• Website: www.amnesty.org
  • Founded in 1961 by British lawyer, Peter Benenson.
  • Amnesty describes itself as a "worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights for all."
  • Amnesty International claims to be "Independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion… it does not support or oppose any government or political system."
  • During the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Amnesty unjustifiably accused Israel of “war crimes” and “deliberate attacks on civilians,” and relied on Lebanese “eyewitnesses” to allege that Hezbollah did not operate in population centers.
  • In 2007, Amnesty continued to disproportionately single out Israel for condemnation, focusing solely on the conflict with the Palestinians, misrepresenting the complexity of the conflict and ignoring more severe human rights violations in the region.
  • In 2010, senior staff member Gita Saghal was suspended after she condemned Amnesty’s alliance with an alleged Taliban supporter.
  •  Following the May 6, 2010 arrest of Ittijah head Ameer Makhoul on charges of allegedly spying for Hezbollah, Amnesty International misrepresented Makhoul as a “human rights defender” and claimed that Makhoul’s detention was “designed to hinder his human rights work.”
  • In August 2010, the executive director of Amnesty-Finland, Frank Johansson, referred to Israel in a highly offensive manner, translated as “a scum state,” on his blog.
  • Amnesty International distorts international law – misusing terms like “collective punishment,” “occupying power” and “disproportionate” – in its condemnations of Israel’s Gaza policy.
  • In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007, AI reported an operating budget of approximately £30 million. In prior years, this sum represented "approximately one quarter of the estimated income likely to be raised during the year by the movement´s national sections." The majority of the funds come from individual donors, and Amnesty International does not accept donations from governments or political parties.

Amnesty Essentials: