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The Urgent Action Network is made up of 165,000 people around the world who are outraged by injustice and prepared to act swiftly at critical moments to stop it.

For 40 years the network has protected people from torture and ill-treatment, obtained the release of people who were wrongly - and sometimes secretly - detained, and secured access to medical treatment or legal counsel for prisoners. Sometimes it has even saved lives.

Don't miss our next urgent action. Join the Urgent Action Network today

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40 years on, still as urgent as ever

Forty years ago, on 19 March 1973, Tracy lltveit-Moe launched the first ever Urgent Action. It was on behalf of Professor Luis Rossi, who was at risk of torture in Brazil. As the letters came pouring in the torture stopped and after a while Rossi was released. Forty years on and Urgent Actions have become a fundamental part of the way that we campaign.

Press play to listen to Tracy talk about that first action, and what it meant for Amnesty.

How does it work?

Urgent action is based on a simple idea: when someone is in immediate danger of serious abuse, the government responsible for perpetrating or failing to prevent that abuse will receive thousands of faxes, telegrams, emails and air-letters from every part of the globe. Those messages tell the authorities that the world is watching, and create pressure to stop the abuse.

Nowadays, the network tackles about 400 new cases and up to 300 updates each year, addressing not only torture but also death threats, the death penalty, 'enforced disappearance', forced repatriation, extrajudicial execution, secret detention, forced evictions and a range of other human rights violations.

Professor Rossi was the subject of the first urgent action, issued on 19 March 1973. A prisoner of conscience in Brazil under the military regime, then a human rights activist - his story has set a powerful model for the tens of thousands of urgent actions that were to follow.

How you can be part of the action

All you need to join the Urgent Action Network is complete our online form. Once you're part of the network, we will:

send you a number (specified by you) of urgent action casesheets each month
send you any updates on each urgent action you receive if and when we have new information
send you a newsletter at least twice a year

Resources to help you take action

Are you considering joining the Urgent Action Network and want more information on how it works? A new member and would like some guidance on writing your first appeal? Or a member of many years looking for answers to those tricky questions people ask you about why we think your appeals work?

The Urgent Action Participation Guide will tell you everything you need to know about the Urgent Action Network.

Don't miss our next urgent action. Join the Urgent Action Network today