PEN International

Fighting Censorship Since 1921

PEN was one of the world’s first non-governmental organisations and amongst the first international bodies advocating for human rights. PEN were the first worldwide association of writers, and the first organisation to point out that freedom of expression and literature are inseparable – a principle they continue to champion today and which is expressed in their Charter, a signature document 22 years in the making from its origins in 1926 and ratification at the 1948 Congress in Copenhagen.