Will Obama Rise to Amnesty International’s Challenge?

Posted by Gino Cosme

January 27, 2009

Across the globe there are high expectations of what President Barack Obama can do to counter terrorism now that he has taken office. One reason for this is his new strategy to fight global terrorism, which he outlined during his campaign:

“When I am President, we will wage the war that has to be won, with a comprehensive strategy with five elements: getting out of Iraq and on to the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan; developing the capabilities and partnerships we need to take out the terrorists and the world’s most deadly weapons; engaging the world to dry up support for terror and extremism; restoring our values; and securing a more resilient homeland.”

Amnesty International has launched a campaign called 100 Days asking President Barack Obama to take realistic steps to counter terror in his first 100 days in the Oval Office. With 93 days to get through Amnesty’s 17 point checklist, the President is being asked to:

Close illegal detention centers including Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib (Barack Obama has already taken steps in the right direction)
Ban torture and ill treatment
End impunity

As Amnesty says, don’t expect the impossible from the US President but do expect concrete steps to fight terror with justice.

The campaign has been created with three interlinked objectives in mind: get the attention of the White House through a viral word of mouth campaign that solicits the community’s support to petition for change. They’ve done this through a two-minute viral video (embedded below), creating widgets and banners that people can share on their websites and blogs, “PDFing” the President’s checklist, and soon launching wallpapers and mobile ringtones, all of which lend themselves to getting the message out there. The community is also being encouraged to sign a petition asking Obama to demonstrate is commitment to human rights in his first 100 days in office. The true test will be, as Beju states, whether he stays true to his word.

Amnesty International’s strategy is a powerful example of how organisations can use the Internet and work with consumers or supporters to enable a marketing campaign.

The big question now is: Will Obama play nice?