Amnesty International (AI) is one of the highest profile human rights organizations, and one that incorporates meetings of volunteer members. The AI UK website describes the organization as “a movement of ordinary people from across the world standing up for humanity and human rights, our purpose is to protect individuals wherever justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied.”

My first impression of Amnesty International, some time ago, was that it was mainly involved in writing letters and opposing the death penalty – while these are definitely AI activities, the organization also publicizes and works on a variety of other campaigns, from the rights of Roma to education in Eastern Europe to the release prisoners of conscience worldwide and arms control.

There are a few structured internships/volunteer opportunities (here’s a link to many in the UK), but if you’re interested in becoming a member you can generally volunteer to get involved in events in your own town and according to your own schedule. If you’re interested in volunteering abroad or working in a field like human rights in the future, becoming an AI member – or simply perusing their site – is a great way to gain perspective on, first of all, news in this area and second, what campaigns are going on.

Peace Brigades International - another human rights organization - regularly emails out news and information about human rights events, which is how I learned about upcoming AI events in the UK:

• 
  May 8: Sunny Jacobs, who spent 17 years in a US prison, five of them on death row, will speak as part of a small group on the death penalty in the US and share excerpts from her memoir.
• 
  May 22: Photojournalist Stuart Freedman will speak about his work – in this case his photos of child soldiers which will also be on exhibition - and some of the challenges facing photojournalists working in countries afflicted by conflict and poverty.
• May 23: There will be a screening of Burden of Talk, which explores the position of women in Afghanistan 5 years after the end of Taliban rule, followed by a discussion.

• May 24: The film “Behind the Screen:Ghosts”, a fictional film “based on detailed research in both the UK and China…[which] brings home powerfully the reality faced by thousands of migrants in the UK” Will be shown.

For more information see the Amnesty International UK events page.