 Amnesty
International today (May 27, 2008) challenged world leaders to apologize for
six decades of human rights failure and re-commit themselves to deliver concrete
improvements.
"The human rights flashpoints in Darfur, Zimbabwe, Gaza, Iraq and Myanmar demand
immediate action," said Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International,
launching AI Report 2008: State of the World's Human Rights.
"Injustice, inequality and impunity are the hallmarks of our world today.
Governments must act now to close the yawning gap between promise and
performance."
Amnesty International's Report 2008, shows that sixty years after the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations, people are still
tortured or ill-treated in at least 81 countries, face unfair trials in at least
54 countries and are not allowed to speak freely in at least 77 countries.
"2007 was characterised by the impotence of Western governments and the
ambivalence or reluctance of emerging powers to tackle some of the world's worst
human rights crises, ranging from entrenched conflicts to growing inequalities
which are leaving millions of people behind," said Ms Khan.
Amnesty International cautioned that the biggest threat to the future of human
rights is the absence of a shared vision and collective leadership.
"2008 presents an unprecedented opportunity for new leaders coming to power and
countries emerging on the world stage to set a new direction and reject the
myopic policies and practices that in recent years have made the world a more
dangerous and divided place," said Ms Khan.
Amnesty International challenged governments to set a new paradigm for
collective leadership based on the principles of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
"The most powerful must lead by example," said Ms Khan.
- China must live up to the human rights
promises it made around the Olympic Games and allow free speech and freedom
of the press and end "re-education through labour".
- The USA must close Guantánamo detention camp
and secret detention centres, prosecute the detainees under fair trial
standards or release them, and unequivocally reject the use of torture and
ill-treatment.
- Russia must show greater tolerance for
political dissent, and none for impunity on human rights abuses in Chechnya.
- The EU must investigate the complicity of
its member states in "renditions" of terrorist suspects and set the same bar
on human rights for its own members as it does for other countries.
Ms Khan warned: "World leaders are in a state of
denial but their failure to act has a high cost. As Iraq and Afghanistan show,
human rights problems are not isolated tragedies, but are like viruses that can
infect and spread rapidly, endangering all of us."
"Governments today must show the same degree of vision, courage and commitment
that led the United Nations to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
sixty years ago."
"There is a growing demand from people for justice, freedom and equality."
Some of the most striking images of 2007 were of monks in Myanmar, lawyers in
Pakistan, and women activists in Iran.
"Restless and angry, people will not be silenced, and leaders ignore them at
their own peril," said Ms Khan.
Read More:
View the full report:
Sixty
years of human rights failure – governments must apologize and act now
... Payvand News - 05/29/08 ...
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