III.

New Strategies

In 1968 civil liberties advocate Martin Ennals joined the staff of Amnesty International as secretary-general and helped implement new policies in an effort to improve the organization’s reputation. The group’s leaders adopted a rule that allowed members to only investigate charges of human rights violations that occurred outside their own country. Leaders said members who investigated alleged rights abuses involving their own country tended to either immediately dismiss or believe the claims without conducting proper research. Chapters of the organization also started to recruit the support of churches, schools, businesses, and labor unions. These groups started campaigning for more worldwide policies on human rights, instead of focusing only on the rights of prisoners.

In 1972 Amnesty International mounted a worldwide campaign to abolish all torture (including sexual abuse and rape) committed by law enforcement officials. The organization put together a 12-step program that outlined ways to eradicate torture in prisons. It included recommendations to outlaw secret detentions to ensure that prisoners are held in “publicly recognized places,” conduct immediate investigations of any prisoner’s allegations of torture, and enact legislation to make any abuse committed by law officials punishable under criminal laws.

In 1974 the organization started the Urgent Action Network to make phone calls and send letters on behalf of prisoners who need immediate medical or legal help. The volunteer network was able to launch thousands of appeals, often within 24 to 48 hours. By the mid-1970s, the organization had worked on thousands of investigations and many prisoners of conscience were either released or at least given better conditions and fair trials. In 1977 Amnesty International was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “its efforts on behalf of defending human dignity against violence and subjugation.”

Also in 1977 the organization launched a global campaign to abolish all court-ordered death sentences. Amnesty International claimed the death penalty had never been proven to deter crime, had been inflicted on innocent people, and violated the most fundamental human right—the right to life. However, the group’s stance on the death penalty was controversial among its members. Conservative writer William F. Buckley Jr., a member of Amnesty International's National Advisory Council, resigned in 1978 in protest. Buckley argued that supporting the abolishment of the death penalty changed the organization’s mission from protecting the rights of nonviolent political prisoners to protecting the rights of murderers. He said the campaign damaged the organization’s credibility.

In 1986 Amnesty International organized a concert tour in the United States, which included popular musicians Bruce Springsteen, Tracy Chapman, Peter Gabriel, and Sting, to raise money for the organization and attract new members. Shortly afterward, many college and high school students started chapters in their schools. Because of the tour’s success, the organization put together more concerts and public relations events. Membership in the United States increased from about 40,000 people in the early 1980s to approximately 300,000 by the beginning of the 21st century.