The Amnesty International Global Finance Report shows information from our global movement as a whole.
It is part of our commitment to be as transparent and accountable as possible.
For more than six decades, Amnesty International has shone a light on the world’s darkest corners.
We are a global movement of more than 10 million people who campaign for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. Through research, legal analysis, advocacy campaigning, we bring torturers to justice, oppose oppression, and help free people jailed simply for their peaceful beliefs.
We take action and inspire others to expose and stand against injustice and repression.
We stand together with those fighting for their rights.
Despite the covid pandemic, in 2021 we documented human rights violations across the world
Achievements against the Strategic Goals 2021
A huge amount was achieved under the Strategic Goals, we changed individuals’ lives and laws, policies, and institutions for the better.
Key factors that enabled change:
- Human Rights Education and capacity building in local languages
- High quality and innovative research exposing human rights violations
- Advocacy increasing Amnesty’s access to, and influence of, governmental and intergovernmental bodies
- Adapting and changing how we work internally
- Digitalisation of activism
- Collaboration with a range of partners
2021 marks the final year of reporting achievements against the five Strategic Goals that have framed our work for the last six years. 2022 will be the first year of the new Global Strategic Framework which will encompass our work until 2030.
In Goal One, Reclaiming Freedoms we advocated for individuals and groups of individuals who had been charged, arrested or intimidated for exercising their freedom of expression and activism, particularly in closed and repressed countries which led to many Human Rights Defenders being released or conditions improved. We put the issue of unlawful targeted surveillance on the global agenda through the Pegasus Project, a ground-breaking collaboration coordinated by a media non-profit with support from Amnesty Tech’s Security Lab.
The largest proportion of the movement’s programme expenditure €26.4m (35%) was spent towards Goal One.
In Goal Two Securing Equal Rights for All, we exposed human rights abuses and violations affecting women and girls with work against Gender Based Violence being a key area of progress. The Yes Means Yes campaign contributed to European governments passing legislation to make the definition of rape consent based. The #Interrupt Gender Based Violence campaign, reached 100,000’s of individuals and resulted in people committing to changing their behaviour to stop perpetuating gender-based violence.
€11.8m (15%) of the movement’s programme expenditure was spent towards Goal Two.
In Goal Three, Responding to Crises, we made positive changes in the lives of people on the move and refugees, particularly in obstructed and repressed countries. We succeeded in individual cases as well as the evacuation of at-risk people in Afghanistan. We raised awareness of human rights, exposing human rights violations in the context of crisis and achieved some key changes in law, policy and practice for people on the move.
€12.3m (16%) of the movements programme expenditure was spent on Goal Three.
In Goal Four, Ensuring Accountability, we achieved progress in court proceedings following human rights violation investigations in countries like Venezuela and death penalty work importantly moved forward in countries such as Sierra Leone and USA. We accomplished significant results in corporate accountability with the creation of a Corporate Crimes NGO network tasked with building strategic approaches to litigation.
€12.2m (16%) of the movements programme expenditure was spent on Goal Four.
Impact of Covid-19
2021 was the second year the Covid-19 pandemic continued to be felt around the world. The Amnesty movement shifted and adapted to new ways of working and interacting with stakeholders across the globe. We managed to maintain income levels while expenditure has been less than planned particularly in fundraising activities. 2021 was a record-breaking year with a total fundraising income of €357m.
Covid-19 affected our work in many ways, but some of its restrictions led to opportunities for increased participation and inclusion and improved access to high level mechanisms for Civil Society Organisations.
- Achievements in changing law and policy, raising awareness of human rights issues and increased capabilities through developing new partnerships and alliances.
- Successes in advancing access to health and Economic Social and Cultural Rights, particularly on access to vaccines.
- The Strengthening Amnesty’s Advocacy Approach project found that the move to digital spaces had created opportunities, bringing more rightsholders’ voices into the UN.
For the most part, Covid-19 was a backdrop or an additional challenge against which we continued to deliver or adapt work as planned.
Impartial. Independent. Accurate.
Where our money comes from
Our deeply held core principles of impartiality, independence and accuracy underpin all we do. This is built on an understanding that all human rights must be respected together if we are to achieve a world free from fear and want.
We are independent of any institution, ideology, economic interest, and religion. Our only interest is in achieving human rights for all.
The vast majority of our income comes from small donations from private individuals. More than 1.7m individuals donated to Amnesty International in 2021. The average donation per month was €12.59.
We are fully independent in setting our strategic and operational goals.
In 2021, we raised €357m for human rights work, an increase of 7% from 2020 (€334m), despite the challenging circumstances. We saw an increase of 4% in regular donations since 2020 as we adapted during the pandemic enabling us to retain regular donors, diversify income mix and continue to acquire donors. Income from legacies had the strongest performance compared to 2020 and is an area for future growth.
Amnesty Income by %
How we spend our money
Our global income is crucial to achieving human rights impact and positive change.
94% of our income is ‘unrestricted’. This means we are not asked to use it in a particular way – so we can spend most of our money wherever the need is greatest.
Amnesty International
In 2021, our global expenditure was €308m (7% up from 2020, €288m). The pie chart shows the breakdown of what was spent.
Amnesty Expenditure by %
Research. Evidence. Action
What we spend our money on
Our action for human rights is based on high-quality research, evidence, and legal analysis.
This is accompanied by effective campaigning action, international solidarity, and relentless global pressure to insist that governments live up to the promises made in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We are committed to spending our money on:
- Protecting human rights defenders, defending freedom of expression, and delivering human rights education – securing equal rights for all.
- Opposing discrimination based on identity, gender, or other grounds, and upholding economic, social, and cultural rights.
- Responding to human rights crises – including protecting people on the move and those affected by conflict, and campaigning for international justice in crisis situations.
- Ensuring accountability – including working for international justice to ensure accountability for human rights abusers, standing up for human rights in criminal justice systems, campaigning for a world without the death penalty, and ensuring corporate accountability.
Our total human rights expenditure is split across our 5 strategic goals.