The Amnesty International (AI), a world-wide human right organisation was found by British lawyer at London in 1961. It is chiefly aimed at the release of ‘prisoners of conscience’. Prisoner of consistence are the people imprisoned solely because of their political or religious belief, gender, or their racial or ethnic origin, who have neither used nor advocated violence.
The organisation also opposes torture and death penalty. The AI has more than 2000 adoption group. Each of these groups adopts at least two prisoners in countries other than its own. It works for their release by pressuring government official and creating public opinion.
It sends observer to political trials investigates prison’s condition and produces a global report which makes public human rights violation throughout the world. In the year 2004, the organisation has closely monitored the Congo-Mass rape, Afghanistan’s abduction and rape, Bosnia-Herzegovina crisis, Sudan mass rape, forced abortion in China, death penalty in Iran, violence against indigenous woman in Canada etc.
The crisis of legitimacy of UN due to US-led war on Iraq is the sole concern of AI this year. The international human right standard continued to be flouted to the name of the “War on terror”, resulting in thousands of women and men suffering unlawful detention, unfair trial and fortune-often solely because of their ethnic and religious background.