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News :: Miscellaneous |
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United States Human Rights Violations Undermine Global Leadership |
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by Amnesty International
(No verified email address) |
28 May 2002
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United States Human Rights Violations Undermine Global Leadership, Charges Amnesty International Upon Release of Annual Report
Survey of 152 Countries Finds US, Other Nations Willing to Sacrifice Human Rights in the Name of National Security |
WASHINGTON - May 28 - Forty-one years to the day that Amnesty International was founded with a call to action in the London Observer, the organization released its 2002 Annual Report on the status of human rights in 152 countries. Now the largest grassroots human rights organization in the world, Amnesty International charged today that many governments have scrimped on human rights following the September 11 attacks in the United States, using the "war on terrorism" to quash legitimate dissent or justify ongoing conflicts.
The organization also contended that the deficient human rights record of the US government erodes its capacity for human rights leadership, limiting the pressure the US can exert on other governments to improve their human rights practices. Amnesty International offered as evidence eight specific actions by the US government that weaken its foreign policy hand, with dire consequences for people worldwide. The actions included: widespread detention of foreigners post-September 11; use of the death penalty; failure to prosecute known torturers seeking safe haven in the US; pending use of military tribunals; export of torture devices; exceptionalism to international treaties; mistreatment of asylum-seekers; and selective recognition of Geneva Conventions protections.
"Citizens around the world suffer the consequences when the US defaults on its responsibility to promote human rights," said Dr. William F. Schulz, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA. "How can we pressure the Saudis to extradite Idi Amin when the US government fails to prosecute or extradite known torturers on American soil? How can the US condemn Russia's violations of the Geneva Conventions in Chechnya after selectively applying them to detainees in Guantanamo Bay?"
The 300-page report demonstrates that strides were made globally in several important human rights indicators. In particular, the organization documented a decrease in use of the death penalty among countries surveyed, continuing a downward trend that began in 1997. Last year 27 countries, including the US, carried out executions as compared to 40 in 1997.
"The US continues its shameful unwillingness to acknowledge the failures of its capital punishment system -- the failure to apply the death penalty justly, the failure to protect innocent people from capital prosecution and conviction, and the failure of the penalty to decrease crime," said Schulz. Texas is scheduled to execute child offender Napolean Beazley tonight at 7 pm EST.
Amnesty International's report documents that 56 nations (37% of countries surveyed) detained prisoners of conscience, continuing an encouraging five-year decline. Amnesty International has been heartened by the recent releases of high-profile prisoners of conscience on whose behalf the organization campaigned, including General Jose Gallardo (Mexico), environmentalists Rodolfo Montiel and Teodoro Cabrera (Mexico), Ngawang Choephel (Tibet), Aung San Suu Kyi (Myanmar) and, just two weeks ago, Dr. Taye Wolde-Semayat (Ethiopia).
The organization also documented a continuing decline in torture, down to 73% of countries surveyed, compared with 90% in the 2000 report. The two-year decline coincided with Amnesty International's second international campaign against torture. However, impunity for past crimes plagues far too many victims, as "disappearances" remain unresolved in 35 countries (23% of countries surveyed) - a 64-percent increase from 1991.
"The US government fails to understand that human rights are far from an impediment to national security - they are the foundation," said Schulz. "By sacrificing human rights in the name of national security, the US government loses the moral authority to criticize blatant transgressions by allies who usually are responsive to US pressure on human rights.
"As it works to maintain a global coalition for its war on terrorism, the US government has instituted a self-imposed gag order, stifling its criticism of the human rights practices of many old and new allies," Schulz continued. "No better example of that was President Bush's public appearance two weeks ago with Prime Minister Mahathir of Malaysia at which virtually no mention of Malaysia's abysmal human rights record was made while praise was heaped on the Prime Minister for his support of anti-terrorism efforts. The actions of the US government provide a de facto green light for other nations to ignore fundamental human rights standards."
The report is available on the internet at: |
See also:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/annualreport
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