Amnesty International

Amnesty International urges individuals to get involved in letter-writing campaigns through its publication of "Urgent Actions." These Urgent Actions provide details on what rights are being violated, whose rights are being violated, and where to send letters to ask that these rights violations be stopped. What is so interesting about the linguistic style of these Urgent Actions is that they read like an uninterested, unbiased news report. They are devoid of emotion and descriptions of pain; they exist solely to inform the reader of the events taking place.
The purpose of writing in this style may be explained by Elaine Scarry's ideas about the perceptual complications of pain. She argues that because pain cannot be adequately expressed through language, the media must rely on visual images of pain rather than first-hand accounts of the effects of torture1. As a result, acts of violence that are more visible physically will receive more attention than verbal descriptions of pain.
By using a straightforward writing style devoid of language regarding pain, Amnesty International may hope to avoid this inequality of representation. Some victims of torture may be better able to express their pain verbally, while others are at a loss to explain how they feel. Additionally, some detainees may be unable to be reached for comment, and some of their proof may be more visual compelling than the documentation of other victim's. Therefore, in order to assure that each of its Urgent Actions receives equal attention, language expressing pain or emotional involvement must be omitted from the reports.

1. Scarry, Elaine. The Body in Pain: the Making and Unmaking of the World. Oxford University Press, 1985, p. 12.