Affiliated Institution
Introduction
For many years, Amnesty International has been a champion for global humanitarian and human rights issues. With the world continuously evolving, Amnesty International has adapted to these changes and accommodated them. Due to population growth, the world has witnessed continued conflicts over resources specifically in Africa and the Middle East. These conflicts are fueled by political regimes and their ideologies, (Weinstein 2010). Terror groups such as Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab and Islamic State (IS), have continuously violated human rights. In most African countries, dictatorial rule has come under threat with masses becoming more educated and informed of their human rights. Amnesty International has to keep pace with these trends as they arise.
Amnesty International has also been involved in the debate on Prostitution which is one of the world’s oldest professions, (McMichael 2012). Regulating the profession has always been a thorny issue for lawmakers all over the world. Punishing the prostitutes and leaving the clients has been the standpoint of many countries. However, this presents some form of a double standard on the part of the government. Many states are currently pushing to enact even harsher penalties for those caught facilitating the trade. Amnesty International as a global human rights organization is responsible for assessing and suggesting measures to prevent human rights violations. In addition to investigating and exposing human rights violations by rogue regimes, Amnesty International is advocating for prostitution as a human right; through the decriminalization of consensual, commercial adult sex.
In their comprehensive proposal, after gathering relevant, substantial evidence over two years, the organization supports views of prostitutes in Paris, France. The prostitutes hold the view that if prostitution is criminalized, then the trade will be pushed more into the ‘black market.’ This will expose both the buyer and the seller to dangers of violation of their rights by law enforcement agencies. The organization further believes that criminalization of the trade “may amount to a violation of the right to privacy and undermine the rights to free expression and health”. It also believes that the sex trade has benefits to the buyers with psychological and physical needs as they are able to express their sexuality and develop a stronger relationship with themselves as they address their inadequacies with their ‘partners.’
A former member and male escort, Douglas Fox, claims credit for the Amnesty International’s position on the matter. He further claims that he’s no longer a member after the organization sent him letters warning him against promoting himself as a member. He also addresses the issue of foreign sex workers calling them economic migrants. He went on to say that, not all foreign prostitutes are necessarily trafficked. This stand has however received numerous criticisms from various stakeholders including former employees, paying members, other organizations and former prostitutes. Women groups have argued that legalized sex trade could result to legalized brothels leading to increased human trafficking by owners from poorer countries as prostitutes. Human trafficking is a phenomenon facilitated by other factors such as poverty and illiteracy. A former employee argues that allowing men to buy other human beings for their sexual pleasure undermines the whole concept of human rights.
Classifications of Social Movements
Amnesty International is a revolutionary social movement because it advocates for the changes of several social standpoints. For example, the organization advocates for the abolition of the capital punishment, legalization of prostitution and end to the dictatorial leadership in some countries. The organization takes a stand which posits that they are the ones with the well-being of the society at heart, (McMichael 2012). The organization advocates for changes in the generally accepted laws and regulations and argues always in support of human rights and equality. This shows the organizations stand as the right ones making it revolutionary.
Other than revolutionary social movements, there are other classifications of social movements. Reformative social organization believes in the system and utilizes the existing means of changing few aspects in the system, (Weinstein 2010). A conservative social movement, on the other hand, opposes the proposed changes because members wish to preserve the status quo. Reactionary social movements differ with all the above, in that they advocate for an earlier version restoration of the system. An expressive social movement is formed when the society feels powerless to promote change, instead, the movement finds ways to cope with the present and hope for a better future.
How Social Movements Develop
Social movements occur as a result of social unrests which may be caused by cultural drifts, social disorganizations, and social injustices. When cultural norms and values change over a period of time, the changes result in social disorganization leading to dissatisfaction. Social injustices lead to dissatisfaction causing the formation of social movement explained by different theories.
Deprivation Theory
According to Denton Morrison’s deprivation theory, people join social movements when they feel that their expectations or the fair share of available resources, (Weinstein 2010). The theory is based on the assumptions that members of the society have given expectations. The members always expect satisfaction through the social system in place. When this fails to happen, they feel deprived of their fair share of resource and form social movements.
Resource Mobilization theory
Anthony Oberschall developed a much different theory that focuses on the success of social movements in the mobilization of resource management. This is called the mobilization theory and it opposes the focus on deprivation stating that there are no perfect societies. Instead of looking at the reasons why people join social movements, Oberschall investigated the success of social movements in achieving the social objectives.
Political Process Theory
The political process theory, on the other hand, focuses on the economic and political factors that make social movements. These factors include organizational strength, political opportunities, and cognitive liberations. These are the macro-sociological factors that lead to the formation of social movement and affect the success of the movements.
New Social Movement Theory
The new social movement theory argues that social movements are influenced by macro-sociological factors in the formation and focus on reflecting the macro-sociological factors on the micro-sociological factors. The new social movements link all factors in the three levels of the society; personal, national, and international, (Weinstein 2010).
Reference list:
McMichael, Philip. 2012. Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective. 5th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge. ePrint
Weinstein, Jay. 2010. Social Change 3rd ed. Lanham, MD. Print.
Peter Benenson founded Amnesty international in 1961 in the United Kingdom. Amnesty International is a global organization championing for human rights to be enjoyed by all. The organization is guided by the core principle of the prisoners of conscience. These are the people who have been prevented from expressing their opinions freely. The organization is also based on the principle of non-involvement in political questions and that of commitment in gathering knowledge, information, and facts about several cases. The organization is funded by its members and receives donations from civilians and people of goodwill. However, it does not accept donations from any government because of the obvious conflict of interest such donations would pose to its objectives.
Prostitution
Regulating prostitution has always been a thorny issue for lawmakers all over the world. Punishing the prostitutes and leaving the clients has been the standpoint of many countries. However, this presents some form of a double standard on the part of the government,. Many states are currently pushing to enact even harsher penalties for those caught facilitating the trade. Amnesty International advocates for prostitution as a human right; through the decriminalization of consensual, commercial adult sex.
In their comprehensive proposal, after gathering relevant, substantial evidence over two years, the organization supports views of prostitutes in Paris, France. The prostitutes hold the view that if prostitution is criminalized, then the trade will be pushed more into the ‘black market.’ This will expose both the buyer and the seller to dangers of violation of their rights by law enforcement agencies. The organization further believes that criminalization of the trade “may amount to a violation of the right to privacy and undermine the rights to free expression and health”. It also believes that the sex trade has benefits to the buyers with psychological and physical needs as they are able to express their sexuality and develop a stronger relationship with themselves as they address their inadequacies with their ‘partners.’
Torture in Morocco
Amnesty International continues to fight for the abolition of torture in Morocco and the sub-Saharan west. The organization has written reports in the past revealing the darker truths about torture in Morocco. This is similar to the revelation of the killings in Syria including the use of chemical weapons on civilians by government troops. Amnesty international advocates for peaceful resolution of the disputes and proposes different ways of resolving the issues other than war.
Capital Punishment
The organization also lobbies for the abolition of the capital punishment. The punishment is an obvious violation of the human right to live. All this is achieved through; research, advocacy & lobbying and campaigns & action. As of 2015, the organization was operational in over 160 countries and territories worldwide. This paper seeks to elaborate the impact the work of Amnesty International has had on the societies, globally. It gives concrete examples of the areas Amnesty International has taken a stand, sometimes unpopular, with the sole goal of ensuring that human and humanitarian rights are enjoyed by all and untouchable regimes have been held accountable for their actions.
As the world changes, most countries have changed the way they deal with capital offenders. The capital punishment has gradually been abandoned as it is a barbaric way to punish capital offenders. The reason behind the adoption of capital punishment in the first place was to instill fear amongst the members of society, with the hope that they shun away from capital offenses. If statistics are to go by, this noble objective has not been achieved because, over the years, capital offenders still exist. The death penalty in ancient times would be carried out in public; the horrific scenes would deter other like-minded individual from committing such crimes. That was the idea anyway. With lobbying from human rights organizations, politicians (as they seek political offices) and other stakeholders, most countries have reviewed the position on capital punishment, . In 2014, as compared to the preceding year, the number of people sentenced to death increased drastically.
The few countries still issuing the death penalty to capital offenders reported increased capital punishable crimes within their territories. China, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United States make the top four executioners in the world. The offences mostly punished against, according to the United Nations, are Terrorism and Drug-related. Terrorism is a global problem and most countries are forced to use capital punishment as a remedy. Amnesty International provides vital facts and statistics on countries that still carry out the death penalty. It is noted that China has kept the statistics as a state secret, probably because the numbers are a little on the higher end. The death penalty is also practiced globally with Trinidad and Tobago, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and Guinea having carried out the punishment within the past decade.
Killings in Burkina Faso
In Burkina Faso, the 27-year rule former President Blaise Compaoré’s came under threat when members of the public protested against his actions of trying to alter the constitution in order to prolong his rule,. Gen. Gilbert Diendéré, who is now charged with ‘high treason, murder, attacking the security of the state and colluding with external forces to destabilize internal peace and security, headed a failed coup against the former president. It is ironical that the General is charged with murder while in actual fact; it is members of the former presidential guard who shot and killed 14 civilians including children in cold blood during the protests. Burkina Faso’s interim government, in an attempt to restore people’s faith in the system said that they would disband the security team and allow them to be regular army soldiers. However, Amnesty International recommends that stiffer actions are taken against those government officials found guilty of murder and whipping unarmed civilians among other human rights violations perpetrated during the coup. Without watchdogs like Amnesty International, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to keep such regimes in check and accountable for their actions.
The media has always downplayed the role of Amnesty International in dispute resolutions in the world. The involvement of other powers that seek public notice and display will always overshadow the existence of and work done by Amnesty international in resolving disputes. The internet and social media have also brought up new problems in the field of dispute resolution. Young and often ignorant people in the social media platforms will often spread unverified information and hate through their connections. There is very little control over the use of social media for such purposes. The social media has also been used to discredit the works of such institutions as Amnesty International.
Reference list:
Amnesty International Human Rights Report. 2015/2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016
(https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol10/2552/2016/en/)
Carvajal, Doreen. “Amnesty International Considers Pushing for Decriminalization of Prostitution.” 31 July 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2016
(http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/01/world/europe/amnesty-international-weighs- decriminalization-of-prostitution.html?_r=0) International, Amnesty. Amnesty International. n.d. (https://www.amnesty.org/en/who-we-are/.) Retrieved 7 March 2016.
Murphy, Catherine. “Sex Workers' Rights are Human Rights.” 14 August 2015
(https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/08/sex-workers-rights-are-human-rights/)
McMichael, Philip. 2012. Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective. 5th ed.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge. ePrint
Searcey, Donald. The New York Times. “Amnesty Says 14 Civilians Were Killed in Burkina Faso CoupAttempt.” 14 October 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2016
(http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/15/world/africa/burkina-faso-coup-amnesty-international.html?ref=topics)
Sengupta, Somini. The New York Times. “Death Sentences Surge, Even as More Countries Drop Capital Punishment” 4 January 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016
(http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/world/middleeast/fewer-countries-use-death-penalty-but-
death-sentences-surge.html?ref=topics)
Thussu, Daya. "Where Big Money Controls Content." British Journalism Review. 22.4 (2011): 73-78.ePrint.
Weinstein, Jay. 2010. Social Change 3rd ed. Lanham, MD. Print.
Wohn, D Y, and B J. Bowe. "Micro Agenda Setters: the Effect of Social Media on Young Adults
Exposure to and Attitude Toward News." Social Media + Society. 2.1 (2016). ePrint.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the impact of Amnesty International on global social change is far reaching and commendable. From keeping untouchable African regimes in check and accountable for any crimes against humanity that happen under their watch, to taking a potentially controversial stand that sex workers rights are human rights. They stand for the oppressed and the forgotten members of the society who have been judged harshly and deemed unworthy by society. The sex workers represent such a group. The organization clearly plays an important role in ensuring that all human beings enjoy human rights. It also draws its conclusions from conducting important research and gathering sufficient, relevant evidence. Such a body is necessary if humanity is to co-exist peacefully.
