DIGNITY AND ENNUI: Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 2009: The State of the World's Human Rights, London: Amnesty International Publications

Amnesty International, for many the archetypal global human rights non-governmental organization (NGO), is nearly 50. Since its birth in 1961, it has outlived many regimes and institutions that were its political midwives, from the Cold War, the Soviet Union and apartheid to the final eclipse of the British and French Empires; from sectarian violence in Northern Ireland to dictatorship in Portugal, Spain, and Greece. This remarkable longevity has not been achieved without cost. For those who work for or with Amnesty, its inner working culture has often been unsympathetic and unforgiving, sacrificial even, most notably so at its newly renovated headquarters, the International Secretariat (IS), in Easton Street, central London. To say that it is not an easy organization to manage and work in is an understatement that will provoke rueful smiles among those who have included a spell at Amnesty as part of their human rights journey. Part savvy...