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Pricing
1961
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That article launched the “Appeal for Amnesty 1961”, a worldwide campaign that called to action all the people in the world.
1962
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On Human Rights Day, 10 December, the first Amnesty International candle – which would become the organization’s iconic symbol – was lit in the church of St-Martin-in-the-Fields, London.
1963
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In 1963 Sean MacBride, Irish human rights advocate, was elected Chair of Amnesty International’s newly established International Executive Committee, the organization’s most senior governing body. Amnesty International now comprised 350 groups worldwide, had adopted 770 prisoners and witnessed the release of 140 prisoners.
1964
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At an International Council meeting in Canterbury in 1964, Amnesty International rejected the proposal to recognize as prisoners of conscience people who used or advocated the use of force in opposing oppressive regimes. This meant people like Nelson Mandela were not recognized as prisoners of conscience, although campaigns continued against the inhumane conditions of his imprisonment.
1969
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In 1969 UNESCO granted Amnesty International consultative status as the organization reached another milestone – 2,000 prisoners of conscience released. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination was adopted on the same year.
1971
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In 1971 Amnesty International’s 10th anniversary received widespread publicity in international press, radio and television, in a year when 700 prisoners were released, followed by the first worldwide campaign for the abolition of torture the following year.
1974
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Amnesty International’s Sean McBride, Chair of the International Executive Committee, was awarded the 1974 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his lifelong work for human rights.
1975
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In 1975 the UN unanimously adopted a Declaration on Torture, as campaigned for by Amnesty International. In that year there were now 1,592 groups in 33 countries and more than 70,000 members in 65 countries.
1977
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In 1977 Amnesty International was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “having contributed to securing the ground for freedom, for justice, and thereby also for peace in the world”. This year’s major campaign were for prisoners of conscience. Joan Miró, Elisabeth Frink, Alexander Calder and Roland Torper were among the artists who created posters for the campaign.
1978
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Amnesty International won in 1978 the UN Human Rights Prize for “outstanding contributions in the field of human rights”
1982
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On 10 December 1982, Human Rights Day, an appeal was launched for a universal amnesty for all prisoners of conscience. More than 1 million people signed petitions, which were presented to the UN a year later.
1989
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In 1989 Amnesty International publishes "When the State Kills", a major new study on the death penalty.
1991
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On Amnesty International’s 30th anniversary in 1991 it broadened its scope to cover work on abuses by armed groups, hostage-taking
1994
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In 1994 Amnesty International launches major international campaigns on women’s rights, disappearances and political killings and "The Stop the Torture Trade" campaign was launched the following year.
2002
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In 2002 Amnesty International was granted access to Myanmar for the first time after years of requests, and to Sudan for the first time in 19 years. The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict was adopted (the Convention on the Rights of the Child itself having been adopted in 1959).
2003
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In 2003 Amnesty International was allowed inside Iraq for the first time in 20 years; on the other side of the globe the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment was adopted
2007
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Nelson Mandela accepted the Ambassador of Conscience Award and congratulated Amnesty International for making the struggle against poverty its focus for the coming years.
2009
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Amnesty International launched different initiatives in support of women’s rights: a global campaign for girl’s education, the Stop Violence Against Women campaign, and the Demand Dignity campaign, the latter of which has focused on maternal mortality and making rights law.