Letters for Amnesty

Amnesty International has set up special writing actions for emergency situations related to human rights. One of these actions was the campaign against the disappearance of people in 1981.

‘Verdwenen’ Maar Niet Vergeten (‘Disappeared’ But Not Forgotten) was launched globally by Amnesty International in 1981. It encouraged governments to reveal what had happened to a million people who had disappeared around the world. Especially under the regime of Jorge Videla in Argentina many political dissidents disappeared.

Besides poster campaigns, demonstrations and events organized by local Amnesty teams, the letter writing was crucial to this action. The fact that it concerned people that were not imprisoned officially made it difficult to select the right authorities to write to. A special booklet was published with guidelines for letter writers for ‘Verdwenen’ Maar Niet Vergeten.

Demonstrations against the enforced disappearances in Argentine in Amsterdam, 1981
Courtesy of Archive Amnesty International Netherlands, IISH, Amsterdam

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