A man in El Salvador, whose trade was torture, is on record as saying the following: " . . . if there's lots of pressure - like from Amnesty International or some foreign countries - we might pass them on to a judge. But if there's no pressure, then they're dead."
Amnesty uses this quote on the section of its website which marks the anniversary of its foundation 40 years ago yesterday. It is justified in using the remark to blow its own trumpet following an honourable history of opposition to political imprisonment and abuse of human rights.
The organisation was founded following an appeal by a British lawyer, Mr Peter Benenson, in an article titled "The Forgotten Prisoners" in the Observer newspaper in London in 1961. It was inspired by the imprisonment by the then repressive Portuguese regime of two students who had dared to raise their wine glasses in a toast to freedom.
In its early days, Amnesty confined itself to fighting for the rights of prisoners of conscience but, as it grew in size and stature, it broadened its scope. In 1974, Mr Sean McBride, chairman of Amnesty's International Executive committee, was awarded a Nobel Prize and, three years later, the organisation itself was given the Nobel Peace Prize for "having contributed to securing the ground for freedom, for justice, and thereby also for the peace of the world."
With such important achievements under its belt, the organisation adopted a new mandate in 1991 and is now a watchdog against human rights abuses, not only by states, but also by armed opposition groups. It has been active in the struggle against hostage-taking and has extended its definition of "prisoners-of-conscience" to those imprisoned due to their sexual orientation.
The organisation recently issued a report on the growing problem of racism in Ireland and challenged the government to assume stronger moral leadership on the issue. The recent race riots in Britain have underlined how timely Amnesty's exhortations have been. To prevent the situation, particularly in parts of Dublin, descending to the levels recently witnessed in the United Kingdom, Amnesty's warnings should be given very serious attention.
While looking back on its proud history and committing itself to further action on the part of the oppressed, Amnesty International must also ensure that it does not become complacent. In some of the most dangerous of the world's troubled zones, it has seen other human rights organisations take stronger initiatives.
In the course of the war in Chechnya, for example, the New York-based organisation, Human Rights Watch (HRW), has, by its courageous commitment of resources on the ground, led the field in combatting massive rights abuses by both sides in the conflict. Competition from other groups should spur Amnesty to greater efforts as it moves towards its half century.