Making Human Rights 'Sexy': Amnesty International's Campaign against Torture, 1968-1975
Loading...
Date
2012-11-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Ohio State University. Mershon Center for International Security Studies
Abstract
Amnesty International was formed in 1961 with a narrow mandate: to help prisoners of conscience around the world. Seven years later it added prevention of torture to its mandate. Though in some ways it was a natural expansion that reflected the fact that many political prisoners were mistreated, it was also clearly driven by Amnesty's media-centered methods. Because the media showed more interest in political prisoners when physical brutality was involved, Amnesty began to focus on such brutality. The new focus on torture, culminating in Amnesty's first-ever "special campaign," brought Amnesty a huge influx of new members and vastly increased media attention. As one internal report noted, torture was "sexy." Yet, as this talk explores, the ways Amnesty chose to frame the "torture problem" led the organization into a series of political choices that had fraught consequences for the broader human rights movement that was emerging at this time.
Description
The Ohio State University Mershon Center for International Security Studies
The media can be accessed here: http://streaming.osu.edu/knowledgebank/mershon12/110512.mp4
The media can be accessed here: http://streaming.osu.edu/knowledgebank/mershon12/110512.mp4
Keywords
Human Rights