Niall Couper, Can Amnesty International ever make a difference in places like Burma and Zimbabwe given that national governments fail to influence human rights abuses in those countries
Asked by johnread on Nov 26 2007 2:58:53 PM and supported by 17 members
MORE!
The quick answer is yes. Amnesty regularly operates letter-writing campaigns to people we define as “Individuals at Risk”. And the feedback we have received suggests that they have made a huge difference.
One such case involves Ko Aung, a former student leader in Burma. He was arrested and tortured after the protests in 1988. Amnesty identified him as an “Individual at Risk”, and as a result the jail that he was held in received thousands of letters – some of which made their way into his hands. He describes the letters as instrumental in giving him hope and also vital in putting an end to the torture he was suffering.
Overall though the real question should be: how bad would the situation in those countries be if Amnesty International did not shine the spotlight on the horrific human rights violations?
Our press and lobbying work helps give a global audience to some of the world’s hidden atrocities, without the publicity who knows what certain countries would get away with