War on Terror Has Hurt Rights, Group Says

The Bush administration’s declared war on terrorism has sparked an increase in human rights abuses as countries turn a blind eye to violations by their allies, Amnesty International said today.

The group accused countries such as the United States of double standards, saying in its annual report for 2006 that their credibility had been weakened by reports of prisoner torture in third countries and other rights abuses.

Amnesty said that the war on terrorism had harmed ordinary people and that some governments had “sacrificed principles” and ignored rights violations.

“The increasing brutality of such incidents throughout the world last year is a further bitter reminder that the ‘war on terror’ is failing and will continue to fail until human rights ... are given precedence over narrow national security interests,” Amnesty Secretary-General Irene Khan said.

“Doublespeak and double standards by powerful governments are dangerous because they weaken the ability of the international community to address human rights problems,” she said.

The report cites the example of the U.S. jail at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which it says remains packed with prisoners who have not been charged or tried.

It says many European governments have tried to get out of their legal human rights obligations. It also accuses U.N. Security Council members Russia and China of consistently flouting human rights in pursuit of their own agendas.

Rights groups have slammed energy-hungry China for investing in or aiding countries with poor human rights records in return for access to oil and gas, and Moscow is often accused of abuses in war-torn Chechnya.

“Powerful governments are playing a dangerous game with human rights,” Khan said. “The scorecard of prolonged conflicts and mounting human rights abuses is there for all to see.”

Amnesty said governments with their own agendas had paralyzed the United Nations just when it could have acted decisively in regions such as Sudan’s crisis-torn Darfur.

Amnesty called for an end to genocide in Darfur, international action against the deadly trade in small arms, closure of the Guantanamo Bay facility and a renewed commitment to uphold rights.

It did cite positive developments. There was huge public support for the Make Poverty History campaign, and an international arrest warrant for former Peruvian leader Alberto Fujimori was enforced.