Individuals of diverse backgrounds join Amnesty International for various reasons. For some people, they feel it is their moral obligation to campaign for human rights. Some people see activism as an educational opportunity. Some newcomers join us to gain valuable knowledge and leadership skills that will prepare them of a chosen career. There are those who join because they want to meet like-minded people in a social setting. And others join because of a personal experience with human rights violations. No matter what your reason may be, Amnesty International will make sure you have a place to take part in human rights activism.

Amnesty International Philippines makes it easy to do human rights activism. To become a member, just follow the steps below.

1. Fill up the online membership form  and pay your membership fee to become a bona fide member of Amnesty International Philippines.

2. Once you have paid the membership fee, you can join a local or thematic group depending on your region or interest. If you are a student, find out if there is a school-based Amnesty International Philippines group in your school. You may also take part in activism as an individual member.

3. Learn about Human Rights – Amnesty International Philippines offers several training events or learning sessions for the development of members. You can learn about general human rights concepts, or you can also learn specific skills related to campaigning, human rights education, media work, and other skills that will turn you into an effective human rights activist.

4. Take action – At the core of being an activist is taking action for human rights. Human rights work is serious work, but Amnesty International Philippines can find ways to make it fun, easy, and engaging. Visit our activism page to find out the different ways that you can take action for human rights today.

Amnesty International Philippines membership fee is based on capacity of members. Keep in mind that regardless of the membership fee you paid, all members are treated equally and have the same rights, duties and responsibilities as members.

PhP 50.00 – discounted membership fee for students and minimum wage earners

PhP 100.00 – regular membership fee

Your payment is used to shoulder membership servicing costs. Membership servicing includes communication costs, as one way to keep our members engaged is by ensuring that we communicate in different channels. These channels may vary from one member to another. Some members prefer to receive information through email, some through mobile phones, and others, through landline phones. Membership servicing also includes costs related to the production of communication materials as well as the corresponding shipping costs. This pertains to printing of letters from the Board of Trustees or the Secretariat and mailing these communications to members who may not have access to the Internet.

Amnesty International Philippines membership ID is for internal use only and cannot be used as a replacement for any government issued IDs. Your ID may be required to prove your membership status to AIPh to participate in membership engagements such as the Regional Assembly (RA) and Members General Assembly (MEGA) for additional validation.

Recruitment
– A member’s involvement with Amnesty International Philippines begins with recruitment. Our recruitment takes different forms as we always ensure that the first point of contact with possible members is memorable. Based on our experience, some members decided to join the organization after attending training. Some have joined after seeing one of our public actions. Members have different points of entry but the common theme is an interest in human rights.

Engagement
– Interested individuals may become an official member of Amnesty International Philippines once they paid their membership fee. The date that the National Secretariat receives the payment is designated as start date of their membership. AIPh provides various opportunities for new members to be engaged. Members may continue learning about human rights concepts or gaining new skills. Members may also choose to join specific campaigns that suit their interest.

Renewal
– The membership fee covers January to December of the current year upon payment of membership fees. However, members may choose to make advanced payments to secure their membership beyond one year, or they may choose to wait until the renewal season which is every first quarter of the year.

Amnesty International believes that it takes more than one method to spur social change. As such, our campaigning takes several forms, examples of which are the following.

Public Actions
– Human rights issues can be made known to people through peaceful, public rallies. Large gatherings of people draw attention and hopefully point to the
different violations and abuses being highlighted.

Letter writing and signature petitions
– Send letters or cards to or on behalf of individuals-at-risk to government authorities to save them from imminent execution, arbitrary arrests, punishments or danger brought about human rights work. You can organize letter writing marathons for our cases or conduct petition signing. Petitions are easy, and relatively cheap to organize. It’s a fast approach to expressing just how concerned a number of people really are about an issue.The more signatures in a petition, the more people take a stand in agreement with Amnesty International’s appeals.

Lobbying
– Approaching local official is another key component of campaigning for human rights issues. Through their positions of power, local officials can sway
public opinion, enact laws that protect human rights locally, and influence other governments to do the same.

Letter writing is the most effective, non-violent activism tool Amnesty International uses to mobilize people. It reminds government that it cannot keep human rights violation issues a secret. Read more about Write for Rights.

Amnesty International Philippines believes that a human rights violation in one part of the globe has an effect on the rest of the world. Time and again, we have seen that conflicts in far areas can force prices of goods to rise. We’ve also seen that a change in power elsewhere can force a change in policies in our country. Amnesty International Philippines is part of the bigger picture and believes in one of its core values: international solidarity.

Amnesty International Philippines has contributed greatly to the many milestones and successes of the human rights movement in the Philippines. It has proven its mettle in pushing for the adoption of human rights-based policies and programs in the public and private sphere, supported grassroots and national movements in successfully demanding for their rights, helped capacitate individuals and communities in pushing forward their agenda and provided platforms for advocacy for those considered voiceless.

One of the campaigning strengths of the section is on its policy advocacy work that has resulted in the legislation of essential human rights laws in the country. Most notable are the:

• Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act (2004)
• Repeal of the Death Penalty Law (2006)
• Juvenile Justice Act (2006), Magna Carta on Women (2009)
• Anti-Torture Act (2009)
• Respect for IHL Act (2010)
• Responsible Parenthood Act (Reproductive Health Law, 2012)
• Anti-Disappearance Act (2012)
• Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act (2013)

Our membership has grown to more than 2,000 in 2022 with a support base of about 15,000 people.