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26/05/2004
Amnesty slams unprincipled US global security agenda
The US government's global security agenda is bankrupt of vision and bereft of principle, according to Amnesty International's annual report.
The Amnesty International Annual Report 2004 also found the UK complicit in human rights abuses carried out in Iraq. The 'war on terror', Amnesty said, and the war in Iraq had not only led to a new wave of human rights abuses but also diverted attention from old ones which continue hidden from the eyes of the world.
Reports of torture and ill-treatment underline the vulnerability of hundreds of prisoners, not only in Iraq but also at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, Afghanistan and elsewhere, incarcerated by the United States and its allies without charge, trial, access to lawyers or protection of the Geneva Conventions, the human rights organisation stated.
The 339-page report documents human rights issues of concern to Amnesty International during 2003 in 155 countries. Besides Iraq, the report also documents festering conflicts in places like Chechnya, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Nepal which have become a "breeding ground for some of the worst atrocities".
In a damning assessment, the Secretary General Irene Khan said: “The global security agenda promoted by the US Administration is bankrupt of vision and bereft of principle. Violating rights at home, turning a blind eye to abuses abroad and using pre-emptive military force where and when it chooses has damaged justice and freedom, and made the world a more dangerous place.
She added: “By failing to protect the rights of those who may be guilty, governments endanger the rights of those who are innocent, and put us all at risk.”
Violence by armed groups and increasing violations by governments have combined to produce the most sustained attack on human rights and international humanitarian law in 50 years. This is leading to a world of growing mistrust, fear and division, Amnesty said in its annual assessment of human rights worldwide.
Amnesty International strongly condemned armed groups responsible for atrocities such as the March 11 bombing in Madrid and the bomb attack on the United Nations building in Iraq on 19 August 2003, which killed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello.
The "callous, cruel and criminal attacks" by armed groups such as al-Qa’ida sometimes amounted to "war crimes and crimes against humanity".
It reports found that: extrajudicial executions were carried out in 47 countries; people were "disappeared" by state agents in 28 countries; victims of torture and ill-treatment by security forces, police and other state authorities were reported in 132 countries; and people were executed in 28 countries.
(gmcg)
The Amnesty International Annual Report 2004 also found the UK complicit in human rights abuses carried out in Iraq. The 'war on terror', Amnesty said, and the war in Iraq had not only led to a new wave of human rights abuses but also diverted attention from old ones which continue hidden from the eyes of the world.
Reports of torture and ill-treatment underline the vulnerability of hundreds of prisoners, not only in Iraq but also at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, Afghanistan and elsewhere, incarcerated by the United States and its allies without charge, trial, access to lawyers or protection of the Geneva Conventions, the human rights organisation stated.
The 339-page report documents human rights issues of concern to Amnesty International during 2003 in 155 countries. Besides Iraq, the report also documents festering conflicts in places like Chechnya, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Nepal which have become a "breeding ground for some of the worst atrocities".
In a damning assessment, the Secretary General Irene Khan said: “The global security agenda promoted by the US Administration is bankrupt of vision and bereft of principle. Violating rights at home, turning a blind eye to abuses abroad and using pre-emptive military force where and when it chooses has damaged justice and freedom, and made the world a more dangerous place.
She added: “By failing to protect the rights of those who may be guilty, governments endanger the rights of those who are innocent, and put us all at risk.”
Violence by armed groups and increasing violations by governments have combined to produce the most sustained attack on human rights and international humanitarian law in 50 years. This is leading to a world of growing mistrust, fear and division, Amnesty said in its annual assessment of human rights worldwide.
Amnesty International strongly condemned armed groups responsible for atrocities such as the March 11 bombing in Madrid and the bomb attack on the United Nations building in Iraq on 19 August 2003, which killed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello.
The "callous, cruel and criminal attacks" by armed groups such as al-Qa’ida sometimes amounted to "war crimes and crimes against humanity".
It reports found that: extrajudicial executions were carried out in 47 countries; people were "disappeared" by state agents in 28 countries; victims of torture and ill-treatment by security forces, police and other state authorities were reported in 132 countries; and people were executed in 28 countries.
(gmcg)
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19 September 2003
Government publishes annual report on human rights
The government's response to human rights challenges around the world over the last year has published in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Annual Report on Human Rights. The human rights situation in Iraq is one of the major elements of the report, and the government has outlined two strands to its human rights policy in Iraq.
Government publishes annual report on human rights
The government's response to human rights challenges around the world over the last year has published in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Annual Report on Human Rights. The human rights situation in Iraq is one of the major elements of the report, and the government has outlined two strands to its human rights policy in Iraq.
11 May 2004
Girl (8) among Iraqi civilians killed by UK troops: report
An eight-year-old girl is among a number of Iraqi civilians who have been killed in disputed circumstances by British forces in southern Iraq, an Amnesty International report has alleged.
Girl (8) among Iraqi civilians killed by UK troops: report
An eight-year-old girl is among a number of Iraqi civilians who have been killed in disputed circumstances by British forces in southern Iraq, an Amnesty International report has alleged.
09 March 2004
Britain's five Guantanamo detainees fly home today
Five of the nine British nationals held by the US in Guantanamo Bay are expected to fly home to the UK today.
Britain's five Guantanamo detainees fly home today
Five of the nine British nationals held by the US in Guantanamo Bay are expected to fly home to the UK today.
16 September 2010
NI Bill Of Rights Wins UK Backing
As the Stormont Justice Minister David Ford vowed to reshape the region's justice system to fit the needs of the people of Northern Ireland, human rights commissions across the UK have backed a proposed Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.
NI Bill Of Rights Wins UK Backing
As the Stormont Justice Minister David Ford vowed to reshape the region's justice system to fit the needs of the people of Northern Ireland, human rights commissions across the UK have backed a proposed Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.
24 March 2005
Ethiopian army branded ‘murderers and rapists’
The Ethiopian military has committed widespread murder, rape and torture against the Anuak population since December 2003, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released today.
Ethiopian army branded ‘murderers and rapists’
The Ethiopian military has committed widespread murder, rape and torture against the Anuak population since December 2003, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released today.
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