Amnesty International to eyeball U.S.

 

WASHINGTON, D.C.(2-01-98)---Amnesty International will begin to focus on the U.S. Government for its human rights violations, according to National Field Director Ellen Dorsey.

 

Dorsey told YVN the human rights organization "has undergone great changes over the last decade."

 

"We have taken on new issues and concentrated a much greater amount of attention to human rights education.

 

"We typically do not work on human rights violations in our own country--but there are some exceptions. We work on the death penalty in the U.S., police brutality, and refugee issues.

 

"But our sections around the world do focus on the U.S. government for its human rights violations. And in 1999, our international movement will conduct its first ever campaign on human rights violations in the US," Dorsey said.

 

Dorsey responded to a YVN info request concerning the worldwide agency's position regarding the Randy Weaver and Waco tragedies.