Book contents
- Amnesty International and Human Rights Activismin Postwar Britain, 1945–1977
- Human Rights in History
- Amnesty International and Human Rights Activism in Postwar Britain, 1945–1977
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Dawn: 1934–1950
- 2 Africa, Decolonisation and Human Rightsin the 1950s
- 3 Political Imprisonment and Human Rights, 1945–1964
- 4 The Early Years of Amnesty International, 1961–1964
- 5 ‘The Crisis of Growth’: Amnesty International 1964–1968
- 6 1968: the UN Year for Human Rights
- 7 Torture States: 1967–1975
- 8 ‘All Things Come to Those Who Wait’: the Later 1970s
- Conclusion: the Winds of History
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
6 - 1968: the UN Year for Human Rights
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 April 2020
- Amnesty International and Human Rights Activismin Postwar Britain, 1945–1977
- Human Rights in History
- Amnesty International and Human Rights Activism in Postwar Britain, 1945–1977
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Dawn: 1934–1950
- 2 Africa, Decolonisation and Human Rightsin the 1950s
- 3 Political Imprisonment and Human Rights, 1945–1964
- 4 The Early Years of Amnesty International, 1961–1964
- 5 ‘The Crisis of Growth’: Amnesty International 1964–1968
- 6 1968: the UN Year for Human Rights
- 7 Torture States: 1967–1975
- 8 ‘All Things Come to Those Who Wait’: the Later 1970s
- Conclusion: the Winds of History
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The UN designated 1968 as the International Year for Human Rights, and this chapter is devoted to a detailed examination of the year-long voluntary campaign in Britain. The chapter begins with a discussion of the international situation in 1968, dominated above all by the war in Vietnam. The main part of the chapter looks at how the Year was organised in Britain, beginning with the National Committee, followed by the activities undertaken by NGOs and local committees. The chapter makes the argument that, while not a resounding success, the Year encouraged many organisations to think about their work in the context of human rights, thereby developing the idea of a ‘field of human rights‘. The chapter concludes with a section on Northern Ireland, where 1968 was associated with a far more radical campaign for civil rights, and an assessment of the Year’s legacy.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020