Controversies Irene Khan

as result of inaccurate media reports, khan s lawyers issued correction letter published chaity times not accurate of amnesty international record in 2009/2010 corporate accounts amount £532,000 paid our client . published letter detailed sum including: a) salary , contractual benefits until 31 december 2009; b) outstanding pay , shortfall arising in contractual benefits previous years (in part going 2005); relocation costs return abroad had been recruited; d) compensation severance payment (£115,000 gross) in respect of legal claim , grievances our client had asserted against amnesty international limited pursuant uk employment rights). outstanding iec chairman peter pack, high school teacher, stated paying off khan least worst option available iec. amount paid out khan , deputy (who removed iec) amounted 4% of amnesty international s budget year. organization hurt scandal , choosing pay khan leave, chairman pack promising make amends , move organization forward following khan s departure. naftali balanson of ngo-monitor said highly large payouts caused amnesty great damage . took issue khan s successor s salary since salil shetty receives annual take home pay of $300,000. independent , confidential report dame anne owers criticized both settlements reached kahn , deputy , amnesty international s management, owers finding amounts paid higher had been reported amnesty, , amnesty paid kahn s legal fees. owers called payouts excessive , wholly inappropriate stating half of amount explained contractual obligation. tory mp philip davis called payout ludicrous, stating following: sure people making donations amnesty, in belief alleviating poverty, never dreamed subsidizing fat cat payout . anonymous amnesty donor interviewed british daily express had following on subject: won t giving more money. how can woman lecture world abuses , walk off staggering amount of cash? .

in 2003, irene khan wrote piece titled security whom? in she, inter alia, accused allies of occupying force in afghanistan of mass killings .

in 2005, irene khan penned introduction year s amnesty international report in she, inter alia, referred detention facility @ guantanamo bay gulag of our time, accusing united states of thumb[ing] nose @ rule of law , human rights [as] grants licence others commit abuse impunity . backlash followed in media. michael totten of world affairs called hysterical heavy-breather . editorial opinion in washington post referred [i]t sad when solid, trustworthy institution loses bearings , joins in partisan fracas nowadays passes political discourse . john podhoretz of new york post said [t]he case of amnesty international proves well-meaning people can make morality life s work , still little more moral idiots. in united nations, peace , security, ramesh thakur called khan s likening of guantanamo bay detention facility gulag hyperbole wrong . commentary on europe s ariel cohen said khan s statement product of being blinded hatred of u.s. policies, deception or deep[] ignoran[ce], stating statement khan, reportedly, added [i]ronic should happen mark 60th anniversary of liberation of auschwitz . cohen stated incensed @ amnesty s gall in trivializing [the suffering of prisoners in soviet gulags included grandfather] political purposes. former soviet prisoner of conscience, pavel litvinov, told amnesty international staffer, called him inquire on behalf of khan whether appropriate use word gulag in amnesty report , in relation in guantanamo bay detention facility, there enormous difference between gulags , guantanamo bay detention facility. roger kimball of arma virumque called preposterous remark . in letter editor of new york times, margers pinnis demanded khan issue apology peoples of nations suffered under inhuman conditions of soviet union s notorious prison system . bush administration responded in following manner: president bush called absurd allegation; vice president cheney said offended it; defense secretary rumsfeld called reprehensible , make such outlandish charges los[ing] claim objectivity or seriousness . chairman of joint chiefs of staff myers called absolutely irresponsible white house spokesman scott mcclellan called characterization ridiculous . anne applebaum, author of gulag: history, found characterization infuriating, stating amnesty misus[ed] language [and] discard[ed] former neutrality , attack[ed] american government satisfaction of [the amnesty s] own political faction . however, not rallied against khan s gulag characterization. retired state department officer edmund mcwilliams monitored prisoner abuse committed in soviet union , vietnam stated following in support of khan s characterization: note abuses reported on in inhumane systems parallel abuses reported in guantanamo, @ bagram air base in afghanistan , @ abu ghriab prison: prisoners suspended ceiling , beaten death; widespread waterboarding; prisoners disappeared preclude monitoring international committee of red cross—and no senior-level accountability .

in 2010, speaking @ salford university conference khan referred pre-9/11 british anti-terrorism laws draconian, noting laws rendered al-qaida banned organization in uk before 9/11 attacks (keynote lecture @ salford university). kahn further described policy of war on terror breathtakingly shameless doublespeak , global web of abuse.

kahn s criticism of government, whether maintaining guantanamo bay detention facility or otherwise, ended installation idlo director general, organization government plays active , key role both donor , member.

according workplace information aggregator glassdoor khan s current approval rating idlo director general @ 21%, number of reviewers—most of whom current staff former idlo staff—noting poor direction , management ,

other humanitarian initiatives

interested in working directly people change lives, irene helped found development organization, concern universal, in 1977, , began work human rights activist international commission of jurists in 1979.
khan featured in 2003 tv documentary titled human rights, french filmmaker denis delestrac. film, shot in colombia, israel, palestine , pakistan, analyses how armed conflicts affect civilian communities , foster forced migration.
in 2009 khan featured in soldiers of peace, anti-war film.
since 2010, khan has served member of board centre humanitarian dialogue.




^ russell, jones & walker (21 march 2011). letter lawyers of irene khan (pdf). charity times. 
^ sign . www.linkedin.com. retrieved 2017-03-19. 
^ paying off khan least-worst option according amnesty s iec chair . civil society media. 
^ amnesty s pay-offs spark outrage . sunday times. london. 20 february 2011. 
^ amnesty international: high cost of human rights activism , charity . ngo-monitor. 12 june 2013. 
^ amnesty boss gets secret £500,000 payout . daily express. london. 19 february 2011. 
^ security whom? (pdf). london school of economics. 
^ guantánamo gulag of our time, says amnesty . guardian. 25 may 2005. 
^ michael totten (24 may 2005). gulag of our times . world affairs. 
^ american gulag . washington post (editorial). 26 may 2005. 
^ john podhoretz (27 may 2005). amnesty s idiocy – absurd talk on detainees . new york post (opinion). 
^ ramesh thakur (2006). united nations, peace , security: collective security responsibility protect. cambridge university press. pp. 107–. isbn 978-1-139-45694-4. 
^ ariel cohen (16 june 2005). gitmo no gulag . heritage foundation. 
^ pavel litvinov (25 june 2005). amnesty s gulag idiocy . age. melbourne. 
^ roger kimball (7 june 2005). gulag of our times ? . new criterion. 
^ margers pinnis (31 may 2005). real gulag . new york times. 
^ rumsfeld rejects amnesty s gulag label . cnn. 1 june 2005. 
^ american gulag? . cbs news. 5 june 2005. 
^ guantánamo denounced gulag . seattle times. 26 may 2005. 
^ anne applebaum (8 june 2005). amnesty s amnesia . washington post (op-ed). 
^ u.s. gulag name . washington post. 2 june 2005. 
^ idlo reviews . glassdor. 
^ cite error: named reference amnesty.org invoked never defined (see page).
^ irene khan — cast — soldiers of peace . soldiersofpeacemovie.com. archived original on 8 august 2009. retrieved 18 october 2009. 
^ soldati di pace (soldiers of peace) . soldatidipace.blogspot.com. 18 october 2009. retrieved 18 october 2009. 
^ irene khan, member of board, hd . hdcentre.org. retrieved 16 march 2015.