Welcome to hardtalk. Thank you for having me. Im sure you would agree that amnesty S International reputation depends upon impartiality, independence, the rigour of your research. Mm hm. How do you think amnesty s reputation stands across the world right now . Look, based on the various travels i am doing in africa, latin america, asia, our reputation stands very high and firm. People from very remote areas, all the way to political leaders know that they can count on us if its needed. I was very recently in peru meeting with Indigenous People who had confronted state violence, mothers and fathers who had lost their sons. Who was there with them for months after the event, for weeks at a time . Amnesty international. We went there and we kept being there for them. I was in taiwan two weeks ago. Amnesty international has been in taiwan since the 1980s. We fought the white terror government. We are now in taiwan as an established ngo, but also an ally for the Civil Society more generally
for weeks at a time? amnesty international. we went there and we kept being there for them. i was in taiwan two weeks ago. amnesty international has been in taiwan since the 1980s. we fought the white terror government. we are now in taiwan as an established ngo, but also an ally for the civil society more generally in terms of pushing for the rights agenda in the face of china s repression. 0k. so i will say that, around the world, in many places, or in the majority of places, our reputation, our credibility, and the notion that we are there for people, we are there shoulder by shoulder with them, i think that is strong and it has not been. right. yeah.
you can t come in . your teams are not welcome. no, it s true. ..you are barred ? you are absolutely correct. there is a major crisis, actually, prompted by historical forces from climate to inequality, to the restructuring of the international system. china, the us, russia, vying for hegemony and seeking to instrumentalise a range of issues, including human rights. there is an increase in authoritarian practices around the world. we see that reflected in the fact that human rights work is becoming increasingly lethal. deadly. there is absolutely no doubt. it does not mean that human rights is irrelevant. quite the contrary, it means that governments, politicians, have understood that human rights is an obstacle for their misuse, abuse of power, and they are prepared to do everything to prevent it. the importance of rights,
and the death penalty. today, amnesty releases reports about climatejustice, saying more oil equals more problems. you enter into debates about global economicjustice. do you think you re in danger of diffusing the strong and focused message of your organisation? absolutely not. the basis for amnesty s work is the udhr. in fact, we re celebrating. the universal declaration of human rights. yeah. we re celebrating its 75th anniversary. and now is not the time to suggest that it cannot be the basis for the work. the udhr recognise a range of human rights. amnesty international is not only focusing on civil and political rights, even though that s where we started. but agnes callamard, there are a host of organisations focused completely and solely, for example, on the urgent need
of the world we live in. we are fully aware of it. that does not mean that human rights is irrelevant. it just you re less and less effective. it means that we keep working, that we keep fighting. it means that we need to be present for those who fight. look at the number of protests around the world in response to this instrumentalization of rights, in response to this increase of violations of human rights, including by so called democratic leaders, we are confronting a plethora of protests. people are taking to the streets. they have no other options. they are getting poorer. their rights are violated. they are far more insecure than they were a decade ago. lgbt rights are being trampled. for all those reasons, we are seeing a multiplication of protest. what does it mean? it means rights matter. 0k. well, let s. .. it matters to people. it matters to those who want to fight for their own humanity and that of their children. and we need to be there.