Railway
Amnesty International is an organisation mainly concerned with the protection of:
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Answer: Option D — Human rights
Detailed Solution
Amnesty International is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that works to protect human rights around the world.
About Amnesty International:
- It was founded in London in 1961 by Peter Benenson, a British lawyer.
- It began with his newspaper article "The Forgotten Prisoners", published in "The Observer" on 28 May 1961, about two Portuguese students jailed for raising a toast to freedom.
- Its headquarters (International Secretariat) is in London, UK.
- It has millions of members and supporters in more than 150 countries.
- Its symbol is a candle surrounded by barbed wire, inspired by the Chinese proverb, "It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness".
Its work:
- It campaigns for the release of "prisoners of conscience", people jailed for their beliefs, race, religion or peaceful political views.
- It campaigns against torture, the death penalty, unfair trials, enforced disappearances and discrimination.
- It defends freedom of expression, women's rights, refugee rights and the rights of indigenous peoples.
- It publishes an annual report on the state of human rights in the world.
- It remains independent by not accepting money from governments for its research and campaigns.
Awards:
- It received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 for its campaign against torture.
- It received the UN Prize in the Field of Human Rights in 1978.
Amnesty International in India:
It stopped its operations in India in September 2020 after its bank accounts were frozen by the government over alleged violations of foreign funding rules.
Other human rights organisations:
- Human Rights Watch: New York, 1978.
- International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): Geneva, 1863.
- UN Human Rights Council: Geneva, 2006.
- National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India: 1993, under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
- Human Rights Day is observed on 10 December, the day the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Wildlife is protected by organisations such as the WWF (1961) and TRAFFIC.
- ✗The environment is protected by organisations such as Greenpeace (1971) and UNEP.
- ✗Good to know
- ✗Refugees are protected by the UNHCR.
Quick tip
Remember: Amnesty International = human rights NGO (founded 1961 in London by Peter Benenson; candle-in-barbed-wire symbol; Nobel Peace Prize 1977); Human Rights Day = 10 December; NHRC = 1993.
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Organisations & Headquarters — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Organisations & Headquarters, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers national and international organisations: the United Nations and its agencies, regional groups such as SAARC, ASEAN and BRICS, global bodies such as the WHO, ILO and UNESCO, and Indian institutions, with their headquarters, founding years, members and heads. Questions typically ask where an organisation is headquartered, when it was founded, or what its full form is. For example, UNESCO is headquartered in Paris and the WHO in Geneva. Membership and leadership change over time, so pair the static facts here with current affairs for recent changes such as new members or new heads. Practise the organisations and headquarters questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.