We turn 50 today! As the heart and soul of the Amnesty movement, this is your celebration -- thank you for helping to create a better, fairer world. Click this link to see a video trailer of Amnesty’s last 50 years.
Dear friend,
It was a world framed by the Cold War and the space race. A time when Elvis was king. Where back home, Bob Menzies was Prime Minister and Dame Joan Sutherland and Patrick White were icons of pop culture.
Fifty years ago, this was a dramatically different world: it was a world without Amnesty International.
Since our creation in 1961, we’ve grown into a 3 million-strong force for justice, dignity, truth and freedom -- and the world’s largest and most respected human rights organisation.
Working together, we stood alongside Ratan Gazmere from Bhutan, who was released in 1991 after opposing his country’s discriminatory policies: “Amnesty saved my life. I know for sure that without their support and all the letters sent, I would be either dead or in jail.”
And Wolfgang Welsh, who in 1970 alerted Amnesty to his plight by smuggling messages scrawled on cigarette papers from his jail cell in East Germany -- and was set free the following year.
And Burma’s icon Aung San Suu Kyi, who last year was freed after serving 15 years under house arrest: “You have done more for political prisoners around the world than any other organisation", she told us.
It’s a truly remarkable thing to stand up for others you will probably never meet, in places you may never see. That’s why, as we celebrate our half century, we pay tribute to our supporters in over 150 countries and territories who have brought hope to the darkest corners of the world.
In 50 years, we’ve shown that people power can make the world a better place. Together we’ve sent researchers into conflict zones, made torturers international outlaws, defended people who’ve risked their lives to help others and exposed stories that would otherwise remain invisible.
We were instrumental in the adoption of the 1984 Convention Against Torture, the establishment of the International Criminal Court, and a global moratorium on the death penalty. And most recently, we’ve rallied around freedom's cry in the Middle East and championed equal rights for refugees back home.
It’s been an incredible, inspiring journey over five decades – so thank you friend. Not just for being part of this - but also for making it possible.
Claire, and everyone at Amnesty International Australia
Claire Mallinson
National Director
Amnesty International Australia
PS. Feeling inspired? Watch a 2 minute trailer of the Amnesty story, and tune into SBS tomorrow night to see the incredible movement you’re part of.