What is the primary purpose of Amnesty International?

What do you think is the meaning of the symbol of Amnesty International, the candle with the barbed wire?

Over the years, human rights have moved from the fringes to center stage in world affairs. Amnesty started with seeking the release of prisoners of conscience – people who have not used or advocated violence but are imprisoned because of who they are (sexual orientation, ethnic, national or social origin, language, birth, colour, sex or economic status) or what they believe (religious, political or other conscientiously held beliefs). Amnesty’s mission later developed into upholding the entire spectrum of human rights. Take a look at the timeline and answer the questions

Place the following events in the correct chronological order. Start with the oldest event. 

A. Nelson Mandela becomes an Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience.
B. The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) comes into force. It will help stop the flow of weapons fueling atrocities around the world
C. Ukrainian Archbishop Josyf Slipyi in Siberia is released.
D. Amnesty is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its contribution to ‘securing the ground for freedom, for justice, and thereby also for peace in the world’.
 

The Dutch section of Amnesty International is one of the largest Amnesty sections. In our office in Amsterdam we work with around sixty volunteers, ten interns and approximately hundred paid employees. Check out the video about the work of different Amnesty teams.

In the video you see Amnesty officers working in various departments. Which department is not shown in the video:

You heard one of our managers Bart van Kuijk discussing the fundraising work he does. It’s a big part of our work, because we do not accept money from governments. We believe it is important to maintain our independent position. Why do you think this is so important for an organisation like Amnesty? (max 100 words)

In what way do you think human rights education can enforce the work that we do? (max 100 words)

One of our political officers, Youssef Rahman, mentioned that he worked for the establishment of a research committee, based in Geneva, to investigate human rights violations in Yemen. Which human rights issues, in your view, can be successfully lobbied for in the Netherlands? (If necessary, check the following link for some background info.)

Try to come up with at least 3 issues.