Amnesty International: Membership Form

http://www.hotwired.com/Coin/Spnsrs/Amnesty/Info/donation.html (The Risc Disc Volume 2, 10/1995)

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Become a member of Amnesty International by making a tax-deductible donation

Take the time to print out this form. Then simply fill it out, enclose a check, and mail it to the Amnesty International office nearest you. If you are not in the United States contact your local Amnesty International office for more information.

________________________________________________________________

I would like to join Amnesty International. Enclosed are my dues:

___ Individual $25 a year

___ Senior Citizen/Limited Income $15 a year

___ Student $15 a year

___ I understand that Amnesty International depends upon the generosity of its members. Therefore, I would like to make an additional contribution. For membership dues and donation I enclose a check for:

___ $50

___ $75

___ $100

___ $250

___ other

Contributions to Amnesty International USA are tax-deductible.

I would like to participate in Amnesty International's work. Please send me more information about (please check as many as applicable):

___ Local Groups                  ___ Health Professionals
 
___ Campus Groups                 ___ Legal Professionals
 
___ Urgent Action Network         ___ Educators Network
 
___ Freedom Writers               ___ Individual Letter Writing
 
Name _______________________________________________________
 
Address ____________________________________________________
 
City _____________________________ State __________ Zip _____
                                                        INOR95 
Please send this form with your check to:
Amnesty International USA
322-8th Avenue
New York, NY 10001
or call 1-800-AMNESTY

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Amnesty International Protects Human Rights

Thousands of people are in prison because of their beliefs. Many are held without charge or trial. Torture and the death penalty are widespread. In many countries men, women and children have "disappeared" after being taken into official custody. Still others have been killed without any pretense of legality. These human rights abuses occur in countries of widely differing ideologies.

Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people acting on the conviction that governments must not deny individuals their basic human rights. The organization was awarded the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to promote global observance of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Amnesty International Focuses on Prisoners

Amnesty International works specifically for:

The release of prisoners of conscience -- men women, and children imprisoned for their beliefs, color, sex, ethnic origin, language, or religion, provided they have neither used nor advocated violence
Fair and prompt trials for all political prisoners
An end to the death penalty and torture in all cases
An end to extra-judicial executions and "disappearances"

Amnesty International Is Impartial

Amnesty International's effectiveness depends on its impartial application of a single standard of human rights to every country in the world. The organization is independent of all governments, political factions, ideologies, economic interests, and religious creeds. It accepts no financial contribution from any government and is funded entirely by donations from its supporters. To safeguard impartiality, groups do not work for prisoners of conscience held within their own countries.

Amnesty International Is Practical

Amnesty International seeks the most effective means of helping individuals whose rights have been violated. Techniques include long-term adoption of prisoners of conscience; publicizing patterns of human rights abuses; meetings with government representatives; and, in cases where torture or death are feared, network of volunteers who send urgent telegrams indicating international concern.

Amnesty International members send letters, cards, and telegrams on behalf of individual prisoners to government officials. Constant action generates effective pressure. One well-written letter to a minister of justice is not pressure; ten letters are. Hundreds of letters were sent on behalf of an adopted prisoner detained for many years in Soviet psychiatric hospitals. Later he said that his release had been a direct result of the letters from Amnesty. He believes they were also the key to better treatment during imprisonment.

Amnesty International members also organize public meetings, collect signatures for petitions, and arrange publicity events, such as vigils at appropriate government embassies. They work on special projects, such as the Campaign to Abolish Torture. At its launching Amnesty members met with more than half of the United States' congressional representatives to voice their concern and outline Amnesty International's program to eradicate torture. Members also raise money to send medicine, food and clothing to prisoners and their families.

Amnesty International sends missions to countries to appeal in person for the protection of human rights. A medical delegation to Bolivia successfully convinced the government to allow a prisoner to be flown abroad for a life- saving operation. Another group went to Gambia in response to reports that prisoners were held in leg irons and denied access to friends and relatives. Within months Gambia's President had taken steps to improve conditions.

Amnesty International Is Accurate

When Amnesty International hears of political arrests or people facing torture or execution, it concentrates first on getting the facts. At the organization's headquarters in London, the Research Department (with a staff of more than 200 recruited from over 30 countries) collects and analyses information from a wide variety of sources. These include hundreds of newspapers and journals, government bulletins, transcripts of radio broadcasts, reports from lawyers and humanitarian organizations, along with letters from and interviews with prisoners and their families. Amnesty International representatives frequently go on missions to collect on-the-spot information. Amnesty legal observers often attend trials where accepted international standards are at issue.

Amnesty International Helps Individuals

Since it was founded in 1961, Amnesty International has worked on behalf of more than 43,000 prisoner cases of which 40,000 are now closed. These aren't just numbers. Amnesty members give direct and effective assistance to people who become more than a number and more than a name. A released prisoner from Malaysia wrote to a group member, "Today I took out all the letters and cards you sent me in the past, reread them, looked at them again, and it is hard to describe the feelings in my heart... these things I regard as precious jewels."

A released prisoner from Pakistan wrote, "A woman in San Antonio had written some kind and comforting words that proved to be a bombshell for the prison authorities and significantly changed the prisoners' conditions for the better... Suddenly I felt as if the sweat drops all over my body were drops from a cool, comforting shower."

Amnesty International Is Its Volunteers

Amnesty International has over 1,100,000 members and supporters in over 150 countries. They participate in a variety of different programs to free prisoners of conscience and stop torture and executions.

Local Groups

These are community based groups of 10 to 25 people who meet regularly to write letters, organize and publicize actions on behalf of individual Prisoners of Conscience, work against torture and the death penalty, and participate in special human rights campaigns.

Campus Groups: Members work on special campaigns and on behalf of individual prisoners, while educating their campus communities on human rights.
Urgent Action Network: Members of the Urgent Action Network are periodically called upon to send airmail letters and telegrams to assist individuals in immediate danger of torture or execution. Groups within the Network may work on behalf of colleagues and peers imprisoned abroad.
Freedom Writers Network: Members receive three prisoner appeals each month and write letters to government authorities on their behalf.
Health Professional Network: Members work for imprisoned colleagues and prisoners with serious health problems, as well as presenting educational programs on medical ethics and working to prevent medical personnel from participating in torture and executions.
Legal Support Network: Lawyers and other legal professionals work for imprisoned colleagues, assist in research, offer advice to Amnesty groups on legal issues, and present educational programs on human rights.
Human Rights Educators Network: Teachers and other interested members participate as individuals and in regional working groups to develop materials and promote human rights education, as well as working on behalf of imprisoned colleagues.
Individual Activities: Individual members participate in postcard and letter-writing campaigns described in Amnesty International USA's quarterly newspaper, "Amnesty Action."

Members also pay dues annually to Amnesty International USA, which, along with their work for the organization, entitles them to vote in elections for the Board of Directors.

Please take time to print and send in the above form today!

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