Amnesty International India

(UPDATE: Amnesty has announced in September 2020 to halt all its work in India citing the reason as their bank accounts been frozen) Amnesty In Read moreternational is a non government organization fighting for protection of human rights in various parts of the world. The issues it addresses include complete elimination of death penalty, rights for Gay and Lesbian people, civil rights of war affected people, violation of peace treaty etc. Apart from such issues, it has taken up issues of Rohingya people in Myanmar and is protesting Indian government's decision of expulsion of such refugees. In India, the organization works for empowerment of Adivasi and Dalit communities by making them aware of their rights and ensuring that they are protected by the government. In recent past, it has been ensuring that the Coal India Limited and its subsidiary government authorities take care of the welfare of the miners and others whose land is acquired by them and the rehabilitation of these communities. The laws protecting the interests of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are rarely enforced. It has collaborated with other organizations like 'mines, minerals & PEOPLE' and Greenpeace India to set up an organization called 'Coalscam.org' to provide information about the impact on people's lives and habitats due to coal mining. Many facts are brought to public notice resulting in favourable actions from the government. It also works for the rights of individuals, such as prisoners of conscience who have been detained due to their beliefs and views, persons facing unfair trials, nonviolent defenders of human rights, persons facing death penalty and ill treatments and torture used by officials to gain information or confession by an individual. The organization uses signature campaigns, rallies and display of posters with slogans as tools to draw attention of the concerned people towards the issues. It has launched media and public campaigns addressing online violence faced by women on social media, physical and sexual violence they face in their every day life and discrimination the transgenders face in the society. Recommendations for improving situation of transgenders are taken by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Amnesty International India has been helping undertrial prisoners get bails, expedite justice and release. It has been also campaigning for reopening of closed cases related to the 1984 sikh massacre for which the Supreme Court of India has set up a new investigation team. In Jammu and Kashmir, it has been actively demanding for people's rights to life and liberty. It is protesting against abuses by security force personnels and armed groups including unlawful killings, rape and disappearances. The Human Rights Education programme by Amnesty International India and their on-ground partners educates and empowers young people to take action on issues affecting them like child labour, safety, physical and cyber bullying. They organize group discussions, seminars, events and courses to make school children aware of human rights and how to protect them. Along with providing a platform to college students to creatively engage with human rights protection. National Institute of Open Schooling runs a course on human rights with public health workers in Bihar and Amnesty International India works to spread awareness about the concepts, values and principles.