A True Hero Of Humanity (Peter Benenson)

Join me to celebrate Peter Benenson /ˈbɛnᵻn.sən/ (31 July 1921 – 25 February 2005) he was a British lawyer and the founder of human rights group Amnesty International (AI). In 2001, Benenson received the Pride of Britain Award for Lifetime Achievement.

He was born in London as Peter James Henry Solomon, to a large Jewish family,^[4] the only son of British-born Harold Solomon and Russian-born Flora Benenson; Peter Benenson adopted his mother's maiden name later in life. His army officer father died from a long-term injury when Benenson was aged nine, and he was tutored privately by W. H. Audenbefore going to Eton. At the age of sixteen he helped to establish a relief fund with other schoolboys for childrenorphaned by the Spanish Civil War. He took his mother's maiden name of Benenson as a tribute to his grandfather, the Russian gold tycoon Grigori Benenson, following his grandfather's death.

Peter Benenson   is the founder of Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty and AI) is a non-governmental organisation focused on human rights with over 7 million members and supporters around the world. The stated objective of the organisation is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."^[3]

Amnesty International was founded in London in 1961, following the publication of the article "The Forgotten Prisoners" in The Observer 28 May 1961,^[4] by the lawyer Peter Benenson. Amnesty draws attention to human rights abuses and campaigns for compliance with international laws and standards. It works to mobilise public opinion to put pressure on governments that let abuse take place.^[3] The organisation was awarded the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize for its "campaign against torture,"^[5] and the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights in 1978.^[6]

In the field of international human rights organisations, Amnesty has the longest history and broadest name recognition, and is believed by many to set standards for the movement as a whole.^[7]

Aims

Amnesty International primarily targets governments, but also reports on non-governmental bodies and private individuals ("non-state actors").

There are six key areas which Amnesty deals with:

·         Women's, children's, minorities' and indigenous rights

·         Ending torture

·         Abolition of the death penalty

·         Rights of refugees

·         Rights of prisoners of conscience

·         Protection of human dignity.

Some specific aims are to: abolish the death penalty, end extra judicial executions and "disappearances,"ensure prison conditions meet international human rights standards, ensure prompt and fair trial for allpolitical prisoners, ensure free education to all children worldwide, decriminalise abortion,^[63] fight impunityfrom systems of justice, end the recruitment and use of child soldiers, free all prisoners of conscience, promote economic, social and cultural rights for marginalised communities, protect human rights defenders, promote religious tolerance, protect LGBT rights,^[64] stop torture and ill-treatment, stop unlawful killings in armed conflict, uphold the rights of refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers, and protect human dignity.

To further these aims, Amnesty International has developed several techniques to publicise information and mobilise public opinion. The organisation considers as one of its strengths the publication of impartial and accurate reports. Reports are researched by: interviewing victims and officials, observing trials, working with local human rights activists, and monitoring the media. It aims to issue timely press releases and publishes information in newsletters and on web sites. It also sends official missions to countries to make courteous but insistent inquiries.

“	Amnesty International's 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 the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights.	”
— Statute of Amnesty International, 27th International Council meeting, 2005