Amnesty International is the world's largest international human rights NGO, founded in 1961. More than 10 million people in 200 countries take part in its movement, and as a voluntary citizens' movement that crosses borders it received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 and the United Nations Human Rights Prize the following year. Amnesty International Japan was established in 1970 as its Japan section.
Its work rests on sending research teams to investigate the reality of human rights violations independently and sharing the findings worldwide as reports and news releases, gathering the letters, e-mails and social media messages of individual citizens, and recommending that the UN and governments act in line with international standards. It works on a wide range of themes, including abolition of the death penalty, refugees and migrants, LGBT rights, children's rights, and climate change and human rights.
Amnesty Japan sets three missions, to inform, to expand and to connect, and communicates the state of human rights around the world so that people in Japan feel it as their own concern. To remain independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion, it accepts no government funding and relies on membership fees, donations and activity income.
Key points
- The Japan section of an international human rights movement founded in 1961, with more than 10 million participants in 200 countries
- Plenty of ways to learn about human rights, including easy-to-understand materials on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a nationwide speaking tour
- Independent operation funded by membership fees and donations, without government grants
Why this organization deserves attention
It has built a system that links research, communication, citizen action and recommendations internationally, turning individual voices into a larger force. Concrete ways to take part are laid out, such as writing postcards, signing petitions and donating.
The official website offers many resources for learning about human rights, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (translated by Shuntaro Tanikawa), illustrated teaching materials, films, book reviews and videos. There are also pages for educators and for companies and organizations, which makes it a helpful reference for anyone encountering human rights for the first time.
Editor's comment
"Human rights" can sound like a big phrase, but as the Amnesty logo suggests, it seems to begin with small acts, like lighting a single candle in the dark. Even one postcard or one signature can be a step that connects you to someone elsewhere in the world.
Why not start by looking at "Amnesty on One Page" on the official website?