AnnuAl Review 2011 - Amnesty

AnnuAl Review2011

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Amnesty international’s missionAmnesty International is a worldwide movement of people dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights.

Our vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.

In pursuit of this vision, Amnesty International’s mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of these rights.

Amnesty International seeks to expose human rights abuses accurately and quickly. We systematically and independently investigate the facts of individual cases and patterns of human rights abuses. These findings are publicized, and members, supporters and staff then mobilize persistent public pressure on governments, armed political groups, companies and others to prevent and stop these violations.

Amnesty International promotes public awareness and understanding of the full range of human rights, and we work with a global community of organizations to ensure broad support and respect for all human rights.

Amnesty International is governed by our members; we are independent of all governments, political persuasions and religious creeds. We are funded by our members and donors, and no funds are sought or accepted from governments for investigating and campaigning against human rights abuses.

Thank you for protecting human rightsDear fellow human rights supporter,Thank you for your generous support of Amnesty International’s human rights work in 2011 and for defending the human rights of all.

2011 was Amnesty International’s 50th year. The anniversary was an opportunity for us to reflect on the amazing achievements of Amnesty members over the last five decades; however, ongoing and new human rights challenges meant we also had to remain focused on all that still needs to be done before we can live in a world where the human rights of everyone are respected.

More than any other year that I have been a member, 2011 reminded me of the power and importance of the human rights movement. The uprisings that swept across the Middle East and North Africa surely captured all of us with their moments of unforgettable courage and unspeakable suffering. They embodied the dignity and freedom that we work for and the violence and oppression that we fight against.

Throughout 2011, you stood alongside the millions of people on earth who are engaged in the ongoing struggle for human rights. This Annual Review documents some of the incredible work we did together throughout the year in speaking out about injustices around the world. Amnesty’s research missions, Amnesty’s campaigns, and the activism of countless Amnesty members—this is work to celebrate, work that we hope you will take pride in having helped to accomplish.

Thank you for joining with more than 3.2 million other Amnesty members around the world in making Amnesty International a powerful voice for justice and freedom.

Sarah Beamish, President

ExEcutivE committEE (as at December 31, 2011)

President: Sarah Beamish, Toronto, Ontario; Vice-President: David Kelleher, Maxville, Ontario; Chairperson: David Smith, Hemmingford, Quebec; Secretary: George Harding, Prince George, British Columbia; Treasurer: Brenda Dashney, Greely, Ontario; Directors: Margaret Flynn, Oakville, Ontario; Renee Saviour, Toronto, Ontario; Sharmila Setaram, Mississauga, Ontario; Andy Thompson, Waterloo, Ontario; Lana Verran, Vancouver, British Columbia

managEmEnt Staff (as at December 31, 2011)

Executive Director: Bob Goodfellow; Secretary General: Alex Neve; Director of Communications and Marketing: Matt Beard; Director of Finance and Administration: Gordon Mair; Director of Resource Development: Rosemary Oliver; Director of Campaigns and Activism: Alain Roy

AnnuAl Review 2011Editor: David Griffiths Contributors: Will Bryant, Rosemary Oliver, Heather Warren

Joss Maclennan Design, CEP 591-CLC Printed by union labour at MPH Graphics Inc. Published July 2012.

CoveR Photo: A young person at a pro-reform demonstration in Bahrain on March 1, 2011. Amnesty researchers investigating human rights abuses in Bahrain in 2011 found that security forces used excessive force against peaceful protestors and detained hundreds of people, including prisoners of conscience.

Amnesty’s executive Committee, left to right: Lana Verran, Margaret Flynn, Shauna Maclean (staff designate to EC), Sharmila Setaram, David Kelleher, Sarah Beamish, George Harding, Brenda Dashney, Andy Thompson, David Smith, Renee Saviour.

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TUNISIA:President flees following protestsOn January 14, 2011, after weeks of anti-government protests, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled Tunisia, ending a 23-year rule notorious for human rights abuses.

For human rights supporters, 2011 was both an exhilarating and deeply distressing year. In countries across North Africa and the Middle East, people demanded their freedom. The protests began in Tunisia in December 2010 and soon inspired demonstrations in other countries. In many instances the authorities responded with violence and brutality.

In 2011, teams of Amnesty International human rights experts were on the ground in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Algeria and Bahrain, investigating and reporting on human rights abuses. Amnesty also mobilized quickly in response to human rights abuses against protestors elsewhere—in Syria, Yemen and Sudan. None of this work could have happened without the support of Amnesty International members.

TUNISIA:You inspired a former prisoner of conscience to join Amnesty internationalIn January 2011, Tunisian journalist Fahem Boukadous announced that he had joined Amnesty International—one more member in a growing global movement of over 3 million people.

Just days earlier, Boukadous had been freed from jail. He was one of several political prisoners released after the fall of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Arrested for reporting on public protests in 2008 and convicted after an unfair trial, Boukadous had been sentenced to four years in prison. Amnesty International declared that he was a prisoner of conscience and Amnesty members campaigned for his freedom.

After his release, Fahem Boukadous said that he had joined Amnesty International after being inspired by all the Amnesty members who had stood by him during his trial.

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Days after President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled Tunisia in January 2011, people took to the streets to demand that no members of the previous regime stay on in the new government.

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CANADA:Youth of First nations community tell their story through filmWhen the youth of the Lubicon community of Little Buffalo, Alberta, told Amnesty International they wanted a chance to tell their own stories, Amnesty got in touch with Jaro Malanowski, an Edmonton filmmaker with long experience working with First Nations youth, to lead a video-training workshop at the school in Little Buffalo.

For decades, the Alberta provincial government has been allowing massive oil and gas development on Lubicon land with little protection for the community’s culture, health and livelihoods.

The January 2011 workshop with the Lubicon high-school students resulted in a short documentary about what it’s like to live without clean water. The students were responsible for every aspect of the production, from the concepts to the interviews and the filming to the editing. The video premiered in the Lubicon community and was made available to a broad audience on YouTube.

EGYPT:People power forces president outOn February 11, 2011, the momentous news was announced that President Hosni Mubarak had stepped down as Egyptian leader. The news came after 18 days of continuous protests by hundreds of thousands of people demanding an end to a corrupt regime. Many protesters paid a high price. At least 840 people were killed, more than 6,400 were injured, and hundreds were imprisoned and tortured.

When the protests in Egypt began, Amnesty International quickly dispatched a research team to Cairo to witness, investigate, and expose ongoing human rights abuses. Two of the Amnesty researchers were detained and held in military custody with 33 other human rights activists and journalists.

From the beginning of the crisis, Amnesty’s 3 million members were mobilized to put pressure on the Egyptian government to respect the rights of its citizens—whether it was the right to peacefully protest without fear of being jailed or attacked, or the right not to be tortured.

Amnesty continued to closely monitor the human rights situation in Egypt throughout 2011, demanding that Egyptians be able to participate meaningfully in shaping their future and that any political transition be accompanied by full respect for human rights.

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CHINA:Government tries to crush pro-democracy activists’ dissentDozens of Chinese activists and government critics were arrested in February 2011 as the Chinese government grew fearful that the revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa would inspire Chinese citizens to demand change in their own country.

Amnesty International members responded to several Amnesty Urgent Action appeals to protect jailed Chinese activists from torture and ill-treatment. Among the activists detained or arrested from February 19 to 21 were:• DingMao,detainedinMianyangcity,Sichuanprovince• RanYunfei,detainedinChengdu,Sichuanprovince• LiangHaiyi,arrestedinHarbin,Heilongjiangprovince• ChenWei,arrestedinSuning,Sichuanprovince• HuaChunhui,arrestedinWuxi,JiangsuprovinceSome activists who simply mentioned “Jasmine Revolution” on the micro-blogging website Twitter were arrested and accused of serious political charges such as “subverting state power”. (The term “Jasmine Revolution” can refer to the 2010-2011 Tunisian Revolution, as well as other popular movements in the Middle East and North Africa, and pro-democracy protests in China.)

Amnesty International reported that the crackdown on dissent in China in 2011 was the heaviest for several years as the authorities tried to silence a whole new generation of activists.

Egyptians celebrate in Cairo after President Hosni Mubarak stepped down on February 11, 2011

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SYRIA:Amnesty international members call for an end to the bloodshedIn April 2011, following the murder and torture of civilians by members of the Syrian security forces, Amnesty International launched a global petition calling on Syria to end the bloodshed.

Within a few weeks, 165,000 Amnesty International members and supporters had signed the petition, and in May, Amnesty delivered the signatures to Syrian embassies around the world.

Small pro-reform demonstrations began in Syria in March 2011 and grew into mass protests after security forces cracked down violently on people in the city of Dera’a who were calling for detained children to be released. Protests spread to other Syrian cities and government forces responded with brute force, sometimes using snipers to shoot at peaceful crowds.

Amnesty International urged the UN Security Council to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court for possible crimes against humanity. Amnesty also called for an international arms embargo and for the assets of Syrian President Assad and those close to him to be frozen.

Investigating human rights abuses in Syria was challenging because the Syrian authorities barred Amnesty International from entering the country. But Amnesty research teams travelled repeatedly to neighbouring Jordan and Turkey to investigate the crisis. At the border, they interviewed Syrians who had fled their country. Many of those interviewed had been tortured and ill-treated while in detention.

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Amnesty members delivering petition signatures to the Syrian Embassy in Washington DC. 165,000 Amnesty members and supporters signed a petition demanding that Syria end human rights abuses against its citizens.

Amnesty International researcher Donatella Rovera (inset) was in the Libyan city of Misratah during the siege by forces loyal to the former leader Colonel al-Gaddafi.

LIBYA:Amnesty international members stood alongside those at riskAnti-government protests in Libya in February 2011 were followed by eight months of armed conflict. By late August, forces opposing Colonel Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi, Libya’s leader for 41 years, had taken control of most of the country.

In March, Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s crisis researcher, was in Benghazi in eastern Libya as the city came under attack from forces loyal to Colonel al-Gaddafi. The following month, Donatella was in Misratah during the siege of the city, and she uncovered evidence of widespread human rights abuses against civilians. In August, Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty’s North Africa researcher, was in the capital Tripoli to investigate human rights violations.

Because of the committed support of Amnesty members, Amnesty International researchers were able to work in Libya throughout 2011. Throughout the long crisis, the Amnesty researchers identified emerging human rights issues. They uncovered evidence that Colonel al-Gaddafi’s forces targeted civilians and killed prisoners in custody. They also highlighted the plight of hundreds of thousands of people who had been displaced by the conflict.

Amnesty’s reports alerted the world to the desperate need for humanitarian aid in many cities. In August, the researchers focused the world’s attention on revenge attacks against black Libyans and people from sub-Saharan Africa suspected of being pro-Gaddafi.

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50TH ANNIVERSARY:Celebrating 50 years of Amnesty members protecting human rightsMay 28, 2011, was Amnesty International’s 50th anniversary. It was on May 28, 1961, that a newspaper article by Amnesty’s founder Peter Benenson called on people to protest the jailing of men and women for their political and religious beliefs.

The 50th anniversary was celebrated by Amnesty members around the world and members in 58 countries marked the day with a special toast to freedom. The date also kicked off a year of special human rights campaigns including a campaign to protect freedom of expression, a campaign calling for the Niger Delta to be cleaned of oil pollution, and a campaign supporting Egyptian women’s demands to have an equal voice in their country’s future.

ZIMBABWE:Jenni williams inspires Amnesty’s Canadian members

Jenni Williams, a Zimbabwean human rights defender, visited Canada in May 2011 and was the inspirational keynote speaker at Amnesty’s Annual General Meeting in Montreal. Jenni is a founding member of

WOZA (Women of Zimbabwe Arise), a movement of 80,000 courageous human rights activists peacefully protesting against the worsening human rights crisis in Zimbabwe.

Amnesty International members in Canada have had a close relationship with WOZA for many years. Amnesty members have taken action to help protect WOZA activists from police ill treatment, and have helped raise much needed funds for WOZA.

“Amnesty International is our big sister,” said Jenni when she visited Amnesty’s Ottawa office to meet with members, volunteers and staff. “When I’m in prison, if I know that someone, my big sister, is shouting for me, telling people about me, then I feel less distressed, less frightened and less alone.”

NIGERIA:You demanded an end to polluted water for 30 million peopleOn May 28, 2011, Amnesty International launched a major global campaign to end pollution-related human rights abuses in the Niger Delta. Underneath the Niger Delta lie massive oil deposits. Oil has generated an estimated US$600 billion in revenue since the 1960s; yet the majority of the Niger Delta’s 30 million people live in extreme poverty.

mAY 2011 Many people have to drink, cook with and wash in polluted water, and eat fish contaminated with oil and other poisons.

The oil industry is responsible for the pollution, but the Nigerian government has also been to blame for its failure to control the industry.

Amnesty International’s global campaign began by calling on the Nigerian government to hold the oil industry to account. The campaign’s overall goal is to ensure the oil industry ends decades of pollution and cleans up the Niger Delta for the 30 million people who live there.

Above: Emmanuel Kuru is a fisherman and farmer in the Niger Delta. An oil spill polluted his land and devastated his livelihood. “We are stranded,” he told Amnesty International.

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Amnesty International members in Finland marked the movement’s 50th anniversary by releasing yellow balloons at a special event celebrating the occasion.

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IRAN:emadeddin Baghi released, thanks Amnesty international members“I would like to send my warmest regards to all our friends on the team in Amnesty,” said Iranian human rights activist and journalist Emadeddin Baghi after his release from prison on June 21, 2011.

He was arrested in December 2009 during a time of large-scale protests in Iran following the disputed presidential election of June 2009. Amnesty members in Canada and around the world campaigned for his freedom.

At the end of August 2011, two months after Baghi’s release, a further 70 prisoners of conscience and political prisoners were released in Iran. Among them were prisoners whose freedom Amnesty members had campaigned for.

CÔTE D’IVOIRE:how your support ensured victims of conflict were not forgottenAlex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, led an Amnesty International mission to Côte d’Ivoire in June 2011. The Amnesty mission investigated a human rights crisis that erupted after a disputed presidential election. The conflict that followed forced more than one million people to flee their homes.

Alex and the team travelled to isolated parts of Côte d’Ivoire, collected evidence of massacres and met with many resilient local human rights defenders who were working to end the violence.

After the mission, Alex and the other researchers wrote a report exposing crimes against humanity and war crimes in Côte d’Ivoire. The report put numerous recommendations to the new government in Côte d’Ivoire and the international community, including the urgent need for an action plan to end insecurity.

Later in the year, there were a number of positive developments in Côte d’Ivoire. The International Criminal Court charged Côte d’Ivoire’s former president Laurent Gbagbo with crimes against humanity. And in July 2011, after Amnesty pressed the United Nations to keep their troops in the country, the UN Security Council passed a resolution renewing the UN mission in Côte d’Ivoire for another year.

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CHINA:Ai weiwei and hu Jia releasedTwo Chinese prisoners, whose freedom Amnesty International members had campaigned for tirelessly, were released from jail in June 2011.

Ai Weiwei, a well-known Chinese artist and political critic, was released on bail on June 22. Ai Weiwei had been arrested in April. Upon his release, Ai Weiwei was warned not to talk about his treatment in detention, and he remained under tight police surveillance.

Just a few days after Ai Weiwei’s release, prisoner of conscience Hu Jia was freed on June 26. Hu Jia is one of China’s best-known environmental and human rights activists. He had been arrested in December 2007 and imprisoned for “inciting subversion”. Like Ai Weiwei, Hu Jia’s freedom was severely restricted after his release.

Above left: Alex Neve collecting personal testimonies of human rights abuses in Guiglo village, western Côte d’Ivoire.

Amnesty International members had stood alongside jailed Iranian journalist Emadeddin Baghi since his arrest in 2009.

Chinese artist and political critic Ai Weiwei.

Environmental and human rights activist Hu Jia.

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Amnesty international on tour with irish rock band u2Irish rock band U2’s worldwide 360° tour continued through 2011 with Team Amnesty on site to gather signatures for petitions on critical human rights issues. Volunteers gathered more than 26,000 signatures at U2’s Canadian concerts. Pictured here are volunteers who attended the July concert in Montreal.

NICARAGUA: You helped defend women’s and girls’ rightsIn Nicaragua, in July 2011, an Amnesty International research team visited the Asociación Mery Barreda for women and girl survivors of sexual violence. Amnesty International launched a global campaign in 2011 to defend women’s and girls’ rights in Nicaragua. In the spring of 2011, Amnesty members around the world sent tens of thousands of “butterfly” solidarity messages to Nicaraguan non-governmental organizations that are demanding a national plan from the Nicaraguan government to end sexual violence against women and girls.

CHILE:Amnesty members protest visit of Chilean torture ship to BCIn August 2011, Amnesty International members protested the visit of the Chilean vessel “Esmerelda” to Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. The protestors spoke out against the use of the ship as a roving “goodwill ambassador”. During Chile’s 1973 military coup, the ship had served as an interrogation centre for political prisoners. Survivors described incidents of beatings, electric shocks, and sexual assault taking place on board the vessel.

LIBYA:Freed prisoner of conscience thanks Amnesty international membersA prominent Libyan prisoner of conscience thanked Amnesty International for working on his behalf while in detention.

Jamal al-Hajji, a long-term critic of Colonel Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi, was freed from the notorious Abu Salim prison on August 24, 2011, following seven months of detention for demanding reform. He endured appalling conditions during several months in solitary confinement.

“Words cannot express my gratitude for Amnesty International’s support. I want to thank all Amnesty staff and members who highlighted my plight throughout the years,” he told Amnesty International delegates who met him at his Tripoli home.

“It is incredible to see at what lengths some leaders go to remain on the throne,” he said. “We must support all people who call for greater freedoms and human rights. When the rights of innocent people are being violated anywhere, we must all stand up everywhere in their defence.”

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An Amnesty International research team brought messages of support from Amnesty members to a Nicaraguan centre for women and girl survivors of sexual violence.

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SUDAN:Amnesty international members help bring a humanitarian emergency to global attentionIn August 2011, researchers from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) journeyed to Sudan, to the Nuba Mountains region of Southern Kordofan. It was exactly a month after South Sudan’s independence from Sudan and the contested border region between the two countries had become the source of conflict that had forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.

The Amnesty International and HRW researchers found that a bombing campaign carried out by Sudanese Armed Forces since early June had killed and maimed many civilians. The researchers were present when three bombs were dropped and photographed the incident. In all the attacks investigated by researchers, there were seemingly no legitimate military targets near to where the bombs struck.

One man described his pregnant wife, mother of ten children, coming under attack during an air strike in Um Sirdeeba, east of Kadugli, Southern Kordofan’s capital: “My wife, Mahasin, was planting crops in the field next to our home when we heard a plane, an Antonov, circle above. She shouted to the children: ‘Lie on the ground as the bombs are coming now.’” The bomb exploded near the family’s home, killing his wife, two of his children and a nephew.

The Amnesty International and HRW research mission helped bring the conflict to global attention. The United Nations Security Council and the African Union both began to speak out about the crisis in Sudan. Throughout the year, Amnesty International continued to work to protect the human rights of civilians in the region and pressed the Sudanese government to allow international aid agencies to provide much-needed help to civilians.

A displaced family shelters in a cave in Southern Kordofan, Sudan, August 2011. More than 200,000 people were forced to flee their homes for fear of aerial bombardments by the Sudanese Armed Forces.

Yusef Abdallah, aged 15, Southern Kordofan, Sudan, August 2011. He lost his right eye and part of his nose when Sudanese Armed Forces bombed the field where he was grazing his family’s cows in Korungo village on July 8, 2011.

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Children of the Al-Sir family coming out of a foxhole that the family dug in their courtyard. They hid in it whenever they heard Sudanese army planes above. The children’s mother, brother Yasser, 9, sister Amani, 2, and cousin Musa’ab, 4, were killed when the area around their home in Um Sirdeeba village was bombed on June 19, 2011.

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Medellin, Colombia: Demonstrators light candles over a female symbol drawn on the ground to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

COLOMBIA:You stood alongside women’s human rights defendersAngélica is never alone. Everywhere she goes, she’s accompanied by armed security guards in a bullet-proof car. For Angélica, travelling alone is simply too dangerous. She is a Colombian human rights activist, working to protect women survivors of sexual violence in the midst of Colombia’s 45-year-long armed conflict.

But defending human rights is a very dangerous job in Colombia. Over the past few decades, many of these leaders have been threatened and killed, and others have even been subjected to sexual violence themselves because of the work they do. In November 2009, Angélica was the victim of sexual abuse allegedly committed by paramilitaries. She was beaten badly and warned not to report the attack.

Angélica’s case is not isolated. In Colombia, women and girls are experiencing widespread sexual violence by all sides in the country’s long-running armed conflict. Almost all of the paramilitaries, security forces and guerrillas who commit these crimes are never brought to justice.

In September 2011, Amnesty International released an in-depth report into the sexual violence that women experience from armed groups. The report was the result of a detailed two-year investigation. Amnesty researchers collected evidence from survivors, witnesses, women’s organizations and networks, human rights groups, government and state officials, lawyers and judges, and Indigenous organizations, as well as international bodies.

Many human rights activists like Angélica told Amnesty’s researchers that in addition to the protection they receive, the state should bring to justice those responsible for the abuse.

UNITED STATES:state of Georgia executes Troy DavisAmnesty International members campaigned over many years to prevent the execution of Troy Davis in the US state of Georgia. Although they failed to prevent the September 21 death by lethal injection, more than one million people took action to try to stop the execution.

Davis had been sentenced to death in 1991 for the murder of police officer Mark Allen Macphail in Savannah, Georgia. There were serious doubts about Davis’s guilt. The case against him primarily rested on witness testimony, but since his 1991 trial, seven of nine key witnesses recanted or changed their testimony. Some witnesses alleged that they were pressured or coerced by police into testifying or signing statements against Troy Davis.

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Amnesty activists in Belgium hold a vigil to demand clemency for Troy Davis. In a letter to one Amnesty member, Davis wrote, “I just wanted to say thank you for the handmade cards. They put a smile on my face despite the sadness that surrounds me. Please continue to join Amnesty and others in our fight to save my life and free me.”

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CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC:You called for an end to decades of human rights abusesFélicité, a 26-year-old mother of two, was abducted in the southeastern Central African Republic by fighters belonging to the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Led by the notorious Joseph Kony, the LRA kill in cold blood, force children to become soldiers, rape women and girls and have forced thousands out of their villages.

The LRA fighters took Félicité and dozens of other captives to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. Félicité and other women and girls were forced into sexual slavery by LRA commanders, while boys and men were forced to fight for the LRA. Félicité escaped the camp when it was attacked by the Ugandan military. She eventually returned to the Central African Republic but she lives in fear of further attacks.

Félicité told her harrowing story to an Amnesty International research team in the Central African Republic. The Amnesty researchers met and interviewed scores of victims of LRA abuses, including those who have been abducted and taken to LRA camps.

The researchers’ investigations led to an Amnesty International report released in October 2011. The report described how the people in the Central African Republic have been terrorized for decades by armed groups who have been able to operate with great freedom.

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CANADA:Team Amnesty runs marathons to promote human rightsOn October 16, 2011, Amnesty International runners sported their “Amnesty at 50” T-shirts at the Toronto Waterfront marathon and ran to raise awareness for Amnesty’s work. Throughout the year, athletes in other Canadian cities ran in races to promote human rights.

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The Amnesty report demanded urgent action to break the terrible cycle of human rights abuses. Amnesty is calling for a new approach to the situation and is pressing the African Union to take the lead in building a coalition of governments to protect civilians and promote human rights in the Central African Republic. Amnesty pressed for a solution focused not only on military assistance, but also humanitarian and medical support to the civilian population.

In this file photograph, displaced children attend a bush school in the Central African Republic (CAR). Fighting between government forces and rebels has forced thousands of people in the CAR to flee their homes. For decades, people in the country have been terrorized by armed groups.


MYANMAR: Prisoner of conscience su su nway freedLabour rights activist Su Su Nway was freed from prison in Myanmar (Burma) in October 2011. A few days after her release, she arrived in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, to be greeted by supporters (she had been jailed in a location a long way from Yangon and her family).

Su Su Nway’s release came after relentless campaigning by human rights organizations including Amnesty International members. She thanked all those who had worked for her freedom.

At the time of her release, Su Su Nway was serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for treason. She had been arrested in November 2007 after putting up an anti-government banner near a hotel where a United Nations human rights envoy was staying. She had also been jailed once before. In 2004, she became the first person in Myanmar to sue the government successfully for subjecting her and her village to forced labour. That time, the government retaliated by imprisoning her for eight months.

Su Su Nway was one of at least 313 political prisoners released in Myanmar in 2011. Time will tell if this large number of releases was a turning point for human rights in Myanmar. It was certainly a positive development and gave grounds for cautious optimism even if human rights continued to be abused—the authorities continued to arrest human rights activists throughout the year and more than 1,000 political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, remained behind bars.

IRAN: “we are now free and we are safe”—freed iranian doctors thank Amnesty international membersImprisoned Iranian doctors Arash and Kamiar Alaei were at a low point until they heard of Amnesty International’s campaign to free them.

It was the fall of 2008 and after four months in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison they feared they had been forgotten. Both had been convicted of “co-operating with an enemy government”. Neither had been politically active.

Amnesty International considered them prisoners of conscience, jailed because of their groundbreaking work with US medical institutions in the field of HIV/ AIDS

Released prisoner of conscience Su Su Nway arriving in Yangon, Myanmar, on October 16, 2011.

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Kamiar and Arash Alaei in the United States after their release.


Amnesty’s global Write for Rights letter-writing marathonOn or around December 10, 2011—International Human Rights Day—special Write for Rights letter-writing events were held around the world to mark Amnesty’s 50th anniversary year. Amnesty members wrote letters to save lives, stop torture and free prisoners of conscience. In Ottawa, Amnesty members held their event at the Canadian Museum of Nature on December 8. On December 10, Niagara Falls was illuminated in Amnesty International yellow. The event was part of Amnesty’s global Shine a Light campaign. Activists at Niagara Falls held special lanterns highlighting specific human rights cases.

women’s rights activists awarded nobel Peace PrizeOn December 10, 2011, at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway, the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize was presented to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee and Yemeni activist Tawakkol Karman.

The Nobel Committee honoured the women “for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work”.

Johnson Sirleaf is the first woman to be democratically elected as President of an African country. Amnesty International in the past considered her to be a prisoner of conscience, jailed for her opposition to the ruling government in 1985.

Gbowee mobilized women across ethnic and religious lines to help end war in Liberia and ensure women’s participation in elections there.

Karman is a Yemeni human rights activist and a leading figure in mass protests against the government during 2011. When her life was threatened in January 2011, Amnesty International members demanded that the Yemeni authorities ensure her safety.

The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (right), Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee (left) and Yemeni activist Tawakkol Karman (centre) at the award ceremony in Oslo, Norway, on December 10, 2011.

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treatment and prevention. Amnesty issued reports and updates on the brothers’ case and Amnesty members campaigned on their behalf, pressing the Iranian authorities to respect their human rights.

Kamiar was finally released in December 2010 and Arash in August 2011. They were reunited in the fall of 2011 and moved to the United States to continue their medical work.

In November 2011, they wrote to thank Amnesty International members.

“As a result of your support, we are now free and we are safe,” they said. “When we got the message about your campaign through our family, it was like getting new blood that warmed our hearts and gave us energy to be strong, to tolerate the situation, and not to become broken.

“Thanks to your efforts, we are rejoicing at being reunited and we want to extend your advocacy by being the voice of the voiceless for others who may face a similar situation to ours. This is at least one way we can pass on the kindness you have shown to us…. from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for campaigning for our freedom.”

Amnesty members in Ottawa held their Write for Rights event at the Canadian Museum of Nature, which was lit up in Amnesty yellow.

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it all starts with You and your gifts to Amnesty InternationalNone of Amnesty’s life-saving work would be possible without you.

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• Extensivemediaandcommunicationsworkincreases awareness of human rights issues

• Educationandtrainingprogramsbuildaworldwhere human rights are respected

how Amnesty puts your gifts to work

what you achieve as an Amnesty Member• Youfreeprisonersofconscience

• Youpreventpoliticalkillingsanddisappearances

• Yousavepeoplefromtorture

• Youprotecttherightsofchildren

• Youstrengthenthehumanrightsofwomen

• YouprotecttherightsofIndigenouspeoples

• Youstandalongsidebravehumanrightsdefenders

• Youprotecttherightsofrefugees

• Youcallforanendtopoverty-relatedhumanrightsviolations

• Youdemanddignityforeveryone

• Youbringhumanrightsabuserstojustice

Statement of financial PositionAs at December 31, 2011

summARiZeD FinAnCiAl sTATemenTs

2011 2010 $ $

CuRRent ASSetSCash 1,177,398 1,007,620Short-term investments 234,553 122,979Accounts receivable 123,745 113,135Prepaid expenses 142,353 118,690

1,678,049 1,362,424

inveStMentS 389,187 486,298

CAPitAl ASSetS 1,985,951 2,032,906

4,053,187 3,881,628

CuRRent liABilitieSAccounts payable and accrued liabilities 788,668 565,056

Deferred revenue 4,177Current portion of long-term debt 75,022 71,134Current portion of obligations under capital lease 8,937 17,270

872,627 657,637

lonG-teRM DeBt 411,801 486,823

oBliGAtionS unDeR CAPitAl leASe 89,316 44,019

1,373,744 1,188,479

net ASSetSGeneral FundUnrestricted 47,520 58,150Invested in capital assets 1,400,875 1,413,660Internally restricted funds 841,025 844,180Externally restricted funds 390,023 377,159

2,679,443 2,693,149

4,053,187 3,881,628

note: In 2009, Amnesty International Canadian Section (English Speaking) changed from having a fiscal year ending on September 30 of each year to a fiscal year ending on December 31. The 2011 summarized statements presented here are for a 12-month period ending December 31, 2011. However, the 2010 statements are for a 15-month period ending December 31, 2010. Please contact the Ottawa Office at 613-744-7667 or email [email protected] to receive the complete audited statements.

Amnesty international Canadian section (english speaking) (Incorporated under the laws of Canada)

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL14

Amnesty international at a glance• Foundedin1961.

• ANobel-Prizewinningmovementof“ordinary”peopleachievingextraordinary results.

• Morethan3.2millionmembersinmorethan150countriesandterritories.

• Morethan80,000membersinCanada.

• Independentofanygovernment,politicalbelief,orreligion.

• Amnesty’s human rights work is funded solely by members like you. Amnesty accepts no money from any governments for investigating and campaigning against human rights abuses.

• 120-140researchmissionsundertakeneachyear.

• 300-400UrgentActionseachyearprotectmanythousandsofpeople,communities, human rights organizations and families.

• Morethan44,000peoplefreedfromprison,protected from torture and secured from death threats since Amnesty was founded.

Merton Atkin

Frederick James Bevis

Michael Brand

Cornelia Brown

Wendy Marilyn Burns

Lois Carrier

Wallace R. Compton

Doreen and Bernard Crook

Philip Crosthwait

Edith Dennis

Bernard Roy Evans

Wilma Jean Forsyth

Brian James Iverson

Allan Levin

Helen Mazewski

Cameron Colin McLean

Harold McSherry

William Pinson

Mary Polovnikoff

Charlotte Prowse

Julia Estelle Reddin

Charlene Faith Roseman

Joan Gertrude Sargeant

Celestine Sebastien

Inga Tallert

David Troyer

Charles Edward Watters

Bequests keep the candle brightAmnesty International gratefully acknowledges the estate gifts received during 2011 from the following donors. We honour the memory of these dedicated Amnesty supporters. Their final gifts serve as a lasting legacy of their commitment to protecting human rights for everyone.

Statement of revenue and expensesFor the year ended December 31, 2011

RevenueResource development revenue 11,211,171 11,211,171 12,012 11,223,183 14,138,310Less resource development expense (3,581,647) (3,581,647) (3,581,647) (4,399,960) 7,629,524 7,629,524 12,012 7,641,536 9,738,350

Groups / networks 57,115 3,084 60,199 3,500 63,699 116,835Publication sales 7,255 7,255 7,255 18,632Investments 9,294 9,294 9,954 19,248 23,246

Miscellaneous 41,616 1,800 43,416 43,416 90,419 7,744,804 4,884 7,749,688 25,466 7,775,154 9,987,482expensesAction Strategies 2,140,902 1,254 2,142,156 12,602 2,154,758 2,746,067Grassroots Activism 2,311,097 9,243 2,320,340 2,320,340 2,762,316Communications and Public Awareness 2,479,856 2,479,856 2,479,856 3,154,554Organization 826,364 7,542 833,906 833,906 1,218,528 7,758,219 18,039 7,776,258 12,602 7,788,860 9,881,465

excess (Deficiency) of Revenue over expenses (13,415) (13,155) (26,570) 12,864 (13,706) 106,017

General fund2011$

Internally restricted funds2011$

Total general and internally restricted funds2011$

Externally restricted funds2011$

Total2011 (12 months)$

Total2010 (15 months)$

NATIONAL OFFICE312 Laurier Ave EastOttawa ON K1N 1H9tel: (613) 744-7667fax: (613) 746-2411email: [email protected]

TORONTO OFFICE1992 Yonge Street – 3rd FloorToronto ON M4S 1Z7tel: (416) 363-9933fax: (416) 363-3103email: [email protected]

VANCOUVER OFFICE430-319 West Pender StreetVancouver BC V6B 1T3tel: (604) 294-5160fax: (604) 294-5130email: [email protected]

Amnesty international research missions expose human rights violationsAmnesty International undertakes 120-140 research missions each year. Here, Amnesty International researcher Aster van Kregten interviews a woman in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, October 2011. The woman was one of 17,000 residents of an informal settlement in Port Harcourt who were forcibly evicted by the authorities in 2009. In 2011, more than 200,000 people continued to live at risk of forced eviction from waterfront communities in Port Harcourt. Amnesty International has demanded that the authorities in Nigeria end forced evictions that violate residents’ human rights and ensure that alternative housing is offered to evicted residents.

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nesty International

1-800-AmnesTY (1-800-266-3789) www.amnesty.ca

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nesty International

AnnuAl Review 2011 - Amnesty

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