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Greenpeace is an international environmental organisation founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1971. Greenpeace is known for its use of campaigns to stop atmospheric and underground nuclear testing as well as to bring an end to high seas whaling. In later years, the focus of the organisation turned to other environmental issues, including bottom trawling, global warming, ancient forest destruction, nuclear power, and genetic engineering. Greenpeace has national and regional offices in 41 countries worldwide, all of which have affiliation with the Amsterdam-based Greenpeace International. The global organisation receives its income through the individual contributions of an estimated 2.8 million financial supporters, as well as from grants from charitable foundations, but does not accept funding from governments or corporations.
Issues
Climate change
Renewable energy replacement of nuclear power and fossil fuels
Ocean crisis
Bottom trawling
Fish population decrease
Whale population decrease
Dead zones
Forest protection
Genetic engineering
Toxic chemicals
Nuclear power and its safe use
Sustainable trade
Legitimacy of World Trade organisation
WTO promotion contrasted with health and environment
Abolition of nuclear weapons
Activities
The organisation currently actively addresses many environmental issues, with primary focus on efforts to stop global warming and to preserve the biodiversity of the world's oceans and ancient forests. In addition to the more conventional environmental organisation methods, such as lobbying politicians and attendance at international conferences, Greenpeace has a stated methodology of engaging in nonviolent direct action.
Greenpeace is best known for direct action to attract attention to particular environmental causes, whether by placing themselves between the whaler's harpoon and their prey, or by invading nuclear facilities dressed as barrels of radioactive waste. They also use other methods however, such as the development of a fuel-efficient car, the SmILE.
Some of Greenpeace's most notable successes include the ending of atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, a (purportedly) permanent moratorium on international commercial whaling, and the declaration by treaty of Antarctica as a global park, forbidding possession by individual nations or commercial interests. To back up this latter point, World Park Base was established in Antarctica, and ran for five years, from 1987 through 1992.

ATTAC (Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions for the Aid of Citizens, ATTAC) is an activist organization for the establishment of a tax on foreign exchange transactions.
Background
Originally a single-issue movement demanding the introduction of the so-called Tobin tax on currency speculation, ATTAC now devotes itself to a wide range of issues related to globalisation, monitoring the decisions of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). ATTAC attends the meetings of the G8 with the goal of influencing policymakers' decisions.
Though ATTAC criticises the neoliberal ideology dominating economic globalisation, it is not "anti-globalisation". It supports globalisation policies that they characterise as sustainable and socially just. One of ATTAC's slogans is "The World is not for sale", denouncing the "merchandisation" of society.
Issues and activities
The main issues covered by ATTAC today are:
Control of financial markets (e.g. Tobin tax)
"Fair" instead of "free" trade, via democratic control of the WTO and international financial institutions such the IMF, Worldbank, EU, NAFTA, FTAA, and G8.
Defense of public goods - air, water, information
Defense of public social services - like those relevant to health, social services, and social security. For example, it is against the privatisation of pensions and of the health care system.
ATTAC has also taken a position on genetically-modified organisms. ATTAC also opposes General Agreement on Trade in Services.
The struggle to end tax evasion (tax havens) as practiced by transnational corporations and rich individuals
Sustainable globalisation
Cancellation of the debts of developing countries.
ATTAC campaigned against the treaty establishing one constitution for Europe. (Treaty of Rome of 2004).

Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) comprising "a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights".[1] Essentially it compares actual practices of human rights with internationally accepted standards and demands compliance where these have not been respected. It works to mobilize public opinion in the belief that it is this which has the power to exert pressure on those who perpetrate abuses.
Work Amnesty International’s vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.
In pursuit of this vision, Amnesty International’s mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights.—Statute of Amnesty International, 27th International Council meeting, 2005
This mission translates into specific aims which are to:
Abolish the death penalty
End extrajudicial executions and "disappearances"
Ensure prison conditions meet international human rights standards
Ensure prompt and fair trial for all political prisoners
Fight impunity from systems of justice
End the recruitment and use of child soldiers
Free all prisoners of conscience
Promote economic, social and cultural rights for marginalized communities
Protect human rights defenders
Stop torture and ill-treatment
Stop unlawful killings in armed conflict
Uphold the rights of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers

Amnesty International targets not only governments, but also non governmental bodies and private individuals (non state actors).
To further these aims Amnesty International has developed several techniques to publicize information and mobilize public opinion. The organization considers as one of its strengths the publication of impartial and accurate reports. Reports are researched by interviewing victims and officials, observing trials, working with local human rights activists and by monitoring the media. It aims to issue timely press releases and publishes information in newsletters and on web sites. It also sends official missions to countries to make courteous but insistent inquiries.
Campaigns to mobilize public opinion can take the form of individual, country or thematic campaigns. Many techniques are deployed such as direct appeals (for example, letter writing), media and publicity work and public demonstrations. Often fundraising is integrated with campaigning.
In situations which require immediate attention, Amnesty International calls on existing urgent action networks or crisis response networks; for all other matters it calls on its membership. It considers the large size of its human resources to be another one of its key strengths
Current campaigns
Stop violence against women
Violence against women is the greatest human rights scandal of our times. From birth to death, in times of peace as well as war, women face discrimination and violence at the hands of the state, the community and the family.
Control Arms
The Arms Trade is out of control. Worldwide arms are fuelling conflict, poverty, and human rights abuses. It doesn’t have to be like this. Amnesty International, Oxfam and IANSA are calling for a global Arms Trade Treaty and for local action to protect civilians from armed violence.
Stop Torture
The ban on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment – the most universally accepted of human rights – is being undermined. In the "war on terror", governments are not only using torture and ill-treatment, they are making the case that this is justifiable and necessary.
Find out more about Guantánamo Bay
The Death Penalty
The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. It violates the right to life. It is irrevocable and can be inflicted on the innocent and has never been shown to deter crime more effectively than other punishments.
Poverty and human rights
Everyone, everywhere has the right to live with dignity. That means that no-one should be denied their rights to adequate housing, food, water and sanitation, and to education and health care.
Human rights defenders
Human rights defenders are united by their commitment to protecting and upholding the dignity and rights of their fellow citizens.
Refugees and Migrants
Everyday people make decisions to leave their homes, communities and countries. Some leave because they are afraid. They are afraid for their lives, and for the lives of their children and loved ones. Others leave because their social or economic situation has compelled them to do so.
The Internet and Human Rights
The internet is the new frontline in the fight for human rights. Governments are increasingly monitoring web, email and blog use, censoring and prosecuting their citizens for expressing their opinions online.
Economic globalization and human rights
Amnesty International believes economic actors - be they companies or international financial institutions - are accountable for the human rights impact of their activities.
International Justice
The twentieth century was perhaps the bloodiest in history. Millions of people were victims of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture, extrajudicial executions and "disappearances." These crimes were committed throughout the world during international and civil wars and in conditions of "peace.".
Child soldiers
Worldwide, more than half a million children have been recruited into government armed forces, paramilitaries, civil militia and a wide variety of non-state armed groups in more than 85 countries.
United Nations
The UN General Assembly's current effort to create a new Human Rights Council is a historic opportunity to improve the UN’s capacity to protect and promote all human rights.

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