Amnesty International In Christchurch, New Zealand 2.53

Amnesty International was founded in 1961 by a British lawyer named Peter Benenson after hearing about the arrest and inprisonment of a couple of Portugese students for having a toast to freedom. The New Zealand chapter was founded in 1965 and now has around 5500-6000 members.

The organisation campaigns against grave human rights abuses, along several major strands including but not limited to:

* The Death Penalty
* Stopping Torture
* Stopping Violence Against Women
* Fair Trials For All

It also strives to defend and promote human rights as something essential to all human beings.