Amnesty international usa
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| Dear Friend, Every day across the world, people’s human rights are violated. An activist is thrown into prison in Saudi Arabia; a refugee is raped crossing into the U.S.; a gay man in Russia is killed by his government. And every day, Amnesty International is there, often in the most dangerous corners of the world, defending people’s fundamental rights. We find the facts, expose what’s happening, and rally people together to force governments and others to respect everyone’s human rights. Today, our work in the U.S. is more important than ever. Human rights are under attack here and abroad. Too often, the U.S. government is part of the problem, not part of the solution. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a President, Congress, and state legislative landscape more hostile to human rights. That’s why it’s so important that Amnesty International USA is strong and growing. Our membership has increased steadily over the past three years, as have financial contributions. We have hundreds of local groups and student groups in all 50 states, with a growing network of volunteer leaders to harness grassroots pressure for human rights in state legislatures, Congress, and governments around the world. We’re focusing our resources strategically, with two priority campaigns – protecting refugees and human rights defenders – that have domestic and global components, as well as ongoing programmatic work to protect human rights for those most at risk. And we’re getting results. In 2016 alone, Amnesty International USA helped win the freedom of 153 people around the world who were imprisoned for exercising their human rights; helped persuade the U.S. government to let 110,000 refugees rebuild their lives in this country; helped pass a law to reduce gun violence in Minnesota; helped abolish the death penalty in Delaware and stopped death sentences in several individual cases; and helped end a government program that could have been used to start a Muslim registry. Our work in the year ahead will be more important than ever. And thanks to your partnership and activism, we’re strong when we’re needed most. Ann Burroughs, Chair, Board of Directors Margaret Huang, Executive Director WE FIND THE FACTS, EXPOSE WHAT’S HAPPENING, AND RALLY PEOPLE TOGETHER TO FORCE GOVERNMENTS AND OTHERS TO RESPECT EVERYONE’S HUMAN RIGHTS. IT STARTS WITH THE INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH IDENTIFIES ROOT CAUSES AND IS USED TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC
ACTIVISTS ADVOCACY REACHES KEY DECISION MAKERS ENABLING US TO WIN POLICIES & INDIVIDUAL CASES We work to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth, and dignity are denied. Amnesty International is a global movement of millions of people demanding human rights for all people – no matter who they are or where they are. We are the world’s largest grassroots human rights organization. Amnesty International USA is a nonprofit human rights organization and the largest country section of Amnesty International. We have more than a million supporters in the U.S., including more than 200,000 dues-paying members. We have hundreds of groups in communities, high schools, and colleges in all 50 states. We engage people in the U.S. in protecting human rights around the world, while we also work to protect human rights here at home. Amnesty International USA is part of a global movement with 7 million supporters and a presence in more than 70 countries. Amnesty International’s uniquely effective approach for protecting human rights uses a three-pronged approach: we conduct research to uncover human rights abuses and document patterns; we use this research to educate the public and equip activists to demand change; and we mobilize grassroots activists nationwide to advocate for human rights in the U.S. and around the globe. From start to finish, our work focuses on the individual – people whose human rights are abused, and people who have the power to change the world. OUR WORK MISSION
2 | AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA 2016 ANNUAL REPORT | 3
ISSUES REFUGEE AND MIGRANT RIGHTS We’re in the middle of the largest global refugee crisis in generations. Tens of millions of people – many of them children – have been forced from their homes in Syria, Central America, Africa, and other parts of the world. And governments around the world are not doing enough to help. At the same time, the United States is not living up to its commitment to treat people seeking asylum with compassion and fairness. They flee to the U.S. seeking safety, and once they arrive, they are sometimes imprisoned or deported without having their claims heard. Amnesty International has helped protect the human rights of refugees and migrants for decades – documenting the conditions they’re fleeing, ensuring that individual people are protected, and changing policies so that more people can rebuild their lives safely. We conduct research that shows why people are fleeing and what they experience trying to find safety. This research helps lawyers win individual cases and sparks legislative reform. We campaign on behalf of individual refugees and migrants worldwide to secure their safety and freedom. We mobilize grassroots activists to change policies in the United States and around the world. This year, Amnesty International helped thousands of people rebuild their lives safely and helped change the narrative on refugees and migrants – and in the years ahead, our work for refugees and migrants will be more important than ever. Every day, people around the world leave their homes in search of a better life. They are fleeing violence and persecution, and their human rights must be protected. That’s where Amnesty International comes in. 2016 SNAPSHOT 110,000 We helped persuade the federal government to allow 110,000 refugees to rebuild their lives in the U.S. 30% The number of refugees admitted to the U.S. jumped 30% from 2015 to 2016 850,000
More than 850,000 people signed our petition pressing the United Nations to do more to help refugees 4 | AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA 2016 ANNUAL REPORT | 5
CASE STUDY:
SARA BELTRAN HERNANDEZ Fearing for her life, Sara fled El Salvador and came to the U.S. seeking asylum. She was put in jail in Texas, where she was held for more than 15 months, even after she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Six days after Amnesty International USA launched a campaign to free her, she was released. “ My sister is a fighter and a survivor. She survived domestic violence and a neighborhood terrorized by gangs. She survived 15 months in detention in Texas. She is one of the strongest people I know.” RAQUEL BELTRAN HERNANDEZ 6 | AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA 2016 ANNUAL REPORT | 7
ISSUES All kinds of people help make sure that everyone’s human rights are respected, but too often these human rights defenders face intimidation and imprisonment. Governments prevent them from speaking out or persecute them because of their peaceful activism. For decades, Amnesty International has fought for – and won – the freedom of people around the world who were imprisoned for their activism, changed laws to protect human rights defenders, and ensured that activists can take to the streets to express their views peacefully. We uncover cases of individual human rights defenders who are targeted for their activism, and we launch campaigns on their behalf. We mobilize grassroots activists in the United States to defeat state and federal legislation that would limit people’s ability to protest peacefully. We deploy trained human rights observers to monitor police response to peaceful protests in the U.S. Protecting human rights defenders is central in Amnesty International’s work – and it is needed more than ever in the U.S. and globally. 2016 SNAPSHOT 6 We deployed six separate delegations to observe peaceful protests at the Dakota Access Pipeline site and both political conventions 20 We helped free 20 human rights defenders around the world in 2016 who were imprisoned because of their activism 8 | AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA 2016 ANNUAL REPORT | 9 HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS Human rights are under attack in the U.S. and around the world. That’s why human rights defenders are needed – and it’s why Amnesty International works to protect them.
CASE STUDY:
PHYOE PHYOE AUNG Phyoe Phyoe spent more than a year in prison in Myanmar because she led student protests against a bill that would have restricted academic freedom. She was freed in 2016 after Amnesty International campaigned for her release. “ Organizations like Amnesty never forget the people who are facing injustice in their struggle for democracy and human rights. We need to be strong and remember how important it is to join together in our struggles.” Phyoe Phyoe Aung 10 | AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA 2016 ANNUAL REPORT | 11
Every day, people’s human rights are violated. People are convicted in unfair trials, prisoners are tortured, communities are forcibly evicted, people disappear after being taken from their homes by government officials, and people are put in prison because of their identity or their beliefs. Amnesty International was founded on the idea that ordinary people around the world could end these human rights abuses by taking action on behalf of other people. Through our individual case work, millions of messages have been sent to governments around the world – giving hope to people in dire circumstances, and ultimately helping free thousands of people who were unjustly imprisoned. Amnesty International investigates hundreds of cases each year. Our researchers identify individual cases and patterns of human rights abuses, and we launch campaigns to free individuals and address the underlying causes of human rights abuses. Our Urgent Action Network mobilizes thousands of activists on a moment’s notice, often in life-threatening cases. Through our annual Write for Rights campaign, we mobilize thousands of people to take action on individual cases. We also train local groups, or chapters, around the country to select cases and campaign on them. In 2016, we helped free 153 individuals around the world – people who spent months, years, and even decades in prison simply for exercising their human rights. ISSUES
INDIVIDUALS AT RISK
Around the world, people are tortured or imprisoned by their government because of who they are or what they believe – and Amnesty International fights for their freedom. 2016 SNAPSHOT 153
We helped free 153 people around the world who were imprisoned because of who they are or what they believe 335
Across the U.S., 335 school classrooms participated in our annual Write for Rights campaign 217
We helped resolve 217 cases of human rights abuses around the world 12 | AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA 2016 ANNUAL REPORT | 13
CASE STUDY:
YECENIA ARMENTA Police accused Yecenia of murdering her husband, with insufficient evidence. They raped her, threatened to kill her kids, and tortured her until she confessed. Amnesty International campaigned for years to free her, and she was finally released in 2016. “ Without this support, my freedom would have been impossible. I want to thank you and urge you to continue your efforts; don’t stop the beautiful work you are doing. Sometimes justice is delayed, but it comes.” Yecenia Armenta 14 | AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA 2016 ANNUAL REPORT | 15
ISSUES DEATH
PENALTY 16 | AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA 2016 ANNUAL REPORT | 17 The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights, which is why Amnesty International works to abolish it. All people have the right to live, and we all have the right to be free from cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment – and so Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases. We campaign to stop individual executions in the U.S. and around the world, we conduct research to help fuel reform, and we mobilize grassroots activists to pass legislation abolishing the death penalty. We are making tremendous progress. In 2016, we helped abolish the death penalty in Delaware, helped build public opposition to the death penalty in several key states, and helped stop several executions from going forward. Today, 19 states in the U.S. and two-thirds of the countries in the world have abolished the death penalty. 2016 SNAPSHOT 25 The total number of executions in the U.S. hit a 25-year low in 2016 19
In the U.S., 19 states have abolished the death penalty 104
had completely abolished the death penalty
ISSUES SECURITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS For years, the United States government has been violating human rights in the name of national security. People have been held at the Guantánamo detention camp in Cuba without even being charged with a crime, and some of them have been tortured. Meanwhile, surveillance and targeting of Muslims – based on who they are, not what they’ve done – has fueled harassment, discrimination, and violence. Amnesty International USA led the fight against human rights abuses committed in the name of national security by both the Bush and Obama administrations – and the next four years will likely be even tougher. We uncover individual cases of human rights abuses and campaign to change them. For example, after our campaign in his case in 2016, Guantánamo prisoner Mustafa al-Hawsawi finally got a surgery he desperately needed after he was tortured by CIA operatives. We also uncover patterns of human rights violations and work with partner organizations to force the U.S. government to release information about its activities. We mobilize grassroots activists to advocate for policies that protect the public while also protecting human rights. Some of our work in 2016 helped prevent further human rights violations under the new Trump Administration. For example, we helped persuade the Obama Administration to shut down a government surveillance program that President Trump could have used to start a Muslim registry. We all need to be safe, but no government should sacrifice people’s human rights in the name of national security. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what’s happening – and Amnesty International is helping stop it. 2016 SNAPSHOT 44 In 2016, 44 people were transferred out of Guantánamo or released, after being held for years without being charged with any crimes 473
In response to pressure from Amnesty International and other groups, the U.S. disclosed in 2016 that it conducted 473 strikes from 2009 to 2015 – and made commitments to limit and disclose civilian deaths 18 | AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA 2016 ANNUAL REPORT | 19
FIREARM INJURIES ARE THE CAUSE OF DEATH OF EIGHTEEN CHILDREN ANDYOUNG ADULTS (24 YEARS OF AGE AND UNDER) EACH DAY IN THE U.S. ISSUES
POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY AND GUN VIOLENCE
2016 SNAPSHOT 5
In 5 states in 2016, we helped advance legislation to create standards for police use of lethal force or end gun violence 12
We spoke out about 12 specific cases of shootings or police use of lethal force in 2016, inserting human rights into the public dialogue 20 | AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA 2016 ANNUAL REPORT | 21 The human right to live, be safe, and be treated equally is threatened by the gun violence epidemic in the U.S. and is violated when police kill people unlawfully – and Amnesty International USA is addressing these critical issues as human rights concerns. Amnesty International USA has produced groundbreaking reports on the interconnected crises of gun violence and police use of lethal force, and our research bolsters reform efforts. On both of these issues, we work with coalitions of other groups, bringing our unique added value of credible research, grassroots advocacy, and a global human rights framework. On police use of lethal force, our research shows that all 50 states and the District of Columbia fail to comply with international standards. We’re now working with coalition partners to enact standards at the state level. We’re also working with Amnesty International sections in Brazil, Jamaica, and other countries to connect the situation in the U.S. to efforts in other countries. On gun violence, we’re conducting additional research to identify cases and patterns that show how human rights are jeopardized, and we’re helping push for state and federal reforms that can help reduce gun violence. ISSUES IDENTITY AND DISCRIMINATION We all have the right to be treated equally. When governments fail to protect people from discrimination or violence, Amnesty International is there – helping ensure that all people can live in dignity, safety, and freedom. Across the world, including in the U.S., people face discrimination and violence based on who they are. When people face these abuses, their ability to be safe, work, receive health care, get an education, and pursue their goals in life are jeopardized. To advance equality and safety, Amnesty International conducts research, provides training, and advocates for reform. We’ve helped change federal laws on violence against women and Indigenous sexual assault survivors’ access to care and justice, and we’ve helped repeal laws globally that criminalize abortion. In 2016, we held more than 20 trainings to equip people in the U.S. to advocate for sexual and reproductive rights. We helped persuade the government of Burkina Faso to end forced child marriage, and we held demonstrations across the U.S. to decriminalize abortion in Ireland and El Salvador. We worked with coalition partners to defeat legislation in the U.S. that would have further restricted access to reproductive health care. 22 | AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA 2016 ANNUAL REPORT | 23 2016 SNAPSHOT 435 We trained more than 435 people to protect sexual and reproductive rights, helping them beat several new state restrictions on access to safe and legal abortion in the U.S. 905,500 Our petitions on gender, sexuality, and identity garnered 905,500 signatures, helping persuade Burkina Faso to end forced child marriage and free a woman in Central America who was jailed after having a miscarriage 2016 was a strong financial year for Amnesty International USA, thanks to the generous support of our donors. Revenue increased by 2% over 2015, allowing us to expand our human rights work quickly in response to human rights crises. Programmatic spending increased by $2.2 million, or 8%, in 2016, with 78% of our overall spending going directly toward advancing our programmatic goals, including freeing prisoners of conscience, fighting discrimination, and pushing for public policies that respect the human rights of people around the world. We are the largest country section within Amnesty International’s global movement. In 2016, we contributed nearly $10 million to the International Secretariat to support Amnesty International’s work around the world – particularly in countries where the need is greatest. We are grateful to all our donors, whose financial support and dedication to human rights makes our work possible. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL OF THE USA, INC.
STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION
FINANCIALS 26 | AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA 2016 ANNUAL REPORT | 27 12/31/16 12/31/15 Assets
Cash and cash equivalents 6,746,822 5,270,613 Investments, at fair value 15,500,677 15,350,306 Contributions receivable, net 4,140,600 3,581,729 Inventory 8,319 14,717
Prepaid expenses 432,865 340,455 Fixed assets, net 351,277 327,568 Total assets $ 27,180,560 $ 24,885,388 Liabilities and Net Assets Liabilities: Accounts payable and accrued expenses 635,188 684,697 Payroll and payroll taxes payable 663,196 857,152 International Secretariat assessment payable 1,172,301 –
Charitable gift annuity obligation 3,287,768 2,675,421 Total liabilities 5,758,453 4,217,270 Net assets: Unrestricted net assets 17,264,458 16,883,310 Temporarily restricted net assets 1,914,700 1,569,949 Permanently restricted net assets 2,242,949 2,214,859 Total net assets 21,422,107 20,668,118 Total liabilities and net assets $ 27,180,560 $ 24,885,388 12/31/16 12/31/15
Operating Revenues: Contributions and grants 30,400,304 28,703,982 Bequests and planned giving 5,919,519 8,671,607 International Secretariat grants 2,350,000 300,000 Donated services 27,761
170,990 Other revenues 334,156 403,455 Total operating revenues 39,031,740 38,250,034 Expenses: Program services 29,334,184 27,095,831 Management and general 1,921,507 2,228,322 Fundraising 6,351,570 5,738,420 Total expenses 37,607,261 35,062,573 Increase in net assets before nonoperating items 1,424,479 3,187,461 Change in value of gift annuity obligations (1,010,709) (227,769) Interest, dividends, realized and unrealized gains 340,219 4,766 Changes in net assets $ 753,989
$ 2,964,458 STATEMENTS OF ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEARS ENDING Program services 78% Management and general 5% Fundraising 17% 2016 EXPENSES VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR THE FULL SET OF AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. 28 | AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA JOIN OUR MOVEMENT
Fight injustice and help create a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. www.amnestyusa.org Contact Us Phone: 1-800-AMNESTY (Mon – Fri, 9am – 5pm EST) 5 Penn Plaza, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10001 Email: aimember@aiusa.org ANN BURROUGHS
Board Chair Los Angeles, CA REZA FAKHARI
Vice-Chair, Governance Committee Chair Brooklyn, NY ANIKET SHAH
Treasurer, Finance Committee Chair Basking Ridge, NJ GOVIND ACHARYA
General Secretary Davis, CA TERRY KAY ROCKEFELLER
Planning and Priorities Committee Chair South Boston, MA BECKY FARRAR
Membership Committee Chair Arlington, VA PRATAP CHATTERJEE
Member at Large Berkeley, CA MATT KENNIS
Deputy Treasurer Woodside, NY DONNIE BIERER
Deputy Secretary Lansing, MI BOARD OF DIRECTORS MARGARET HUANG
Executive Director ERIC FERRERO
Deputy Executive Director, Public Affairs NJAMBI GOOD Deputy Executive Director, Campaigns and Membership MICHAEL GREENBERG
Chief Financial Officer DANNY MCGREGOR Chief Development Officer MICHAEL O’REILLY
Chief Strategy and Governance Officer EXECUTIVE TEAM RANA ABDELHAMID Flushing, NY ALI ARAB Potomac, MD JAN KNIPPERS BLACK Monterey, CA GERALD HUDSON
Washington, D.C. ANGIE HOUGAS McFarland, WI ELIZABETH JENNINGS Bellingham, WA JANET LORD Baltimore, MD ADRIANA SANFORD Tempe, AZ DAVID STAMPS Ramsey, MN Yüklə 6,43 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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