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Founded in 1961, Amnesty International contributed as few other organizations to incorporating human rights into the heart of the public debate.Opened new forms of activism, beyond the great predominant ideologies in that period of the twentieth century.However, the principles on which he develops his work does not escape criticism, even in democratic countries.

"When you open the newspaper any day of the week you will find a news from some country in the world about someone who has been imprisoned, tortured or executed because their religious opinions or beliefs are unacceptable to the Government".

With these words the call begins in favor of the prisoners of conscientious that was published on May 28, 1961 by the British lawyer Peter Benenson in the London newspaper The Observer.Benenson's text, external link considered as the founding act of the Amnesty International Human Rights Organization (AI), was born in a world framed by the tensions derived from the Cold War.

Human Rights in the Cold War

In April 1961, just a few weeks before the publication, the United States tried to invade and overthrow the Fidel Castro government in Cuba.The following year, the deployment of Soviet missile.In Europe, meanwhile, the construction of the Berlin Wall had begun in August 1961.

In this context of conflict between the two blocks, the principle of universal human rights established by the United Nations in 1948, fails to find a real space.In particular because the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations External Link Externocate of a mandatory character and does not provide for application mechanisms.

Only at the beginning of the seventies the situation begins to change, within the framework of the wave of decolonizing processes and international protests against dictatorships in Greece and Brazil as well as against the coup d'etat in Chile.It is then when human rights leave the conference rooms of international organizations and begin to play a foreground role in public discourse.

The Swiss section of Amnesty International in external lace was officially founded in 1970.Before there had been several local groups, in particular the Geneva, created in 1964, within the framework of international organizations.Amnesty Switzerland grew rapidly."Between 1970 and 1975, a new group was formed almost every month," says a publication released on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the organization.

New form of political activism

1968 marked the highest point of the wave of political struggles that date back to the tradition born of the French Revolution.However, universal emancipation ideologies begin to give signs of rupture.The commitment to human rights adopts the form of a new form of activism, based on the moral principles and the rights of the individual and not necessarily in the political struggle.

Amnesty International is at the center of this evolution and constitutes, at the same time, the symbol of the same.In 1977, the organization obtained the Nobel Peace Prize for its campaign against torture.That same year, in his investiture speech as president of the United States, Jimmy Carter points out that human rights will constitute the parameter to measure the external policy of their country.

For the Swiss historian Philipp Sarasin, who recently published a book about the year 1977 in external, these two elements mark a broader change in the political sphere."Attention is no longer focused on political conflicts and collective interests, on the willingness to political change [...], the interest is now addressed to individual suffering and individual "rights" that are judicially claimed by individual actors or defense groups, "he writes."It is not about political relations, nor the interests of communities, nor the willingness to political change [...], but of the freedoms and individual rights that derive from individual actions or social groups ".

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Of prisoners of consciousness to social rights

For some authors, change is the sign of policy delivery to market hegemony.American journalist and activist Naomi Klein, for example, reproaches AI not having sufficiently taken into account the political and economic causes of human rights violations.

Criticism seems, however, little generous, if the evolution of the organization is taken into account.During the course of its history Amnesty International has multiplied its intervention spheres.To his actions in favor of the so -called "prisoners of consciousness" he added the campaigns against torture, against the death penalty and in favor of the rights of refugees.And later he held initiatives that sought to limit the trade of weapons or pronounced in favor of women's law.

In 2001, given the new challenges posed."The emphasis on individual political and civil rights was linked to the Anglo -Saxon origins of Amnesty International," says Alexandra Karle, director of the Swiss Section.

"We are currently identified with the principles established in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in External External.Themes such as food, education or access to water are fundamental, especially for the global south ".

"Paid by Moscow"

Ai Switzerland quickly became aware of how difficult it was to promote actions on sensitive issues without running the risk of being accused of partisan.After its rapid growth in the early 1970s with the campaign against torture -which found support among large sectors of the population -, he confronted in the middle of the same decade a strong controversy product of his criticisms of the prison sentences imposedTo conscientious objectors in Switzerland itself.

“Many letters were received in the direction that criticized Amnesty International's action.They accused us of being paid by Moscow, ”André Daguet, first political secretary of AI Switzerland, recalled in 2001.

Even in later decades, the organization was repeatedly accused of being too left, recognizes Karle.This is the case before the repeated campaigns in favor of the rights of refugees or, more recently, in relation to the criticisms that the Federal Law of Police Measures formulated to combat external link terrorism or for its commitment in the campaign of theexternoniciative ienlace in favor of the responsibility of companies.

"Our positions are the result of an intense discussion within the organization, together with the activists," says Karle."We act on the basis of a broad consensus, where we perceive that human rights are violated or questioned".For the rest, says the director of AI Switzerland, "the basis of our activity is always current international law".

Successes and failures

When evaluating the situation of human rights in the world, sixty years after the birth of Amnesty International, Karle speaks of a "wave movement" (Wellenbewegung)."In recent decades there have been important advances in vital areas.I think, for example, in the fight against war or against torture crimes.But new problems have also emerged, such as the use of new technologies for the surveillance of human rights defenders ".

There are still human rights violations and their validity sometimes question."Just think, for example, in the repeated violations of the Geneva Convention on refugees in many European states".Alexandra Karle does not hide his concern about the absence of protest movements in civil society in such violations.

In relation to measures to combat pandemia, Karle calls to be prudent."We observe the situation with attention.At the beginning, we also express our concern for the prohibition of demonstrations.However, the measures in force in Switzerland respect the principle of proportionality.Those who do not want to vaccinate can test ".

Amnesty International's attention focuses especially on another aspect of the fight against pandemic: "One of our main campaigns at this time, together with the review of sexual criminal law- refers to access to vaccines.It is necessary to reduce the protection of patents so that even low -income countries can protect their populations with vaccines ".

Translated from Italian by Sergio Ferrari

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