Amnesty International released its 2011 annual report on May 13, 2011, which covers human rights in 156 countries and territories during 2010. The Guardian published an article on the report, noting the emphasis that Amnesty International placed on the WikiLeaks releases and their collaboration with news agencies for advancing human rights causes.

The report noted that the Afghan War Diaries had “provided valuable corroboration of human rights violations documented by human rights activists and journalists – violations that the Afghan and NATO governments had denied.”

Amnesty International also gave credit to WikiLeaks and various activists for catalyzing the revolution in Tunisia.

While the “Jasmine Revolution” in Tunisia would not have happened without the long struggle of brave human rights defenders over the last two decades, support for activists from outside the country may have been strengthened as people scrutinized the Wikileaks documents on Tunisia and understood the roots of the anger. In particular, some of the documents made clear that countries around the world were aware of both the political repression and the lack of economic opportunity, but for the most part were not taking action to urge change.

Technological methods and other innovations in communication were also acknowledged as having deep impact on the struggle for human rights. “…activists and journalists used new technology to speak truth to power and, in so doing, pushed for greater respect for human rights,” wrote Salil Shetty, secretary general for Amnesty International. “Information is a source of power, and for those challenging the abuse of power by states and other institutions, it is an exciting time.”