GOAL 1

To intensify our work for human rights and increase awareness of

Amnesty International's mandate


Amnesty International is an activist movement and a campaigning organization. If Amnesty International is to evolve as an activist movement we need to reach more people with our information and design that information to inspire action, while also recruiting more members capable of taking action.

CAMPAIGNS
The Indonesia campaign that started in September of 1994 was completed in March. On March 10 there was a public event and a march on the embassy in Stockholm. A letter was handed over to the embassy to be forwarded to president Suharto.

In January, a campaign about human rights abuses in Sudan was launched. Sixty groups participated and there was a seminar for these groups in Stockholm. Andy Mawson, researcher at the International Secretariat (IS) participated. This group action was aimed at the government and the two opposition groups. The Sudanese government reacted very strongly against the criticism raised by Amnesty International and, in a 23-page report, it refuted almost all of the abuses documented by Amnesty International.

The largest campaign during the year was the women s campaign. It was launched on March 7 and close to 200 groups participated. It attracted considerable media attention, which resulted in numerous newspaper articles. The campaign's twin objectives were to direct the attention toward violations of women's human rights and to stir up the debate and influence governments prior to the UN Conference on Women in Beijing in September. A number of items were produced for this campaign, e.g. brochures, posters, exhibits and a report. For the member recruitment drive, which was an integrated part of the campaign, radio and television ads based on cases from the campaign were produced.

Local groups carried out a number of different activities and there was a lot of contact with local women's organizations.

The Swedish section also participated very actively in the preparations for the UN conference. In addition, the section's General Secretary was a delegate to the NGO Forum in Beijing (the alternative conference organized by non-profit organizations).

Former Yugoslavia was the focus of a special action launched in October, with special attention paid to the "disappeared". The local groups were hindered in their work by the UN sanctions that made it impossible to send letters directly to Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The letters were sent to the respective embassies instead.

At the end of the year, a special action was initiated against human rights violations in Afghanistan. The purpose of the action
is to highlight the extent of the abuses and the responsibility of certain governments to see to it that the situation improves.
The action marks the beginning of a long-term effort aimed at Afghanistan.

In 1995, the Swedish section participated in a large number of actions, e.g. against police violence in Germany and the continued grave abuses in Iran. Actions were also aimed at Rwanda, Syria, Mongolia and Romania.


A number of countries were targeted in so-called Rapid Response Actions, including Kenya, for the flogging sentence against Koigi wa Wamwere, and Israel, for trying to pass a law allowing torture. RRA 's against Burundi and Rwanda were issued to further highlight the situation there.

All union publications received information as well as suggestions for articles and letters of appeal in connection with the annual May Day action. This material was also used by local groups in writing letters to the editor and establishing contact with local union chapters. The co-operation with the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) and the Central Organization of Salaried Employees (TCO) continued during the year. An action material for this year's CFTU catalogue (Confederation of Free Trade Unions) was provided by the Swedish section.

Shaping public opinion
The Swedish section followed the human rights work being carried out in the various UN organs, the Council of Europe, the organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Union (EU). We participated in several actions initiated by the International Secretariat, including the preparations for the meeting with the UN Commission on Human Rights, the creation of an international criminal court and questions concerning capital punishment in the Council of Europe. As a result of Sweden's membership in the EU, we also participated in the actions initiated by Amnesty International's EU Association in Brussels as of the beginning of 1995. The Swedish section carried out publicity work in preparation for the UN Conference on Women in China (for more on this, see Campaigns).

During the year, several government departments and state representatives were approached on different issues. Our contacts with the parliamentary group on human rights continued in 1995. This group, composed of members from all the parliamentary parties, sent out some 60 letters of appeal to presidents and other people in a position of power in a number of countries, based on information provided by Amnesty International.

Country reports and other Amnesty International material continued to be widely distributed. Most orders came from schools, who were mainly interested in information packages about Amnesty International and the death penalty. As a result of the UN Conference on Women in China and the large-scale abuses in that country, there was considerable interest in Amnesty International's China package.

An increasing number of authorities, organizations and individuals elected to subscribe to Amnesty International's country reports on a weekly basis. The revenues from this source amounted to approximately SEK 120 000 (1994: 92 000).

Refugee work
The Swedish secretariat continued to provide information and service to asylum-seekers, their lawyers, the authorities, refugee ombudsmen and members, e.g. by sending out information on different countries.

During 1995, the section appealed on behalf of four asylum-seekers from Peru, Turkey and Uzbekistan. In addition, information was provided to back up new requests for asylum by people from e.g. Bangladesh, Iran and Turkmenistan. Letters were written to influence the government on recent issues involving refugees, e.g. the treatment of asylum-seekers from Peru, Bosnian refugees and standards for the asylum procedure within the EU.

A public event to promote a more humane official refugee policy was staged in accordance with a decision taken at the 1994 Annual General Meeting. The nation-wide drive was carried out locally in co-operation with Caritas, Diakonia, the 5-to-12 movement, FARR ((National Council for Refugees and Asylum-seekers), the Red Cross, Swedish Save the Children, the Swedish Refugee Council, the Church of Sweden and the Swedish Christian Council.

The section submitted a reply to the report on a new asylum law presented by the State Commission on Refugee Policy.

The group for refugee issues, created in 1994 to decide whether Amnesty International should intervene in certain requests for asylum, settled its first case in 1995. The group consists of Anita Klum, Eva Linda Sederholm and Ingemar Strandberg, as well as the respective refugee ombudsman and country co-ordinator. It convenes as needed, i.e. when a refugee ombudsman or an asylum-seeker's lawyer needs to know whether or not a certain case is covered by Amnesty International's mandate.

During 1995, the refugee ombudsmen were offered basic training in accordance with the new guide lines regulating Amnesty International's refugee work, which had been adopted in May. The first basic course was held at the end of April and attracted twelve participants. A repeat session in November was attended by six refugee ombudsmen. In September, another meeting for refugee ombudsmen was also held. It focused on the practical work and changes in the activities that have been made or will be made as a result of e.g. changes in the law, Sweden's membership in the EU and the drop in the number of asylum-seekers. The refugee ombudsmen also received information on a regular basis about different countries, refugee groups and current problems facing refugees.

The section continued to support the Advisory Bureau for Asylum-seekers and Refugees. This was done together with Swedish Save the Children, the Swedish Refugee Council, the Church of Sweden and Caritas, which is now part of this joint effort. In the course of the year, the Advisory Bureau was changed into an association.

The section was part of a reference group for matters related to asylum-seekers and refugees within the EU. This reference group is at the service of the Council on Refugee Policy and the Department of Labour.


Member recruitment
The drive to recruit new members that had been launched in the fall of 1994 continued in the spring and early fall of 1995. More than 500 member recruitment ads were published free of charge in newspapers and magazines, including several full-page ads. Member recruitment flyers were inserted into the two major dailies, Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet and the local groups and the secretariat distributed flyers, tear-off posters and brochures. In September, the campaign goal had been reached - 10,000 new members.

Sponsoring
In the fall, a sponsoring project in the form of a member recruitment drive was carried out. As a first step, new members were recruited. Then, as a second step, to be completed in the spring of 1996, local members will present these new members with the possibility of working actively. As a result of a co-operation agreement between the Swedish section and the National Post Office, the Post Office paid for a letter to be sent out from Amnesty International to all Swedish households (some 4.3 million) and for two full-page ads in Dagens Nyheter. The paper used for the letters was donated by SCA GRAPHIC PAPER.

The letter was mailed on September 18 and was followed up by newspaper ads produced specifically for the campaign, as well as radio and television ads. All the advertisement space was provided free of charge. The campaign culminated in December with a weekend of public events throughout the country. This Weekend of Hope (Hoppets Helg), as it was called, was organized by local groups and districts. The campaign yielded 13 500 new members.

Local groups
On December 31, 1995, the Swedish section had 288 groups. In the course of the year, 19 groups were dissolved and eight new ones were created, resulting in a total loss of eleven groups. In the district of Södra Skåne, there was a large turnover of groups, with five groups dissolving and three new ones being started. In Stockholm, four groups folded and two new ones were started. Three groups in Gothenburg and three in Uppsala were dissolved and a new group started in Uppsala.

Several courses for group secretaries were offered during 1995. One in Stockholm in February drew 18 participants, while 13 people attended another one in September. A regional training course for group secretaries in District 1 attracted 22 people.

During the year, 79 new action files were distributed; 14 more than in 1994. Of these action files 15 were from Europe, 26 from Asia, 31 from Africa, 4 from the Americas and 3 from the Middle East/North Africa. Two action files were from Togo, a new country as of 1995. A little over 90 action files were wound up in 1995. A permanent feature of the secretariat's newsletter was the long-term case.

The districts
The Swedish section is divided into 20 districts and all of them, except for Gotland, had as many as three district ombudsmen
during 1995. In the spring, a meeting for district ombudsmen was arranged to coincide with the Annual General Meeting. In connection with the Board meeting in September, a two-day meeting was held to discuss e.g. member education activities and the development of the section's youth work. District representatives and the Board met and discussed the budget and the action plan. District representatives also participated in the November budget meeting.

In connection with the district ombudsmen meeting in September, new district ombudsmen were offered a one-day training course at the secretariat. Seven ombudsmen accepted.

Co-ordination groups and RAN co-ordinators
New co-ordinators were recruited for Jordan/Lebanon, Saudi Arabia/Yemen, Congo/Central African Republic, Kuwait, Iraq and SURAN. The total number of co-ordination groups is 37. They have 88 members and cover some 150 countries. Existing co-ordination groups received reinforcement in the form of new members. Seventeen new co-ordinators went through basic training at the secretariat during the year. In the fall, the co-ordinators met on -a regional basis to discuss future strategies

for different countries. A seminar was held for all the co-ordinators and specialist groups in April. Six co-ordinators participated in two seminars arranged by the International secretariat. One co-ordinator attended an intersectional meeting hosted by the Norwegian section. There are 19 RAN co-ordinators and a total of 94 groups participate in one or several RAN 's. The co-ordinators of Region Europe presented their work at a Board meeting.

Specialist groups
The Swedish section has eight specialist groups: the lawyers' group, the health-care group, the action group against capital punishment, the action group against torture, the children's group, the policy group and the translation group. In the fall, a specialist group on military, police and economic issues, MEK/MSP, was started. The specialist groups submit their own annual reports.

Other groups
The Swedish section's Central Youth Organization, ACU, consisted of four (later three) members who, in the course of the year, put together four mailings to 65 young subscribers as well as to the district ombudsmen and the Board.

The union group arranged for ten union organizations and a number of other target groups, e.g. students and military personnel, to receive Urgent Action Appeals on a regular basis. The union group met once during 1995.

Urgent Action
In 1995, the Swedish section received 277 Urgent Actions from the International Secretariat via e-mail. It also received 318
Further Information's and 164 "Extras" (Express Transmission for Rapid Action). All in all, the Urgent Action Network was responsible for sending off 759 appeals to 90 countries.

The abuses addressed included capital punishment - 100, "disappearances" (and fear of) - 60, torture (and fear of) - 141, death threats (and fear of extrajudicial execution) - 103, refoulement and forced exile - 12, legal issues (including prisoners of conscience) - 116, deaths in custody - 5 and fear for health - 28.

The Urgent Actions targeted abuses in 90 countries (1994: 91 countries).

As in previous years, there was a large number of Urgent Actions in Turkey (90), mainly directed against torture, "disappearances" and death threats. Other countries that received a large number of Urgent Actions included the United States (48), Colombia (52) and Guatemala (23).

Approximately 230 people received Urgent Actions by mail, 7 by fax and six once a week by e-mail.

In 1995, Urgent Action recipients received two batches of follow-up information about certain UA´s In addition, all of them received two issues of a newsletter.

As in previous years, the Urgent Actions were sent to people with a special interest in certain countries or concerns. The International Secretariat also started distributing so-called Junior Urgent Actions, written in simpler English and focusing on abuses against young people. Junior Urgent Actions are intended for high school students and young people.

There were 15 appeals made on behalf of the Swedish section during the year.

Member education
Higher priority was assigned to educational activities in 1995. In the beginning of the year, the Board adopted the "Project plan for the Swedish section's internal member education for 1995-1999". The aim of the project is: 1. to recruit more active members and to make members more active, 2. to deepen the members' knowledge of the mandate, 3. to promote the organization's decentralization, and, 4. to change the content of the educational activities to reflect the ambitions of the Board and the needs of the members.

In 1995, there were several courses for functionaries. In October, a total of 38 people attended two courses, one local and one on a central level, for public speakers. A new material was produced for use by the districts in the introduction of new members. In November, eleven people participated in a training course for leaders of basic introductory courses. In these courses, the mandate was accorded more attention and time than usual.

During the year, a network of district educators started to be developed mainly by maintaining contact with those members who had already completed the "education for educators", by offering education to new interested members and by collecting information from the districts about who was in charge of the educational activities on a local level. Four of the districts already have a person or an action group in charge of education, which is mainly basic introduction for new members.

Amnesty International in the schools
The Swedish section worked with other organizations in SAMFI, co-ordination group for the environment, peace and internationalization, to carry out a number of activities to spread information about human rights in schools , e.g. Youth Forum for High School Students and a Teacher Education Conference. Amnesty International also participated in several activities arranged by local SAMFI groups.

The Board decided that a new material for the schools should be produced. The group of members in charge of putting together a proposal for this new school material was unable to complete its task. A joint project has been launched with other organizations to produce such a material, designed to spread information and increase awareness of human rights by providing teachers with ideas for structuring the human rights education in the classroom.

A more important role for the districts
At the September meeting, the district ombudsmen discussed the budget and the action plan together with the Board. The districts submit their own annual reports.

The district ombudsmen constitute an important link in the large member recruitment drives. They help spread information about the drives and about how districts should meet their respective goals.

Media coverage
The media's interest in Amnesty International continued to increase in 1995, with reference being made to the organization in numerous television and radio programs. A total of 3,264 articles were published about Amnesty International during the year (1994: 3,100).

Among the campaigns that attracted the most attention were the Sudan campaign and the women's campaign. There was considerable media coverage prior to and during the Beijing conference on women. The release of Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar in July was widely covered by the media. On December 5, a public event to promote a more humane refugee policy was staged in 100 different locations throughout Sweden. The Swedish section was behind this action, which was duly recognized by the media.

Some 30 press releases were sent out to radio and television stations as well as newspapers. In 1995, a special effort was made to publish more discussion articles. The drive to make local groups more visible in the letters to the editor in local papers was successful in 1995 too.

Four seminars for journalists that were arranged jointly by the Swedish section and the Swedish NGO Fund for Human Rights drew large audiences, especially one on the UN Conference on Women and one on a permanent tribunal for war crimes.

In 1995, the Swedish section participated in the production of a multimedia exhibition on human rights at the Labour Museum in Norrköping. The exhibition, entitled Work and Love, will go on for a period of five years.

During the summer, the Swedish section created a homepage on Internet, which increased public access to information about
Amnesty International. Amnesty International's Bulletin Board System in Gislaved provides information about Amnesty
International and its reports.

Amnesty Press
1995 saw the publication of nine issues of the section's publication for members, Amnesty Press. There were six 24-page issues and three 16-page issues. Two of the 16-page issues were specials, one on women and one on the Swedish section of Amnesty International. The average number of mailed copies (members plus subscribers) per issue was 61,703. An extra 1, 680 copies were printed of each issue for single-copy sale. An additional 1,000 and 2,000 copies were printed of the two special issues respectively. Five copies of the special on the Swedish section were mailed out to all the local groups for use in their work.

Amnesty Press has approximately 1,200 regular subscribers.

Pådraget and Kortkampanjen (the Postcard Campaign)
In 1995, twelve issues were published of Pådraget, which is the section's action newsletter. Two of these were double issues.

Cases from 31 countries were raised in 47 different articles. Two issues dealt with the human rights of women and one issue was devoted to union concerns. The December issue explored the theme of children and young people, while another issue concentrated on the principles involved in the death penalty debate. Several of the other issues focused on material that was relevant to the campaigns: "Human rights fighters in the front-line", "'Disappearances in former Yugoslavia" and "Women in Kenya The number of subscribers decreased each quarter and at the end of the year it was down to approximately 2,400. During the fall, a large number of copies was used to spread knowledge about Amnesty International and about the action newsletter, e.g. at the teacher training institutes in Malmö and Växjö. As in previous years, 500 copies of each issue have gone directly to the secretariat for advertising or information purposes. In 1995, Pådraget was sent out to three recipients on computer disks. Of these, one went to Finland for the translation and publication of two Finnish editions, one in Finnish and one slightly modified Swedish version adapted to Finnish conditions. A second disk was sent to the Swedish section's Bulletin Board System in Gislaved, making the material readily available to anyone hooked up to Internet. The final disk was sent to Kortkampanjen, which now uses cases directly from Pådraget whenever possible.

Twelve issues of Kortkampanjen (the Postcard Campaign) were published in 1995. 3,400 individuals and 200 groups subscribed to a total of 7,500 copies.

The Amnesty International Report for 1995 was translated into Swedish by the section's translation group. It received extensive media coverage, partially because Sweden was once again among the entries, due to allegations of abuse in police custody. Of a total edition of 1,700 copies, 750 have been sold and 450 provided free of charge to e.g. groups and co-ordinators, which leaves a remainder of 500 unsold copies.

Financial assistance from Amnestyfonden (the Amnesty Fund)
Amnestyfonden provided financial assistance to prisoners of conscience and their families as well as to relatives of the "disappeared" and victims of extrajudicial executions. This aid is supposed to cover basic needs, e.g. food, housing, medicine and school fees. Financial assistance was also provided for legal aid, the rehabilitation of victims of torture and to people who have had to escape to safe destinations because of death threats (for more, see Amnestyfonden).

Planning and Evaluation
The Board, working primarily with the C committee, drew up a proposal for an action plan for 1996-2000 for the Swedish section. This will be submitted to the 1996 Annual General Meeting for decision. The draft action plan was sent out to local groups and districts for consideration during the fall.

A work plan for the secretariat was drawn up and formed the basis of the section's budget work for 1996.

The Annual General Meeting (AGM)
On May 5 to 7, some 250 members attended the Annual General Meeting, which had been arranged by local groups in Sandviken, Dalarna. In connection with the AGM, different seminars were arranged, on e.g. the work of the section Board and the International Council Meeting the Swedish action plan in relation to the international one, and work forms in tomorrow's Amnesty International. This last seminar was headed by Brian Wood, campaign co-ordinator at the International Secretariat.

Other international guests included Miroslav Marinovich from the Ukraine and Taslima Nasrin from Bangladesh, as well as representatives from the Finnish, Hungarian and Dutch sections.

Contacts between the center and the periphery
Board members visited district meetings throughout the year to keep in touch with the members. Board members also participated in courses, seminars and the budget meeting. In September, the district ombudsmen met with the Board to discuss the budget and the draft action plan for 1996-2000. The Board also spent a weekend of further education in Gränna at the invitation of the local group. This weekend course was also attended by Catherine Murcier, vice-president of Amnesty International's EU association. She spoke to Board members and district members about the EU association and its lobbying activities.

The Board/Working Committee
Between the Annual General Meetings, the Board is in charge of the section's activities. The Board must see to it that the work is carried out in accordance with the action plan, that the AGM decisions are implemented and the budget is drawn up. Four formal Board meetings were held between the 1995 AGM and the end of the year. An additional three meetings had been scheduled prior to the 1996 AGM.

The Board selects a Working Committee from among its members. This committee is in charge of preparing the agenda for the Board meetings, following up the Board's decisions and deciding on matters that are not of a principal importance.

In order to stay abreast of developments on both the national and international level, the Board once a year since 1993 appoints people to four working committees, each with its own special area of competence: the mandate, work methods, organization and financial matters.

In order to stay in touch with the international movement, these committees keep tabs on the work being done by their international counterparts, the so-called Standing Committees.

The committee appointed by the Board to work on the mandate (committee A), followed up changes in the research work at the International Secretariat throughout the year. Committee A also started planning a seminar on the mandate and worked on a summary report of the section's co-operation with other organizations. In addition, it undertook a review of the section's refugee work and launched an initiative to revise the refugee handbook.

The work methods committee (committee B) worked on the activist report, initiated in 1994, and launched a project in co-operation with the C committee. The B committee will continue this work for further analysis and practical application. In conjunction with the secretariat, an evaluation of the section's co-ordination projects was carried out, as well as a revision of the section's school material for use in junior high and high school. The B committee also followed the work being carried out by the group assigned by the Board to develop the youth work in the Swedish section. The B committee monitors the section's campaign work, lobbying and co-ordination activities on an ongoing basis.

The committee on organization and development (committee C) worked on the draft action plan. In this context, a so-called trend seminar was held in March to explore world-wide political, social and economic trends. The C committee was supposed to continue working on a way to co-ordinate the section's various annual reports. Major changes will have to wait until the annual reports can be adapted to the new action plan. A review of the section's structure and organization, based on two reports, was initiated by the C committee and continued as a joint project between the B and C committees. The object was to find new ways to take active part in Amnesty International.

As for the development of Amnesty International as a movement, the C committee spent the fall following up and evaluating the section's co-operation and contacts with other national sections and groups.

The financial committee (committee D) worked on issues related to the financial situation of the international movement, tried to draw up guidelines for indirect government assistance and for ways in which the section can work together with Amnestyfonden. In addition, the D committee worked out directives for the special financial committee created by the 1995 AGM and did follow-up work on the evaluation of fund-raising drives and member recruitment projects.

The Board's IT group worked on ways of shaping and developing the activities of the Swedish section in the area of information technology. Among a number of important tasks, the group is in charge of working out an IT strategy for the section.

The Board of Directors
These were the members of the Board (elected at the Annual General Meeting of 1995):

Regular members:
Rigmor Argren, Örebro
Magnus Brattgård, Solna
Charlotte Dunge (treasurer), Vimmerby
Dan Grundin (personnel representative), Stockholm
Ewa Fredenberg Nilsson, Skellefteå
Christer Nordberg, Huskvarna
Lars-Olof Olofsson, Strömstad
Christine Pamp (chairperson), Malmö
Eva Linda Sederholm, Halmstad

Deputy members:
Åsa Carlberg, Hägersten
Magnus Cedergren, Lund
Erik Petersson (personnel representative), Solna

The section's Secretary General, Anita Klum, was co-opted onto the Board and the Working Committee.

The secretary was Eva Hellström.



International committees
In 1995, Swedish members continued to work on the international standing committees created by the International Council Meeting in 1991. Ingrid Petersson was a member of the Standing Committee on Human, Information and Financial Matters, Rose-Marie Asker was active on the Standing Committee on Organization and Development, and Jesu's Alcalá served on the International Membership Appeals Committee. Bo Lindblom was a member of the International Nominations Preparatory Committee.



The budget meeting
The section's budget meeting was held on November 11, with representatives from fifteen of the twenty districts. The Board presented a budget proposal with revenues amounting to SEK 39.9 million and expenditures to SEK 41.2 million. The budget meeting accepted the Board's budget proposal. 'and issued a recommendation t~ the Board to support a proposal about arranging a number of "seminars on the future" in different parts of Sweden. The seminars will focus on Amnesty International members' future role as activists.

The International Council Meeting ICM

Eight representatives of the Swedish section attended the 1995 ICM in Ljubljana, Slovenija, in August. They were: Rigmor Argren, Magnus Brattgård Jesper Hansén Kerstin Höijer Anita Klum, Bo Lindblom, Christine Pamp and Ingrid Petersson. The International Action Plan for 1996-1999, i.e. the Ljubljana Action Plan (LAP), was drawn up, outlining the organization's objectives for the next four years. The LAP emphasizes the importance of preventive work and rapid action in the case of massive human rights violations. In addition, the LAP stresses the need for developing the Amnesty International movement. Action, development and the investigation of abuses must go hand in hand. Special attention should be paid to groups that are particularly vulnerable, e.g. minorities, women and children. The plan describes what the national sections must do to meet the plan's objectives. When designing its own four-year plan, the Swedish section took the objectives of the international plan into account.

A number of resolutions to expand the mandate were discussed. It was decided that an international commission would be appointed to determine whether slavery should be included in the mandate. The mandate was somewhat enlarged in the context of armed conflicts, where it was decided that Amnesty International will now be able to protest against any illegal and/or indiscriminate killing in such situations. A resolution about whether or not Amnesty International should condemn the use of antipersonnel mines was referred to the International Board for further consideration. The organization can, however, protest against the use and transfer of antipersonnel mines, in those cases where it results in indiscriminate killing, as described above. With regard to Female Genital Mutilation, it was decided that Amnesty International will spread knowledge about this within the framework of the organization's human rights education.

GOAL 2

To promote the development of the international movement.
The Swedish section wishes to promote the development of Amnesty International by supporting national sections and groups in other countries, to allow them to evolve independently. An overall expansion of international contacts and co-operation will be sought.

International co-operation
In November, four delegates of the Swedish section participated in a trip to Poland, within the framework of Amnesty International - Open University. The trip was arranged by the Polish section in co-operation with the International Secretariat. The delegation comprised ten people from different Amnesty International sections. For a period of ten days, they visited universities, colleges and high schools in seven different cities. There was a press conference in each city and the trip attracted a lot of attention from the media, school children and students. There were also visits to local groups and organizations for human rights.

Preparations for the international conference on torture, which will take place on October 4 to 6, 1996, in Stockholm, got under way in 1995. An international planning committee, consisting of representatives from the International Secretariat as well as from the British and Swedish sections, met three times during the year. Representatives of the Dutch section joined the group in an advisory capacity. The Swedish section's working group on torture was part of the international planning committee. The conference will address problems connected with torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of socially vulnerable groups, e.g. criminals ethnic minorities, etc.

The so-called Twinning project, in which twenty-one local groups participated, was completed at the beginning of the year. Under the terms of this project, experienced groups contacted groups in Eastern Europe for a mutual exchange of knowledge. The project was evaluated by the International Secretariat in March. It was difficult to discern any results after only a year. In many cases, the groups had only made contact towards the end of the project period. The project did, however, attract a lot of interest and in those cases where groups managed to establish a relationship many benefits were reported. Of the groups that submitted evaluations, half thought the project represented a positive experience, whereas the other half thought of it in negative terms. More than half were willing to continue working on the project. The groups in Eastern and Central Europe were very positive. The International Secretariat is urging the groups that have established contact to continue working together. As far as the Swedish section is concerned, this means twenty-one groups.

On May 12 to 14, the International Secretariat and the Swedish section co-sponsored an intersectional seminar for Korea/KOTARAN co-ordinators in Stockholm.



An international network of contacts

A meeting was held in Oslo in March for the group of national sections that includes Sweden as well as the Faeroe Islands,
Iceland, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Austria and groups from Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia and the Ukraine.

The Swedish section was represented at the Annual General Meetings of the Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, British, German, Swiss and Austrian sections.

One Board member represented Sweden at a Nordic meeting in Iceland in June. There were also Swedish representatives at the international Secretaries General meetings of March and November.

As a result of Sweden's accession to the European Union, the Swedish section became a member of the Amnesty International EU

Association and took part in three meetings hosted by the EU Association.

Representatives of the Swedish section attended different international meetings on e.g. the media, fund-raising, working with young people, contacts with union organizations, campaigns, MEK/MSP (military, police and economic issues), and meetings to plan different campaigns/actions.

Co-ordinators from the Nordic countries were invited to attend two co-ordinators seminars in Sweden during 1995. A representative of the Swedish section attended a meeting in Copenhagen on the issue of Nordic co-operation for co-ordinators from the secretariats of the Nordic sections.



Financial support to the international movement
In accordance with a Board decision from May 1994, the Swedish section contributed an additional SEK 750,000 to the international movement.


GOAL 3

To broaden the section's financial base
The Swedish section is among the top ten national sections in financing the international movement, making fund-raising a prime concern. Domestic activities also require a sound economy. Centralized fund-raising activities will be developed further. The groups and districts must assume responsibility for a larger share of the budget and fund-raising must become an integrated part of the campaign work. It is necessary to recruit new groups of donors.

Members
On December 31, 1995, the Swedish section of Amnesty International had 75,797 members (1994: 58,451), a remarkable and satisfactory 30% increase from the previous year. Eleven percent did not renew their membership (same in 1994).

Special efforts were made to hold on to members. Five written reminders were mailed out during the spring and the summer. Volunteers working out of the Stockholm secretariat in the evenings called more than 5,000 members on the telephone. The number of people who renewed their membership was significantly higher in the group contacted by phone than among those who received only written reminders.

The 1995 calendar was mailed out to all members' and yielded SEK 1.3 million in sales.

More donors
Centralized fund-raising has become increasingly important to the section's finances. New ways to raise money are constantly being developed through the section's attempts to reach new groups of donors, e.g. business corporations, and to seek out new channels for distributing requests for contributions, e.g. through book clubs and newspapers and by getting people who are involved in Amnesty International in other ways to contribute.

Three new initiatives were launched in 1995, i.e. AmnestySupporter, Bancos Hjälpfond and Livlinan. Small and medium-size companies were approached about becoming Supporters, i.e. committing themselves to making automatic contributions for a certain amount every month. At the end of the year, around ten companies had pledged to be part of this donors program.

Bancos Hjälpfond is an offshoot of Humanfonden. It is a mutual fund in which artificial persons can save for Amnesty International's benefit. The Hjälpfond offers retirement savings schemes, where one percent annually goes to Amnesty International. This possibility is offered both through Bancos own retirement savings scheme as well as through Skandia Link.

Livlinan, which started in the fall of 1995, will continue throughout 1996. The idea is for current members and donors to submit the names of friends and acquaintances who Amnesty International may approach with a request for a contribution. This idea has already been tested and proved fruitful under the name of Stafetten (The Relay).

The three major fund-raising drives of 1995 were the letters to the section's donors, AmnestyGiro and Humanfonden. Approximately SEK nine million were raised from the payment slips mailed out the secretariat. The donors received six letters in the course the year and each letter yielded slightly more than SEK one million. The average donation per payment slip was SEK 173. The results show that for each invested krona, the return is eight kronor. The letters raised cases of current concern to Amnesty International, e.g. in China, Pakistan and Bosnia.

Most of the new donors were recruited from flyers in Svenska Dagbladet, book clubs, purchases of external addresses and the campaign entitled Weekend of Hope (see Sponsoring and Member recruitment).

Some 2,000 people chose to give via AmnestyGiro, which in 1995 resulted in SEK 2.2 million.

The section received a SEK 3.4 million contribution from Humanfonden for 1995, which was over SEK 600,000 more than in 1994. Currently, more than 7,000 people are investing their savings to benefit Amnesty International. We still receive the largest share of a total of 42 participating organizations. The section helped market Humanfonden by promoting it to its members and donors.

In 1995, the section made increasing use of the telephone in its fund-raising work. We call to thank people for large donations, to recruit donors to AmnestyGiro and to try to get people who have not donated in many years to start doing so again. This work is carried out mainly by volunteers in the evenings.

For the first time, the section published requests for contributions on its Internet homepages. Another first was the opening of a 24-hour telephone line, which people can call to listen to requests for contributions and choose among a number of different ways to become a donor.

The section is a member of FRII, a co-operative organ for fund-raising activities for non-profit organizations.

The annual fund-raising days took place on April 1 and 2 and brought in a total of SEK 162,000 (1994: SEK 210,000).

Sales
The section's store in Malmö continued to operate. An evaluation carried out in the spring of 1995 led the Board to raise the
following demands on future performance for 1995 through 1997: a deficit of SEK 340,000 for 1995, half of that, i.e. a deficit of SEK 170,000, for 1996, and, in 1997, the venture should break even. The actual outcome for 1995 was SEK 965,000 in revenues and SEK 1,334,000 in expenditures, i.e. a net deficit of SEK 369,000. In addition, losses due to inventory write-down for 1994 amounted to SEK 223,000, which brings the total deficit to SEK 593,000. The losses since the store opened amount to SEK 782,000. The accounting method used is limited to direct costs. Because of these results, the reference group, where the Malmb groups are represented, will suggest solutions.

The Swedish section's calendar for 1996 was distributed for sale in October to the groups, the Amnesty store, about ten other shops, bookstores and museums. Approximately 10,000 flyer ads were distributed to all parts of the country. Of the 75,000 calendars printed, some 450 were sold. The reason for the low number of sold calendars was that there were many more new members than expected and all members receive calendars.

Personnel training
In 1995, individual staff members received further training in several areas. New employees were given a course in the mandate, for instance, and ten employees participated in an external course in international public law. A few staff members received external computer training and all employees and a large part of the volunteers received in-house training in the computer program Lotus Notes.

The Secretariat
Additional resources were used to extend the computerization of the secretariat and the entire section. In 1995, the secretariat was upgraded so that all staff members are now hooked up to one and the same computer network. In the fall, the Board members were equipped with PC's, making them too part of the secretariat's network.

Personnel
By December 31, 1995, the secretariat had a total of 30 staff members to fill 24.75 permanent positions. Of these 30 people, six were on a leave of absence and had temporary replacements. The secretariat also disposed of 3.5 full-time positions divided up among 8 people working on temporary projects, e.g. the Malmb store, the Post Office Project, Livlinan, the conference on torture, projects to strengthen the co-ordination groups and to develop the ADP system. In addition, around ten people were working as short-term replacements and/or on an hourly basis. Of these, all except four worked at the secretariat on Sveavägen Two of the others worked in Malmb, one in Laholm and one in Gothenburg.

In 1995, there were several staff changes in the permanent positions. The following positions were added or replaced during 1995: press secretary, Board secretary, campaign co-ordinator, contact person for specialist groups, contact person for local groups and co-ordination groups, contact person for local groups and districts, secretary for Amnestyfonden, refugee and asylum co-ordinator, editor/journalist, marketing specialist, member educator, regional co-ordinator, administrative director, head of distribution, receptionist and personnel officer.

Volunteers
The number of volunteer workers at the secretariat increased in 1995. By December 31, 1995, there were around 70 people working on a volunteer basis at the Stockholm secretariat. They were involved in e.g. distribution, registration, proof-reading, filing, and various other tasks to lighten the work load of individual staff members. Of these 70 volunteers, 15 worked in the evening, mainly with distribution, registration and telemarketing. In the course of the year, ten trainees were taken on from different universities and high schools. Most of them worked with the refugee and asylum co-ordinator. Roughly 20 volunteers helped out at the Gothenburg regional office, and the Malmö store had ten volunteer workers.

The Board's measures to implement 1995 AGM decisions
(The numbers in parenthesis refer to the minutes of the 1995 AGM)

Amnesty International and armed conflicts (38)
Decision: The Board should see to it that Amnesty International draws up a plan of principles stipulating the organization 5 behaviour in a context of armed conflict.
Action: The Board's A committee was commissioned to take part in the ongoing international discussion about Amnesty International's position with regard to armed conflicts and to contribute to establishing a plan of principles. The ICM decided to expand the mandate within the area of armed conflicts, enabling the organization to protest against indiscriminate killing (i.e. when a party to a conflict attacks without discriminating sufficiently between civil and military targets), which is regulated in humanitarian law.

Refugee Policy (43)
Decision: The Swedish section of Amnesty International should be more direct and emphatic in its defence of the right to asylum; the Swedish section should extend and reinforce its co-operation with other non-profit organizations that help asylum-seekers both on a central and local level.
Action: The Swedish section has acted in accordance with the decision with regard to the first part of the decision, e.g. in its reply to the report that the State Commission for Refugee Policy presented during the year in preparation for a new law on asylum. During the ICM, the Swedish section stressed the importance of drawing up uniform guidelines for refugee work, which the ICM resolved to do. In addition, resources have been earmarked for undertaking a revision of the refugee handbook in 1996 and for a weekend seminar on the mandate, which also includes the refugee mandate. Most of the refugee ombudsmen have gone through the basic course for refugee ombudsmen and will have the option to attend a more advanced 'course in 1996. The Board's decision to set aside more resources for lobbying also entails increased resources for lobbying on behalf of asylum-seekers and refugees. Sample letters to the editor that focus on Amnesty International's refugee mandate have been sent out and will be sent out regularly to the refugee ombudsmen. The refugee and asylum work within the Swedish section has been subjected to a review, documented in the report "Working on behalf of refugees and asylum-seekers within the Swedish section of Amnesty International".

As for the second part of the decision, the Swedish section has acted in accordance with it, since there are now representatives from the secretariat not only in the Council on Refugee Policy, but also in the Labour Department's EU reference group on refugee issues, which consists mainly of non-profit organizations. Within the framework for the Advisory Bureau for Asylum-seekers and Refugees, there is now close co-operation with Caritas, since this organization has also joined the Bureau. The section also established contact with other organizations, both national and local, during the preparations leading up to the nation-wide event in support of refugees. Co-operation on a local level has been encouraged by including information about the activities of other organizations in the basic and advanced courses for refugee ombudsmen and inviting by speakers from such organizations.

For further information on the section's work on behalf of refugees and asylum-seekers, please see Refugee Work.

Indirect government assistance (49)
Decision: The Swedish section should apply to the International Executive Council (IEC) for a general dispensation in order to be able to employ people who are enrolled in special labour market programs, such as handicapped people through AMI (Labour Market Institute) and people on ALU contracts (Working Life Training). In the event a dispensation is granted, the Board is urged to draw up guidelines for such activities. The Board of the Swedish section will decide from case to case.
Action: The Board commissioned the secretariat to apply to the IEC for a dispensation. The dispensation was granted and the secretariat is now working with the D committee to draw up guidelines, which will be submitted to the Board for confirmation.

Work on One's Own Country (WOOC) (50)
Decision: The present rules will remain in principle; a person who has had a change of citizenship will be able to work on his/her country of origin if there is no fear for his/her safety and if this is deemed to have a positive effect on the action/campaign.
Action: The Swedish delegates to the ICM raised the issue of WOOC, in accordance with the AGM decision. The ICM decided on a certain loosening of the WOOC rule and commissioned the International Board to work out routines for the communication and decision-making in this domain between the International Board and the International Secretariat.

Urgent Actions (60)
Decision: The members who send Urgent Action appeals should receive more back-up, in accordance with the intentions of the action plan. The Board will provide an account of the measures taken in this regard at the 1996 AGM. The Board will also endeavour to involve individuals and organizations outside of Amnesty International in the Urgent Action Network.
Action: The Board took this decision into account when drawing up the budget for 1996, which makes it possible for the secretariat to work in accordance with the decision.

More assistance to the election committee (62)
Decision: The Board should identify those areas where competence must be ensured; the Board will propose guidelines for how this should be done at the next AGM; the election committee should work according to the guidelines adopted by the AGM.
Action: The Board's C committee drew up a proposal for how to take advantage of the competence represented by the Board. The proposal was accepted by the Board and will be presented in the form of a motion at the 1996 AGM.

A desired change of attitude (63)
Decision: The Board will work to increase the number of active members who are retired, by contacting and providing information to retired people.
Action: The secretariat has worked actively to involve retired people in the volunteer work. Three different organizations for retirees have been approached and a special information folder about volunteer work at the secretariat has been created for this purpose and is available at the employment agency for senior

The fund-raising days (64)
Decision: As of 1996, all proceeds from the annual fund-raising days will be earmarked for Amnestyfonden.
Action: The Board appointed the secretariat to implement this decision.

The colour of Amnesty International (65)
Decision: The orange colour should be emphasized when producing new brochures, etc.
Action: The secretariat is acting in accordance with this decision.

Mapping out economic relationships (66)
Decision: The AGM entrusts the Board of the Swedish section with taking international action to ensure that a study is made of the economic relationships that can be used to put pressure on governments to respect human rights, and to test the relationships of interdependency which will emerge from such a study by informing creditors, etc.
Action: A specialist MEK/MSP group has been created in the Swedish section. In the international action plan adopted at the ICM, there is a chapter on military, economic and cultural issues. This will become an integrated part of all research work, which fully coincides with the AGM decision.

Appointing a financial committee in the Swedish section (72)
Decision: A financial committee will be created for the Swedish section; the financial committee will have the same area of competence as the International Secretariat's Financial Control Committee; the financial committee will submit one written report of its review of the section's finances to the budget meeting and one to the AGM; elections to the financial committee will be held for the first time at the 1996 AGM; the section's budget must set aside funds for the activities of the financial committee.

Action: The Board's D committee drew up guidelines regulating the work of the financial committee. The Board approved these guidelines, which will form the basis for the election committee's attempts to find candidates for the financial committee. The financial committee will be appointed at the 1996 AGM.

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Skapat av : Sven Bodin	Index: ORG 50/008/1996	Kategori: Organisation - Årsmöten - Inför
Ändrat: 98-02-09	År: 1996	Status: Medlem

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