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‘Freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people’
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

Published in the 60th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Amnesty International Report 2008 documents human rights issues in 150 countries and territories around the world.

It covers the period January-December 2007, and reveals a world riven by inequality, scarred by discrimination and distorted by political repression.
However, it also captures the persistent sprit of the Declaration, and how over the intervening decades it has inspired the growth of a vibrant worldwide human rights movement, of which Amnesty International is proud to be part. Every day, human rights defenders challenge the powerful, expose the truth, and give voice to the voiceless.

The book opens with five regional overviews, looking back at human rights developments since the Declaration was adopted, analyzing whether reality has matched rhetoric, and determining how much impact human rights initiatives have had on people’s lives. They also highlight the key events and trends that illustrate 2007 for their region.

The heart of the book is a country-by-country survey of human rights, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Each entry begins with a summary of the human rights situation in the country. Amnesty International’s concerns on various issues are then set out, highlighting individual cases where appropriate. The entries indicate when Amnesty International has visited the country and list some of our relevant documents produced during the year.

This report reveals how far the world has to go before people truly are free from “fear and want”. Our vision is for every person to enjoy all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, laid out 60 years ago, and in the other international human rights standards and instruments that have evolved since.

Date Published: 28/05/2008
AI Index: POL 10/001/2008
ISBN:978-0-86210-431-3