Amnesty staff raise a glass to celebrate the organisation's 50th birthday © AI

about us

Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people campaigning to protect human rights. We have a vision of a world in which every person enjoys all of the rights stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.

Learn more

Peter Benenson

How we started

Amnesty International was founded in 1961 by London barrister Peter Benenson, after a group of students in Portugal were jailed for raising a toast to freedom.

UN Human Rights Council © flickr (United Nations Information Service - Geneva)

What are human rights?

Human rights are the basic freedoms and protections that people are entitled to simply because they are human beings.

Kids on Utopia homelands in the Northern Territory © April Pyle / AI

Learn more about our work

Find out more about the campaigns and the issues that Amnesty International works on.

Frequently asked questions © flickr (Marco Bellucci)

Frequently asked questions

In response to requests for more information about who we are and what we do, we have provided the following answers to commonly asked questions.

© AI

The inner workings of Amnesty

Learn how the global democratic movement of Amnesty International works behind the scenes.

Amnesty International Report (book) 2010

Annual reports

Our yearly report on the state of the world's human rights across 157 countries and territories, as well as a detailed review fo Australia's human rights record.

Our financial reports

Financial reports

A break-down of Amnesty International Australia's detailed audited accounts, as well as our Director's report reviewing our operations during the past year.

Human Rights Innovation Fund

Human Rights Innovation Fund

We give out regular grants, to assist anyone interested in promoting and defending human rights, to fund innovative and creative projects.

Work with us © AI

Work with us

We're always looking for dedicated people. We offer a competitive salary, great benefits and the opportunity to be part of a progressive organisation.

An Amnesty volunteer on the streets © Hamish Gregory / AI

Internships and volunteering

Use your skills and knowledge to promote human rights. Our volunteers and interns are involved with our campaigning, fundraising and promotions.

Research and reports © Hamish Gregory / AI

Research and reports

Amnesty International produces hundreds of reports, press releases, appeals for action and multimedia pieces each year.

About this site

About this site

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