A picket line of angry activists forms a gate between a politician and his office, yelling for the consideration of an exiled mother and child of an African nation, who are blocked by a gate of guns. Chains of fleshy hands and arms hold fast, arguing for the rights of those in chains of rusted steel locks and bolts.
A group of citizens threaten to stand and protest until criminals no longer lie down and prepare for their government-approved death.
The piercing cries for universal justice, the body blows taken in the name of equality, and the time spent for achieving such goals are all parts of life for a member of Amnesty International. The non-government affiliated organization has spent over forty years fighting for the rights of those whom many argue deserve none.
Whether working towards the abolishment of the death penalty for all criminals, protesting for the rights of prisoners of war, or trying to voice the opinions and wants of those who are unable to do so, Amnesty International calls its vision “a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”.
In this declaration, approved by the General Assembly in over 300 languages in 1948, there are proclamations ranging from the prohibition of slavery and servitude to total restriction of a government’s ability to arbitrarily arrest and/or exile its citizens.
However, critics of Amnesty International find some of its policies and goals erode nations’ sovereignty. In a 1976 article, author Michael Phillips argued not only that “political crime is not an obvious category”, but also said that Amnesty International “assumes a universal standard of human values, which doesn’t exist”.
By having goals of ending capital punishment, allowing the recognition of all marriages, and strengthening the rights of prisoners, the organization’s opponents often find Amnesty International’s goals undermining policies that have either passed the test of time or have yet to be tested at all.
Regardless of its opponents’ sharp words and actions, Amnesty International has continued to grow in power and in its number of members and supporters.
With more than 1.8 million registered members and supporters in more than 150 countries, Amnesty International believes it is gaining greater ability to achieve its goals, goals once considered lofty and overly optimistic.
As wars continue to rage within Northern Africa and Southeast Asia, and civil wars plague countries that many overlook, Amnesty International finds itself at a point in its development where it has the opportunity to either help the lives of many weak and unable people or do nothing and become stagnant through routine protests and activist exercises.
With record support and membership, perhaps Amnesty International has the ability to make the changes in the world that they have desired for decades.