NESOHR -The NorthEast Secretariat On Human Rights

The only local, independent human rights monitoring body in the NorthEast of Sri Lanka

NESOHR Condolences on Passing of Amnesty Founder

To: Amnesty International

RE: Peter Benenson

It is with profound sadness that the NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESOHR) learns of the passing away of Mr. Peter Benenson, the founder of the Amnesty International (AI) on Saturday, February 26, 2005. NESOHR expresses its deepest sympathies to his family, members of AI, and to every Human Rights Activist following in his footsteps. He might be physically gone, but his legacy lives on and his memory will haunt everybody when they try to violate anybody’s human rights. His legacy is so powerful that everybody who abuses authority has nightmares when they think about AI.

To those who wanted to recognize Benenson's work, he would tell them that they could do so by redressing those abuses. Mr. Benenson leaves behind him a world changed so fundamentally and permanently that it is hard to comprehend the scale of the transformation. Almost ninety percent of the states have now formally given the right to their citizens to make international complaints.

Thanks to Mr. Peter Benenson, all of women’s rights, child rights, minority rights, workers’ rights, the rights of disabled persons have been codified and strengthened by successive declarations, conventions and acts of national legislation. His demise leaves a challenge to all of his fellow Human Rights Activists that they should dedicate themselves to continue his legacy and promote protection of human rights and fight with their souls against abuses and violations of our birthright. The world of human rights will never be the same without Mr. Benenson, but we can count on his spirit to lead us along.