Amnesty International USA

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Amnesty International USA
Type	Non-Governmental Organisation
Founded	1966, United States
Headquarters	Washington DC, United States
Key people	Larry CoxRick Halperin
Industry	human rights
Products	Lobbying, research, consultancy.
Revenue	? Million USD income (2005)
Employees	? (nationally)
Website	www.amnestyusa.org/

Amnesty International USA (AI USA) is a United States organization that works to end human rights abuses and part is of the Amnesty International network.

Since its foundation in 1966^[1], the United States section of the nonpartisan organization has worked to free prisoners of conscience, oppose torture, and fight other human rights violations around the world. It seeks to promote human rights in the United States through lobbying and education, and describes itself as working for full human rights for everyone.

Contents 1 Campaigns 2 Organisational structure 3 Support 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Campaigns

Amnesty International USA campaigns strongly against torture and prisoner abuse, particularly by United States military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The organization has opposed restrictions of human rights as part of the 'War on Terror', and does not believe that any torture or inhuman treatment is justified by the campaign against terrorism.

The organization is currently active in campaigns to stop violence against women as part of an international campaign to see full human rights for everyone.

AIUSA strongly opposes the use of the death penalty in the United States, in accordance with the policy of the international organization; Amnesty calls for its worldwide abolition, particularly in; the USA, China, Iran and Vietnam, four countries that make up the overwhelming majority of executions. AIUSA board member William F. Buckley resigned in January 1978 in protest over the organization's stance on this issue.^[2]

The Darfur conflict in Sudan is one of Amnesty International's top priorities, as a result of the large scale human rights abuses occurring there. Amnesty has called for the introduction of a United Nations peacekeeping force to prevent conflict and stop further unnecessary suffering.

[edit] Organisational structure

From 1994 to 2005, the Executive Director of the organization was William F. Schulz. In January 2006, the Board of Directors hired Larry Cox as Executive Director. The Board of Directors is presently chaired by Ellen Dorsey.

AIUSA as a whole is divided into five geographical sections, namely the Southern, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Midwestern and Western regions. Each region has its own office and a small number of paid staff, who act as the backbone for the majority of grassroots efforts. Coordinating with these field organizers are volunteer leaders selected by AIUSA to manage specific portions of its many campaigns, including Area Coordinators (ACs) and Student Area Coordinators (SACs), who manage local and student groups respectively. This small regional leadership core is responsible for ensuring the effectiveness of the thousands of grassroots Amnesty International members, informing them of changes in policy and overseeing their human rights campaigning to ensure that it is in accordance with official AIUSA policy.

[edit] Support

Amnesty International is the USA's largest human rights group by membership, with over 350,000 members.

[edit] See also

• Human Rights Watch

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Amnesty International USA
• Amnesty International

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