile.asp?fndid=5351&category=79
> Foundation, the Bank
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/funderprofile.asp?fndid=5346&category=78
> of America Foundation, the Open
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/funderprofile.asp?fndid=5181&category=79
> Society Institute, the Rockefeller
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/funderprofile.asp?fndid=5322&category=79
> Brothers Fund, the Stewart
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/funderprofile.asp?fndid=5262&category=79
> R. Mott Charitable Trust, the Vanguard
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/funderprofile.asp?fndid=5289&category=79
> Public Foundation, the William
<http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/funderprofile.asp?fndid=5337&category=79
> and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Rockefeller
<http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/administration/tiny_mce/funderprofile.asp
?fndid=5210&category=79> Foundation.

 

 



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