Amnesty International has a “toxic work culture” with widespread bullying, public humiliation, nepotism, discrimination and overwork, according to a report. The independent review — commissioned after two staff suicides last year — found a bitter “us versus them” split between employees and management that was causing “significant damage” to the human rights organisation. The review team said Amnesty was in a “state of emergency” that threatened the credibility of its work. “Any organisation that touts protecting human rights as its mission but is itself mired in a conflictual and adversarial culture will lose credibility,” the report said. “As organisational rifts and evidence of nepotism and hypocrisy become public knowledge they will be used by government and other opponents of Amnesty’s work to undercut or dismiss
An independent review into Amnesty International by KonTerra Consultancy has concluded the charity is in a state of emergency, with a toxic work culture causing significant damage to the organisation's mission. The review was commissioned following two staff suicides in 2018. It focused on the London office, citing discrimination, adversarial behaviour, overwork and nepotism as problems, undermining the credibility of Amnesty's external human rights work. KonTerra's findings follow similar allegations of harassment and bullying against charities Oxfam and Save the Children in the last year. Amnesty's secretary general has pledged to reform the non-profit in response to the report.