An Evening with Amnesty International - 11 July 2024

By some accident our Sutton group Secretary managed to be one of about fifty 'activists and supporters' who were invited and then attended 'An Evening with Amnesty International' at their London office, the Human Rights Action Centre (HRAC). Participants were treated to two excellent talks on Palestine and the recent UK General Election in a session chaired by Sasha Deshmukh (Amnesty UK's Chief Executive). The former talk  emphasised the campaign to embed the word 'Apartheid' in perceptions of Israel's treatment of Palestinians. The latter described Amnesty's campaign to influence the larger political parties, outlining a nuanced strategy with 'party-specific' objectives and measuring success through mentions (or non-mentions) of items in their respective manifestos.

A sense of the diversity of Amnesty was gained in the subsequent Q&A with attendees suggesting campaigns to reinstate the citizenship of Shamima Begum and to address the (mis)use of secondary legislation. They illustrate the challenge faced by the organisation in choosing which human rights violations it should prioritise in the context of its own objectives, member interests, inevitably limited resources and likely effectiveness.  Our Secretary left the session with a very positive view of Amnesty, its members and working.

Our Secretary wrote: "I liked the HRAC building itself (see https://find-an-architect.architecture.com/witherford-watson-mann-archi…). The architect's description reads as a 'puff piece' but reflects my own feelings. It is therefore a shame that it is likely to be sold. Conversation following the Amnesty Futures' successful AGM resolution that members be consulted prior to the sale should help to understand the initial decision and, I hope, constructively explore it and other options."