Urgent action
As Urgent Action ( English for Urgent Action ) at Amnesty International in an urgent case of human rights violations a package of measures referred to, usually en masse are at the end of appeals (requests or complaints) to the competent authorities of different and international side. Urgent actions are often addressed to public prosecutors, judges, governors, state presidents, ministers, military personnel, prison directors, ambassadors, consuls, police stations or even companies.
At Amnesty, Urgent Action is an umbrella term that encompasses several measures, above all the preparation of an emergency report, its translations, the country-specific publication of appeal proposals and the individual drafting and sending of urgent appeals by human rights activists by letter, fax, e-mail or Twitter Message. Amnesty also publishes such appeals as pre-formulated and downloadable text suggestions on the Internet, mostly in English, Spanish or French, sometimes with a translation into German. The suggestions are not a substitute for individual formulations, but help with insufficient language skills and shorten the time required for letters that are written completely independently. Many Amnesty supporters are convinced that they can significantly increase the effectiveness of Amnesty urgent actions, because what matters most to them is quick reactions and the largest possible number of appeals. On a long-term average and with regard to all countries, they are successful in 40 percent of all cases. This means, for example: nonviolent political prisoners are released, torture is prevented, death sentences are commuted, or prisoners are at least made easier. According to Amnesty International, the support network for Urgent Actions consists of almost 80,000 people in 85 countries, 10,000 of them from Germany.
The first Urgent Action was carried out on March 19, 1973 in favor of the Brazilian professor Luiz Rossi, who was imprisoned and tortured by the military junta for membership in a communist party. The action had an effect, Rossi was released on October 24, 1974.
Numerous other organizations also use the instrument of urgent actions, such as FIAN or the clean clothes campaign . An Urgent Action the Clean Clothes Campaign is initiated when unions or local organizations in the campaign call with a request that consumers take action to support workers in their fight for fair working conditions. In the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), Urgent Actions are called Urgent Appeals ; there are also urgent campaigns there .
See also : petition
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. "What we achieve" (Amnesty International Germany)