- LONDON (AFP) -- The United
States has proved "bankrupt of vision and bereft of principle"
in its fight against terrorism and invasion of Iraq, Amnesty International
charged.
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- In its 2004 report on the state of human rights around
the globe, the London-based group cited grave violations in dozens of other
nations.
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- But it targeted in particular the "war on terror"
initiated by US President George W. Bush in the wake of the September 11
attacks in 2001 for sanctioning human rights abuses in the name of freedom.
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- The unilateral nature of the conflict to unseat Saddam
Hussein in Iraq had additionally "virtually paralyzed" the United
Nations' role in guaranteeing human rights on a global level, the Amnesty
report said Wednesday.
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- The 339-page document, detailing the human rights situation
in 157 nations and territories, reserved the most column inches for the
United States, with almost as many critical words also meted out to Russia
and China.
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- Other perennial violators were also highlighted such
as North Korea, Cuba, and the central Asian state of Turkmenistan where
Amnesty summarised the situation simply as "appalling".
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- "The global security agenda promulgated by the US
administration is bankrupt of vision and bereft of principle," wrote
Amnesty's secretary general Irene Khan in the report's introduction.
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- "Sacrificing human rights in the name of security
at home, turning a blind eye to abuses abroad and using pre-emptive military
force where and when it chooses have neither increased security nor ensured
liberty."
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- The notion of fighting a campaign against terrorism so
as to support human rights, while simultaneously trampling on them to achieve
this, was no more than "double speak", she said.
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- "The United States has lost its moral high ground
and its ability to lead on peace and human rights elsewhere," Khan
added at a press conference in London to launch the annual report.
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- The report also stated that events in 2003 had "dealt
a mortal blow" to the UN's vision of universal human rights, with
the global body "virtually paralysed in its efforts to hold states
to account" over the issue.
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- "Not since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
was adopted in 1948 has there been such a sustained attack on (its) values
and principles," Khan told the press conference.
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- While the report only briefly dealt with damning allegations
that US and British troops tortured Iraqi prisoners -- these first came
to light just last month -- it had harsh words about the two nations' overall
record in Iraq.
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- "Coalition forces failed to live up fully to their
responsibilities as occupying powers, including their duty to restore and
maintain public order and safety, and to provide food, medical care and
relief assistance," it said.
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- Elsewhere, Amnesty detailed a long list of abuses in
Russia, where security forces "continue to enjoy almost total impunity
for serious violations of human rights and international law" in the
breakaway republic of Chechnya.
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- China, despite a new Communist government under President
Hu Jintao, had made "no significant attempt" to end the use of
torture and other abuses, which "remained widespread".
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- In the Middle East, both Israel and the Palestinian Authority
were taken to task, with Amnesty saying that some actions by the Israeli
army, such as the destruction of property, "constituted war crimes".
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- One of the most damning assessments was handed to Cuba,
which saw a "severe deterioration in the human rights situation"
during 2003, most notably through the jailing of dozens of dissidents after
"hasty and unfair" trials.
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- Copyright © 2004 Agence France Presse. All rights
reserved. The information contained in the AFP News report may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority
of Agence France Presse
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