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About Amnesty International

Founded in London in 1961, Amnesty International is a Nobel Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with over 1.8 million members worldwide. Amnesty International undertakes 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. Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) is the U.S. Section of Amnesty International.

Peter BenensonAbout Peter Benenson
In May 1961, the late Peter Benenson (1921 - 2005) published an article, "The Forgotten Prisoners," in the London Observer after reading a brief article about two Portuguese students who had been arrested for making a toast to freedom in a Lisbon bar. Thousands of people responded to Benenson's article, and soon after Amnesty International was founded. See also, "A Word from Peter Benenson on Amnesty International's 40th Anniversary." �

Ginetta SaganAbout Ginetta Sagan
The late Ginetta Sagan, was a founder of Amnesty International USA and a former Honorary Chairperson of the Board of Amnesty International USA. For more than 50 years she was a champion and fighter for human rights for the interests of all people, especially women and children. Every year Amnesty International USA honors Ginetta Sagan through the Ginetta Sagan Award.

Dr. William F. SchulzDr. William F. Schulz, AIUSA Executive Director
Dr. William F. Schulz was appointed Executive Director of Amnesty International (USA) in March 1994. Dr. Schulz is the author of several books, including In Our Own Best Interests: How Defending Human Rights Benefits Us All by Beacon Press.

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Rick HalperinRick Halperin, Chair, Amnesty International USA Board
Rick Halperin was elected Chair of the Amnesty International USA's Board in 2005. He is a human rights educator and longtime activist who has lobbied tirelessly with abolitionist organizations on the frontlines of the struggle against the death penalty in Texas, elsewhere in the United States and abroad.