Amnesty: Canada's Connection

Amnesty International was created in 1961 by Peter Benenson, a British Lawyer.  He heard about the imprisonment of two Portuguese men because they made a toast to freedom, and decided that this was not right.  He made his opinions known by publishing articles in his local newspaper, and he quickly gained recognition and support, and gave their help to release the two men.  Amnesty International was then created to liberate and seek pardon for those who have been unfairly imprisoned or oppressed.

History 
Amnesty International is a global organization, and Canada has big role in group.  Amnesty International Canada was created in 1973.  The 1st president: Dr John Humphrey, was one of the main authors of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  In the beginning,  Amnesty International Canada participated in the organization's global Urgent Action Network -  to aid people in danger of torture and/or abuse.

In 1978, two bilingual branches were formed to facilitate communication and open up access  to the organization to more of Canada. From 1986-1987,  Amnesty teamed up with other groups to keep the ban on the death penalty in Canada - this was a success.

Today, medical personnel play an important role: over 100 physicians, health workers help pressure other countries to improve their healthcare systems.
Amnesty Canada has also opened up specific programs to legal proffessionals, faith communities, trade unionists, educators, and artists.

Amnesty International also relies heavily on volunteers, including volunteer "fieldworkers" that go directly to conflicts all around the world to help out.

Youth and Students : Youth and Students are a big parts of Amnesty Canada.
In 1987, a program for youth and students was created.  Now there are 350 groups all over the country with schools, colleges, universities, and communities.
For more information contact youth@amnesty.ca or visit their page: Human Rights Activism for Youth. Here you can learn about how to get involved, news and events, the youth activist toolkit, and get connected with other youth in Canada who are making a difference.

Projects/involvement:

• refugees
• Indigenous peoples
• pushing our canadian corporations to take responsibility to protect rights of people in the countries they are based in
• pushing the government to prioritize and focus on human rights

Today there are 50,000 supporters of Amnesty International in Canada.

Media
Amnesty International also hosts a film festival: Reel Awareness 2010. In 2010, it is toured to Vancouver, Toronto, Victoria, Whitehorse, Castlegar, Kaslo and Nelson.  It screened many documentaries about current human rights issues around the world, including The 10 Conditions of Love

Get Involved 
Visit Amnesty International Canada's home page on more information on how you can help.  Learn about human rights, current issues, and what Amnesty International is working on presently.