Amnesty Report Paints Mostly Bleak Human Rights Picture

In its annual report on the human rights situation in some 140 countries, Amnesty International lambasted rich nations for focusing their efforts on security rather than fighting poverty. It also noted growing proof of a secret prison partnership between the Middle East and the West in the "war on terror."

The human rights watchdog condemned countries, including the US, China and Russia, of diluting efforts to solve conflicts elsewhere, such as Sudan's Darfur region.

"Governments collectively and individually paralyzed international institutions and squandered public resources in pursuit of narrow security interests, sacrificed principles in the name of the 'war on terror' and turned a blind eye to massive human rights abuses," Amnesty's Secretary General Irene Khan said in a statement released with the report.

Secret prison partnership

The report also said a growing body of evidence showed that there is a secret prison partnership between Western and Middle Eastern countries in the "war on terror," resulting in widespread human rights abuses. And it blamed US-led and Iraqi security forces for "grave human rights violations," with thousands being held without charge or trial in US detention centers, such as Guantanamo prison.

Meanwhile, Barbara Lochbihler, head of the German branch of Amnesty International, ai Deutschland, noted some positive tendencies in human rights compared with last year's report.

For instance, last year the US government passed a law forbidding torture by US civil servants, even abroad. "There was incredible internal resistance, and we see it as a positive change in trend," Lochbihler said.

Also, the outcry against human rights abuses at Guantanamo prison is spreading, she said. "We see that now, other organizations … have demanded the closure of Guantanamo prison. Compared with before, we are no longer the only ones who are demanding that human rights not be compromised through the fight against terror."

At the same time, ai Deutschland criticized the "war on terror" as the source of massive human-rights infractions, especially regarding the transport of prisoners through European airspace by secret service agencies. The organization has demanded explanations from European governments.

UK-Mideast deals draw fire

Moreover, in the name of the terror fight, European nations are trying to override previously secured human-rights standards, Lochbihler said. She gave the example of Britain making diplomatic deals to export terror suspects to Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, with the explicit statement that the countries will not practice torture, yet knowing that torture practices are common there.

"That is a change for the worse. … Europe has really got to be especially attentive to this case," Lochbihler said.

On the positive side, "more and more government figures who have abused human rights or been accused of war crimes, have been taken to court," she said, naming Liberia's Charles Taylor as a particular example.

Kudos for Angie

Angela Merkel's visit to China, where she refused to sweep the human rights question under the rug, also gave activists cause for celebration.

"Imagine what an effect that has on the Chinese people, on the human rights activists there, to know that human rights issues are a topic discussed at the highest levels…. On top of that, it is important to take the Chinese officials seriously who said they would really try to make headway on human rights ahead of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing."

Finally, ai Deutschland severely criticized Germany for failing to act in the case of Uzbekistan's Interior Minster Zakir Almatov. At the end of last year, the country allowed Almatov to stay in a German hospital for medical treatment. Torture is widespread in Uzbekistan, and only two weeks ago was the first anniversary of the Andishan massacre, which saw hundreds of demonstrators shot down in the streets by security forces.