Amnesty International: 50 Years of fighting for freedom.
Thought I’d put up the opening paragraph of Peter Benenson’s 1960 article in The Observer which began the Amnesty movement. It still feels so relevant. In a media saturated world it’s important not lose the sickening sense of impotence in reading what goes on today. Also in the age of China, the Arab spring revolutions, and corporate super-injunctions Article 19 rings as true as ever. The good thing is the internet and an ever more connected world should make the job of upholding thee rights of freedom easier….
‘Open your newspaper any day of the week and you will find a report from somewhere in the world of someone being imprisoned, tortured or executed because his opinions or religion are unacceptable to his government. There are several million such people in prison - by no means all of them behind the Iron and Bamboo Curtains - and their numbers are growing. The newspaper reader feels a sickening sense of impotence. Yet if these feelings of disgust all over the world could be united into common action, something effective could be done.
In 1945 the founder members of the United Nations approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 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 company 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’
