TBT: Super Awesome People™ in History.
“Only when the last prisoner of conscience has been freed, when the last torture chamber has been closed, when the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a reality for the world’s people, will our work be done.”
Peter Benenson, Amnesty International founder
On May 28, 1961, “The Forgotten Prisoners“, an article by British lawyer Peter Benenson was published in The Observer, a center-left British Sunday newspaper. In the article, Benenson announced the Appeal for Amnesty, 1961 campaign, an initiative to identify and publicize the stories of Prisoners of Conscience to pressure world governments into releasing citizens who have been imprisoned for the peaceful expression of their beliefs.
“The Forgotten Prisoners” was reprinted in newspapers around the world, and in July 1961, representatives met to begin “a permanent international movement in defense of freedom of opinion and religion.” On September 30, 1962, the organization became officially known as Amnesty International with delegates in the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland. and the United States.
Peter Benenson (History.com) 
Appeal for Amnesty (Amnesty.org)
The founding principles of Amnesty International were based on Articles 18 and 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which overlaps significantly with the rights guaranteed to Americans in the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America.
Article 18.
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19.
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
In the first ten years of Amnesty International, the movement grew to 18 national sections with 850 groups in over 27 countries. By 1969 they had helped release over 2,000 prisoners of conscience, and in 1977, Amnesty International was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “in the conviction that the defence of human dignity against torture, violence, and degradation constitutes a very real contribution to the peace of this world.”
By the time Amnesty International celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2011, the movement had more than 3 million supporters, members, and activists. Their focus has expanded over the years to include campaigns against torture (1972), to abolish the death penalty (1980), and to support reproductive freedom (1990s). Their active campaigns now include:
- Armed Conflict
- Arms Control
- Climate Change
- Corporate Accountability
- Death Penalty
- Detention
- Disappearances
- Discrimination
- Freedom of Expression
- Indigenous Peoples
- International Justice
- Living in Dignity
- Refugees, Asylum-Seekers and Migrants
- Sexual and Reproductive Rights
- Torture
- United Nations
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Current Amnesty International USA campaigns include closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, ending mass surveillance of the population, protecting human rights in the global refugee crisis, reforming laws that govern lethal force used by police, and holding President Trump’s administration accountable for violating human rights. As COVID-19 exacerbates deep structural inequality around the world, Amnesty International is working to protect human rights from government censorship and abuses, and helping displaced populations, asylum seekers, and domestic violence victims survive the pandemic.