OBSERVARE
Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa
e-ISSN: 1647-7251
Thematic dossier
International Relations and Social Networks
July 2021
61
SOCIAL MEDIA AS A TOOL FOR COMMUNICATING HUMAN RIGHTS. CASE
STUDY: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
JAVIER BERNABÉ FRAGUAS
j.bernabe@ucm.es
PhD in International Relations, degree in Information Sciences, both from the Complutense
University of Madrid (UCM); lecturer in the Department of International Relations and Global
History at the UCM (Spain). Specialises thematically in international information and
communication, and geographically in Latin America. Director of the international information and
analysis media Dossier 48. Member of the research groups: "Relaciones Internacionales Siglo
XXI" of the UCM in Spain; and "Comunicación, Periodismo y Sociedad" of the Fundación
Universitaria para el Desarrollo Humano UNINPAHU in Colombia.
Abstract
This text analyses the importance of social networks for one of the most important non-
governmental organisations in the world in terms of the defence of human rights at a global
level, Amnesty International, through its Spanish section.
To do so, it moves from the general to the specific, starting by addressing the importance of
communication as a fundamental element for development cooperation, the defence of human
rights and the environment. It moves on to a general analysis of the social networks used by
Amnesty International, arriving at a specific analysis of their use during the first 15 days of
January 2021 by the organisation. It ends with the drawing of conclusions with the intention
of opening a space for debate, which can increase the growth of knowledge about the
usefulness of social networks and new technologies as key tools for the defence of human
rights.
Keywords
Human Rights, Social Networks, Amnesty International, International Communication.
How to cite this article
Fraguas, Javier Bernabé. Social media as a tool for communicating human rights. Case study:
Amnesty International. Thematic dossier International Relations and Social Networks, July
2021. Consulted [online] on date of last visit, https://doi.org/10.26619/1647-7251.DT21.5
Article received on January 5, 2021 and accepted for publication on March 17, 2021
JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations
e-ISSN: 1647-7251
Thematic dossier International Relations and Social Networks (July 2021), pp. 61-77
Social media as a tool for communicating human rights. Case study: Amnesty International
Javier Bernabé Fraguas
62
SOCIAL MEDIA AS A TOOL FOR COMMUNICATING HUMAN
RIGHTS. CASE STUDY: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
1
2
JAVIER BERNABÉ FRAGUAS
1. Introduction
The purpose of this research is to analyse the use of social media as a tool for
communicating human rights, through the case study of Amnesty International
3
.
The first objective is to determine the definition of communication for development,
communication for human rights and communication for the environment
(COMDEDEHUMA), as an integrated communication space, in which communication for
human rights is inserted as a protagonist at a global level. The second objective is to find
out how Amnesty International, through its Spanish Section, uses social networks as a
tool for communicating human rights and achieving its objectives. The third objective is
to make visible how this organisation uses these social networks in a concrete way, in a
period of time that covers the first 15 days of January 2021. The fourth objective is to
generate a space for debate and reflection based on conclusions that set out the present
and some future scenarios of the link between social networks and human rights on a
global scale.
This work is part of a qualitative research project and will be undertaken in three phases.
The first of these will establish the background to human rights communication,
explaining a newly created term by the author (COMDEDEHUMA) as a dynamic of
international communication and a line of communication applied to the Sustainable
Development Goals. In the second phase, the use of social networks by Amnesty
International will be analysed, through the work of its Spanish Section; this will be done
in two ways: a) by collecting information directly through interviews with its media
officer; b) through the collection of data on its social network activity during the first 15
days of January.
Methodologically, this research is approached using descriptive and analytical methods,
as their combination provides the necessary explanatory elements to reach the most
pertinent conclusions. The bibliographical review of primary and secondary sources, such
1
Article translated by Javier Bernabé Fraguas with the supervision of Nina Wormer Nixdorf.
2
This text is one of the results of the project "La información internacional como herramienta de inserción
laboral para el alumnado de Relaciones Internacionales", approved in the Innova-Docencia 20-21 call for
proposals; project leader: Javier Bernabé Fraguas; funding entity: Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
3
https://www.es.amnesty.org/
JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations
e-ISSN: 1647-7251
Thematic dossier International Relations and Social Networks (July 2021), pp. 61-77
Social media as a tool for communicating human rights. Case study: Amnesty International
Javier Bernabé Fraguas
63
as reports, documents or research papers published by academic journals and think tanks
has been used, especially for the first part. The interview and data collection have proved
to be instruments that have been presented as great tools for deepening the object of
study. The information obtained has made it possible to capture those aspects which are
most significant and to provide, after their systematisation, an approach to Amnesty
International's work, which will give meaning to the study and will be very relevant for
the analysis and conclusions.
The main premise of this work is based on the following statement: social networks are
an extremely important tool for human rights communication, both in terms of
disseminating messages, interacting with interested people and raising funds for non-
governmental organisations specialising in human rights.
2. Communication by non-governmental organisations at the
international level
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that work in the international arena usually do
so in one of four thematic areas: international development cooperation, humanitarian
action, defence of human rights, and defence of the environment. These four areas form
an area of work within international relations that is led by some very particular actors,
which emerge from organised civil society, and express their concern to improve the
living conditions of the most disadvantaged populations in the international arena. These
manifestations take the form of various types of action on the ground, including
awareness-raising, denunciation, research and applied research, most of the time. The
17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are the roadmap to follow, and their
169 goals are the roads on the map to reach the right destination. Communication is
central to all of this, and NGOs understand that without it they cannot achieve what they
set out to do.
Communication, therefore, stands out as something essential, in all its complexity, from
the relationship with traditional media, to interaction in social networks and the use of
new technologies to communicate, as well as internal communication with partners and
members of the organisations.
Not all the work of these NGOs is carried out in what we might call the countries of the
South, but a very large percentage of it is. And the information that NGOs offer to
international audiences about these countries would constitute a counterweight to the
disinformation that the media