Details are cross-checked and before any statement is issued the details are checked at several different levels of the research headquarters to make sure it is accurate and comes within Amnesty's mandate. Amnesty is impartial. It does not support or oppose any government or political system. It believes human rights must be respected universally. It takes up cases whenever it considers there are reliable grounds for concern, regardless of the ideology of the government or the beliefs of the victims.
Human rights transcend national boundaries.
This principle has been recognized by the world's main inter-governmental organisations. The very fact that the United Nations has a permanent Commission on Human Rights which deals with human rights violations around the world, is proof that the human rights practices of individual governments are a legitimate concern for scrutiny by the international community. Amnesty works on that principle and seeks observance of the human rights standards that governments themselves have adopted internationally. National laws themselves often violate international human rights standards. In many countries emergency legislation drastically curtails the rights of all citizens and provides for lengthy detention without charge or trial.