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 2020 WE DOCUMENTED HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS ACROSS THE WORLD
Achievements against the Strategic Goals 2020
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
- Working with a range of partners
- Effective analysis of Amnesty’s ‘value-add’ and how best to target the work
- High quality research on human right violations to pressure actors such as governments
- Global campaigns to prioritise and coordinate efforts across the movement
- Using technology in a more sophisticated way
- Areas of work where Amnesty had been working for some time
These factors were particularly effective when woven together for example, research outputs and advocacy plans developed with strategic intent, activism embedded in projects, growth and human rights activities that mutually support each other.
Under Goal One, Reclaiming Freedoms we exposed human rights violations and raised awareness, strengthened the capabilities of our members, supporters, and activists as well as of members of the public to act as powerful agents of change and galvanised support for human rights. The largest proportion of the movement’s human rights expenditure €26m (35%) was spent towards this Goal.
In Goal Two, Securing Equal Rights for All, we contributed to achieving changes in law, policy, and practice and improvements to Amnesty’s own capabilities. The Amnesty Movement also raised awareness as a result of the work undertaken under the Goal, however to a much lower extent than in Goal One. The smallest proportion 14% (€10m) of Amnesty’s Human Rights expenditure was recorded as spent towards this Goal.
Under Goal Three, Responding to Crises, and Goal Four, Ensuring Accountability, Amnesty was able to achieve changes in law, policy, and practice and in people’s lives. This confirms a shift that we started to see in 2019 when we recorded an increase in the number of outcomes concerning such changes with governmental actors. €12m (16%) and €13m (18%) of Amnesty’s Human Rights expenditure was spent on Goal 3 and 4 in 2020.
Impact of Covid-19
Since the onset of Covid-19 and subsequent lockdowns across the world, the Amnesty Movement has managed to maintain income levels while expenditure has been less than planned particularly in fundraising activities.
While the lockdowns and travel restrictions have disrupted some human rights work, this has given the Amnesty Movement an opportunity to focus on a Covid-19 specific strategy. This has achieved important results, particularly in the area of health, livelihoods, equality and non-discrimination, and state overreach and abuse of power including research on government surveillance and tracer applications, campaigning for a peoples Covid-19 vaccine and calling for the protection of rights of health and essential workers.
It is likely that this Covid-19 strategy has motivated individuals to donate to Amnesty which accounts for the significant outperformance of income in the non-regular donation channel.
MAKING HUMAN RIGHTS HAPPEN
Standing up to the forces of repression and injustice is never easy. But together we can demand that governments and corporations respect human rights.
Amnesty International founder Peter Benenson demonstrated the difference one person can make by appealing to others to unite with him in common action. He turned an ancient Chinese proverb – “Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness” – into a human rights rallying call. “Only when the last prisoner of conscience has been freed, when the last torture chamber has been closed, when the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a reality for the world’s people, will our work be done.”
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.
In 2020, we raised €334m for human rights work, an increase of 5% from 2019 (€317m), despite the challenging circumstances. We saw an increase of 4% in regular donations since 2019 showing resilience to Covid-19 impact while legacies and non-regular donations were the biggest drivers of the increase since 2019.
The vast majority of our income comes from small donations from private individuals. More than 1.5m individuals donated to Amnesty International in 2020. The average donation per month was €13.31.
We are fully independent in setting our strategic and operational goals.
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 2020, our global expenditure was €288m (10% down from 2019, €319m). The pie chart shows the breakdown of what was spent.
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.