Amnesty International's new campaign, Demand Dignity, aims to hold national and international leaders accountable for the human rights violations that drive and deepen poverty. It will defend every person’s right to live with dignity. The experience of people living in poverty is defined by a lack of income, but also, very importantly, by a combination of deprivation, insecurity, exclusion and powerlessness. These are in themselves abuses of human rights. Ms. Khan will address these issues in her talk. As well, she will link the larger campaign to the fact that, worldwide, Indigenous peoples are the most affected by extreme poverty and usually rank at the bottom of any social or economic indicator. In Australia, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are denied their rights to the highest attainable standard of health, adequate housing and freedom from discrimination. A major focus of the Demand Dignity campaign in Australia, therefore, is to concentrate on the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Irene Khan joined Amnesty International as Secretary General in August 2001. The first woman, first Asian and first Muslim to head the world's largest human rights organisation, she has led AI through major developments in the wake of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington - confronting the backlash against human rights; broadening the work of the organisation in areas of economic, social and cultural rights; and bringing a strong focus to the issue of women's human rights and violence against women.
Prior to joining Amnesty International, Irene Khan served with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, including as Deputy Director in the Department of International Protection, Chief of Mission in India, Senior Legal Advisor for Asia, and Senior Executive Officer to the High Commissioner.
Her book, entitled The Unheard Truth: Poverty and human rights, is due for release in October 2009 (www.theunheardtruth.org).