Editing Peter Gabriel (section)

== Activist for humanitarian causes ==
In 1986, Gabriel started what has become a longstanding association with [[Amnesty International]], becoming a pioneering participant in all 28 of Amnesty's ''[[Human rights concerts]]''—a series of music events and tours staged by the US Section of Amnesty International between 1986 and 1998. He performed during the six-concert ''[[A Conspiracy of Hope]]'' US tour in June 1986; the twenty-concert ''[[Human Rights Now!]]'' world tour in 1988; the ''Chile: Embrace of Hope Concert'' in 1990 and at ''The Paris Concert for Amnesty International'' in 1998. He also performed in Amnesty's ''[[The Secret Policeman's Balls|Secret Policeman's Ball]]'' benefit shows in collaboration with other artists and friends such as Lou Reed, [[David Gilmour]] of [[Pink Floyd]] and Youssou N'Dour; Gabriel closed those concerts performing his anti-[[Apartheid in South Africa|apartheid]] anthem "Biko".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0UYgKOv9_g |title=Peter Gabriel talks about his work for Amnesty International |date=28 May 2009 |via=YouTube |access-date=16 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130227004934/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0UYgKOv9_g |archive-date=27 February 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>
He spoke of his support for Amnesty on [[NBC]]'s ''[[Today (NBC program)|Today Show]]'' in 1986.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xcj9CRdSYEI |title=Peter Gabriel TV Interview on NBC Today Show about Amnesty concerts |date=22 April 2008 |via=YouTube |access-date=16 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130226212249/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xcj9CRdSYEI |archive-date=26 February 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Gabriel has a longstanding interest in human rights and launched [[Witness (human rights group)|Witness]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.witness.org |title=See it. Film it. Change it. Using video to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations |website=Witness.org |access-date=16 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715212320/http://www.witness.org/ |archive-date=15 July 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> a charity that trains human rights activists to use video and online technologies to expose human rights abuses. In 2006, his work with Witness and his long-standing support of peace and human rights causes was recognised by the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] Laureates with the [[Man of Peace]] award. In November 2007, Witness launched The Hub, a participatory media site for human rights.

In 1995, Gabriel and Cape Verdean human rights activist [[Vera Duarte]] were awarded the [[North–South Prize]] in its inaugural year.<ref>{{cite web |title=The North South Prize of Lisbon |work=North-South Centre |publisher=Council of Europe |url=http://www.coe.int/t/e/north%2Dsouth_centre/programmes/7_north%2Dsouth_prize/winners_PNS.asp |access-date =21 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215230739/http://www.coe.int/t/e/north-south_centre/programmes/7_north-south_prize/winners_PNS.asp <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=15 February 2008}}</ref><ref name=coe>{{cite news |title=Ms. Vera Duarte, Minister of Education, Cape Verde |url=http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/nscentre/20th_anniversary/Testimonies/Interview_VeraDuarte.pdf |publisher=[[Council of Europe]] |access-date=3 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125142856/http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/nscentre/20th_anniversary/Testimonies/Interview_VeraDuarte.pdf |archive-date=25 January 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:PeterGabrielJI1.jpg|left|230px|thumb|Gabriel at WITNESS Gala 2007]]
In the late 1990s, Gabriel and entrepreneur [[Richard Branson]] discussed with [[Nelson Mandela]] their idea of a small, dedicated group of leaders, working objectively and without any vested personal interest to solve difficult global conflicts. On 18 July 2007, in [[Johannesburg]], South Africa, Nelson Mandela announced the formation of a new group, [[The Elders (organization)|The Elders]], in a speech he delivered on the occasion of his 89th birthday. [[Kofi Annan]] served as Chair of the Elders and [[Gro Harlem Brundtland]] as deputy chair. The other members of the group are [[Martti Ahtisaari]], [[Ela Bhatt]], [[Lakhdar Brahimi]], [[Fernando Henrique Cardoso]], [[Jimmy Carter]],<ref name="New Statesman">{{cite web |last=Mossman |first=Kate |date=3 October 2013 |title=Peter Gabriel: Pop stardom and reimagining politics |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/2013/09/dream-factory |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418074444/http://www.newstatesman.com/2013/09/dream-factory |archive-date=18 April 2016 |access-date=29 September 2016 |website=Newstatesman.com}}</ref> [[Hina Jilani]], [[Graça Machel]], [[Mary Robinson]]<ref name="New Statesman" /> and [[Ernesto Zedillo]]. [[Desmond Tutu]] was an Honorary Elder, as was Nelson Mandela. The Elders is independently funded by a group of donors, including Branson and Gabriel, and use their collective skills to catalyse peaceful resolutions to long-standing conflicts, articulate new approaches to global issues that are causing or may later cause immense human suffering, and share wisdom by helping to connect voices all over the world. They work together to consider carefully which specific issues to approach.

In September 2008, Gabriel was named as the recipient of Amnesty International's 2008 ''Ambassador of Conscience Award''. In the same month, he received [[Quadriga (award)|Quadriga]] ''United We Care'' award of Werkstatt Deutschland along with [[Boris Tadić]], [[Eckart Höfling]] and Wikipedia. The award was presented to him by [[Queen Silvia of Sweden]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://loomarea.com/die_quadriga/e/index.php?title=Award_2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915140714/http://loomarea.com/die_quadriga/e/index.php?title=Award_2008 |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 September 2008 |title=Die Quadriga – Award 2008 |language=de |website=Loomarea.com |access-date=16 July 2011 }}</ref>

In 2010, Gabriel lent his support to the campaign to release [[Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani]], an Iranian Azeri woman who was sentenced to death by stoning after being convicted of committing adultery.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/22/iran-stoning-woman-campaigners |title=Iran stoning case woman ordered to name campaigners |location=London |work=The Guardian |date=22 July 2010 |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131081758/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/22/iran-stoning-woman-campaigners |archive-date=31 January 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In December 2013, Gabriel posted a video message in tribute to the deceased former South African president and anti-apartheid leader [[Nelson Mandela]]. Gabriel was quoted:

{{blockquote|To come out of 27 years in jail and to immediately set about building a Rainbow Nation with your sworn enemy is a unique and extraordinary example of courage and forgiveness. In this case, Mandela had seen many of his people beaten, imprisoned and murdered, yet he was still willing to trust the humanity and idealism of those who had been the oppressors, without whom he knew he could not achieve an almost [[peaceful transition of power]]. There is no other example of such inspirational leadership in my lifetime.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://petergabriel.com/videos/O5-kw5_Yzg0/peter-gabriel-speaks-of-the-loss-of-nelson-mandela/|title=Peter Gabriel speaks of the loss of Nelson Mandela|publisher=Peter Gabriel|date=6 December 2013|access-date=6 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210111825/https://petergabriel.com/videos/O5-kw5_Yzg0/peter-gabriel-speaks-of-the-loss-of-nelson-mandela/|archive-date=10 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/video-news/video-peter-gabriel-speaks-of-the-loss-of-nelson-mandela-29816461.html |title=Video: Peter Gabriel speaks of the loss of Nelson Mandela |work=Belfast Telegraph |access-date=7 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213010525/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/video-news/video-peter-gabriel-speaks-of-the-loss-of-nelson-mandela-29816461.html |archive-date=13 December 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

Gabriel has criticised [[Air France]] for their continued transport of monkeys to laboratories. In a letter to the airline, Gabriel wrote that in laboratories, "primates are violently force-fed chemicals, inflicted with brain damage, crippled, addicted to cocaine or alcohol, deprived of food and water, or psychologically tormented and ultimately killed."<ref>{{cite news|last=Meikle|first=James|title=Jane Goodall and Peter Gabriel urge Air France to stop ferrying lab monkeys|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/may/20/jane-goodall-peter-gabriel-air-france-stop-monkeys-transport|access-date=28 January 2015|work=The Guardian|date=20 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403210829/http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/may/20/jane-goodall-peter-gabriel-air-france-stop-monkeys-transport|archive-date=3 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

In March 2014, Gabriel publicly supported #withsyria, a campaign to rally support for victims of the [[Syrian Civil War]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26543547 |title=Banksy marks third anniversary of Syria conflict |publisher=BBC News |date=13 March 2014 |access-date=20 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170505103206/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26543547 |archive-date=5 May 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In November 2014, Gabriel, along with [[Pussy Riot]] and [[Iron & Wine]] supported Hong Kong protesters at [[Lennon Wall (Hong Kong)|Hong Kong's Lennon Wall]] in their efforts.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Kreps|first=Daniel|title=Peter Gabriel, Pussy Riot Show Support for Hong Kong Protestors|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/peter-gabriel-pussy-riot-show-support-for-hong-kong-protestors-20141129|access-date=30 November 2014|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=29 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141201160601/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/peter-gabriel-pussy-riot-show-support-for-hong-kong-protestors-20141129|archive-date=1 December 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

In March 2015, Gabriel was awarded an honorary doctorate by the [[University of South Australia]] in recognition of his commitment to creativity and its transformational power in building peace and understanding.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.unisa.edu.au/Media-Centre/Releases/University-of-South-Australia-honours-Peter-Gabriel/#.VPjvMXyUdBk |title=University of South Australia honours Peter Gabriel |access-date=4 March 2015 |date=4 March 2015 |website=Unisa.edu.au |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150309001035/http://www.unisa.edu.au/Media-Centre/Releases/University-of-South-Australia-honours-Peter-Gabriel/#.VPjvMXyUdBk |archive-date=9 March 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

He composed the song "The Veil" for [[Oliver Stone]]'s film ''[[Snowden (film)|Snowden]]'' (2016).<ref>{{cite web |last=Gabriel |first=Peter |date=14 September 2016 |title=Peter Gabriel – The Veil (Official video) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqFKjz4l9u0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201040309/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqFKjz4l9u0 |archive-date=1 December 2018 |access-date=9 August 2018 |via=YouTube}}</ref>