Amnesty report says rights abuses on the rise

LONDON - The US-led war against terrorism has sparked a rise in human rights abuses as countries turn a blind eye to violations by their allies says Amnesty International.

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

Rights groups have often accused governments backing the war against terrorism of being reluctant to criticise allies that have a poor human rights records to avoid losing the support of those countries.

Amnesty said the war on terrorism had damaged ordinary people's lives and some governments had 'sacrificed principles' and turned a blind eye to rights violations in its pursuit.

"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 chief 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."

The report cited the example of the US jail at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, which it said remained packed with prisoners who had not been charged or tried, and many European governments had tried to wriggle out of their legal human rights obligations.

It also accused UN Security Council members Russia and China of consistently flouting human rights in pursuit of their own agendas.

Human rights groups have slammed energy-hungry China for investing in or aiding countries with bad human rights records in return for access to oil and gas supplies, while Moscow is often accused of abuses by Russian troops 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."

Action needed on Darfur

Amnesty said governments with their own agenda had paralysed the United Nations just when it could have acted decisively in regions like Sudan's crisis-torn Darfur.

"As a result, the world has paid a heavy price in terms of erosion of fundamental principles and in the enormous damage done to the lives and livelihoods of ordinary people."

But the past year had seen some positive developments, Amnesty said. There was huge public support for the campaign to Make Poverty History, former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was finally arrested and an international arrest warrant for former Peruvian leader Alberto Fujimori was enforced.

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

- REUTERS