Amnesty International Archives: A Global Movement for Human Rights

CONTENT AM’s recently released Amnesty International Archives database explores the rise of the global human rights movement during the second half of the 20th century, charting the development of Amnesty International from 1961 (when it was founded) through 1991, with documents sourced from International Secretariat records of Amnesty International at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam. Spanning an extensive range of human rights concerns and issues, the resource is organized into seven collections: “International Council Meetings,” “International Executive Committee Actions and Documents,” “Amnesty International Indexed Documents,” “Urgent Actions,” the papers of cofounder Eric Baker, oral histories, and the Amnesty International poster collection. Among the materials are correspondence, financial records, legal documents, memoranda, circulars, meeting minutes and agendas, press releases, reports, papers, statutes, resolutions, and transcripts. Key themes are activism and campaigning, global politics, mass atrocities, torture, the death penalty, mistreatment, disappearances, migrants and refugees, minority and disenfranchised groups, political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, and the structure and administration of Amnesty International.

USABILITY Layout, features, and functionality are excellent. Everything is purposeful and dedicated to enhancing the user experience. At the top of the home page is a basic search box with a link to advanced search options. Next to the search box are options for sharing search results through Twitter/X, Facebook, or email, creating an account to save searches, and changing viewing contrast modes. Below the search box is a toolbar that gives access to an introduction, search guides, site map, and research tools, as well as links for viewing documents and the overall collection guide. Six thumbnail panels linking to primary subject contents contribute to the appealing look of the home page.

The “View Documents” function enables users to view all documents in the archive or navigate to its seven special collections. Likewise, the “Guide to Collections” contains links to the seven collections and even more detailed information about their contents. “Teaching Tools” and “Research Tools” are excellent gateways to more specialized resources such as video interviews, testimonies from victims of human rights violations, and biographies of key Amnesty International figures. Additionally, “Research Tools” features an engaging interactive map that details the growth of Amnesty International as an organization and outlines a chronology of notable events and where they happened.

Keywords and phrases are enabled in advanced search. Searches can be refined by specific date, collection, document type, language, region, and theme. Individual documents are described in extensive detail and can be significantly enlarged; the quality of the scans is first-rate. The database’s response time is near-instantaneous, and the process of toggling back and forth between documents and collections is seamless.

PRICING This resource is available for perpetual access. Pricing is customized for each institution. Contact Adam Matthew for price inquiries.

VERDICT This standout archive is well-organized, easy to use, and feature-laden, highlighting primary documents that are essential for an understanding of the activities and events related to global human rights, social change, international relations, and political events of the last decades of the 20th century. An indispensable resource for students of the global human rights movement.