|
No
short cut to genuine security: Suffering beyond the
spotlight
People around the world are more insecure today than
at any time since the end of the Cold War, Irene Khan,
Secretary General of Amnesty International said today
at the launch of the organization's annual report.
"The war on Iraq dominated the international
agenda for the past year, but away from the eyes of
the world a myriad of "forgotten" conflicts
have taken a heavy toll on human rights and human
lives, in places as diverse as Côte d'Ivoire,
Colombia, Burundi, Chechnya and Nepal."
"Iraq and Israel and the Occupied Territories
are in the news, Ituri in the Democratic Republic
of Congo is not, despite the imminent threat of genocide,"
said Irene Khan. "Drawing attention to "hidden"
crises, protecting the rights of the "forgotten
victims" is the biggest challenge we face today."
Governments around the world have spent billions in
an effort to beef up national security and the "war
on terror", but for millions of people the real
sources of insecurity were corrupt and inept systems
of policing and justice; brutal repression of political
dissent; severe discrimination and social inequities;
extreme poverty and the spread of preventable diseases.
"A war was fought in Iraq because of the suspected
presence of weapons of mass destruction. But nothing
was done to stop the well-documented flow of arms
that fuel conflicts and cause massive human rights
abuse in many parts of the world."
More than eighteen months after the war in Afghanistan
ended, millions of Afghans, including returning refugees,
face an uncertain and insecure future.
"There is a very real risk that Iraq will go
the way of Afghanistan if no genuine effort is made
to heed the call of the Iraqi people for law and order
and full respect of human rights."
At a time of heightened insecurity governments chose
to ignore and undermine the collective system of security
which the rule of international law represents. While
claiming to bring justice to victims in Iraq, the
United States has actively sought to undermine the
International Criminal Court, the mechanism for universal
justice.
The "war on terror", far from making the
world a safer place, has made it more dangerous by
curtailing human rights, undermining the rule of international
law and shielding governments from scrutiny. It has
deepened divisions among people of different faiths
and origins, sowing the seeds for more conflict. The
overwhelming impact of all this is genuine fear -among
the affluent as well as the poor.
"It is vital that we resist the manipulation
of fear and challenge the narrow focus of the security
agenda. The definition of security must be broadened
to encompass the security of people, as well as states.
That means a commitment to human rights. That means
recognising that insecurity and violence are best
tackled by effective, accountable states which uphold,
not violate human rights," Ms Khan concluded.
Campaigns that ran throughout 2002 resulted in a number
of successes. The organization succeeded in the release
of individuals like former Russian prisoner of conscience
Grigory Pasko, in obtaining justice for Sierra Leoneans
with the establishment of a Special Court for that
country and for global accountability with the entry
into force of the International Criminal Court.
Beyond the spotlight: "Hidden Crises"
Away from the glare of publicity, conflict, insecurity
and violence continue to affect millions of people
in Africa.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the human rights
situation remains
bleak, with continuing fighting and attacks on civilians,
particularly in the east. In the Great Lakes region
too, those perpetuating human rights abuses continue
to enjoy impunity.
In Burundi, government forces carried out extrajudicial
killings,
"disappearances", torture and other serious
violations, while armed groups unlawfully killed,
maimed, abducted and tortured civilians in pursuit
of their political aims. Armed belligerents in Burundi
continued to recruit, at times forcefully, child combatants.
Although the human rights crisis in Israel and the
Occupied Territories is among the issues most discussed
-- it is the least acted upon by the international
community.
In Colombia, the security measures enacted by the
new government exacerbated the spiralling cycle of
political violence . The breakdown of peace talks
in February between the government and the main armed
opposition group, the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias
de Colombia (FARC), deepened the human rights crisis.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE
28 May 2003
|
|
