U.S. Criticizes Nations on Human Rights
The Substance
U.S. Criticizes Nations on Human Rights
Monday February 28, 2005 7:16 PM
By BARRY SCHWEID
AP Diplomatic Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Tens of thousands of people across the world suffered last year at the hands of repressive governments, some of them friendly to the United States, the State Department says.
From gigantic China, where a wave of detentions targeted writers and political commentators, to Iran with executions and Burma with a ruling junta not bound by any constitutional provisions, man's inhumanity to man was a recurrent concern.
There were scattered positive developments. Saudi Arabia sponsored a conference on women's rights, and the monarchy permitted formation of the first human rights group in the kingdom.
Some other bright spots in Monday's human rights report: Terrorism fell off in post-Taliban Afghanistan; respect for human rights in Ukraine rose with the staging of free elections, and the department said there were prospects for peace in Iraq that helped ``create momentum for the improvement of human rights practices.''
But overall, the findings were similar to those in three decades of annual human rights reports to Congress. ``Freedom and the ability to choose one's government still elude many people and many portions of the globe,'' Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky said.
The United States is not monitored by the State Department, but Michael Kozak, assistant secretary for human rights, said, ``The events at Abu Ghraib were a stain on the honor of the U.S. There's no two ways about it.''
The United States was subject to widespread criticism of its human rights performance last year based partly on abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where terrorist suspects were held.
In the report, Egypt, a close ally of the United States in Mideast peacemaking, was accused of torturing prisoners and criticized for mass arrests. Iran's ``poor human rights record worsened,'' the report said. Summary executions, political killings, disappearances, amputations and flogging were among cited abuses in Iran.
North Korea, which President Bush has denounced as part of an ``axis of evil,'' is one of the world's most repressive and brutal regimes, the report said. An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people are believed to be in detention camps, and defectors report many have died from torture, starvation and disease.
China, described as an authoritarian state, denies its citizens freedom to oppose the political system, the report said. The government used war on terror as a pretext for cracking down on peaceful Uighur separatists and does not permit outsiders to monitor the human rights situation in the country, the report to Congress added.
Syria's human rights record was poor, the report said. ``Continuing serious abuses included the use of torture in detention, which at times resulted in death,'' unfair trials and arbitrary arrests.
In Indonesia, security forces murdered, tortured, raped, beat and arbitrarily detained civilians and members of separatist movements, especially in Aceh and in Papua, the report said.
In Jakarta, meanwhile, human rights groups condemned a U.S. decision to resume limited ties with the Indonesian military. ``This shows that the United States places its strategic interests ahead of human rights concerns,'' said Hendardi, a prominent human rights lawyer who goes by a single name.
Russia was credited with generally respecting the human rights of its citizens. But the Federal Security Service operated with little oversight, security forces committed ``numerous and serious human rights abuses,'' President Vladimir Putin strengthened his power over regional governors and restrictions were imposed on the media, the report said.
``By anybody's account, Russia has moved backward in the past year,'' Kozak told reporters.
Last week, at a summit meeting in Slovakia, Putin, responding to ``loud and clear'' criticism from Bush, said Russia was committed to democracy.
Israel drew high marks for its actions within its pre-1967 borders, but in the territories captured during that year's Mideast war, killings by Palestinian and Israeli security forces and by Israeli settlers and Palestinian militant groups posed a serious problem, the report said.
The Palestinian Authority's overall human rights record remained poor and there were credible reports its officers engaged in torture and abused prisoners, the report said.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
Tens of thousands of people across the world suffered last year at the hands of repressive governments, some of them friendly to the United States, the State Department says. From gigantic China, where a wave of detentions targeted writers and political commentators, to Iran with executions and Burma with a ruling junta not bound by any constitutional provisions, man's inhumanity to man was a recurrent concern.
The United States is not monitored by the State Department, but Michael Kozak, assistant secretary for human rights, said, ``The events at Abu Ghraib were a stain on the honor of the U.S. There's no two ways about it.'' The United States was subject to widespread criticism of its human rights performance last year based partly on abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where terrorist suspects were held.
In the report, Egypt, a close ally of the United States in Mideast peacemaking, was accused of torturing prisoners and criticized for mass arrests. Iran's ``poor human rights record worsened,'' the report said. Summary executions, political killings, disappearances, amputations and flogging were among cited abuses in Iran. North Korea, which President Bush has denounced as part of an ``axis of evil,'' is one of the world's most repressive and brutal regimes, the report said. An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people are believed to be in detention camps, and defectors report many have died from torture, starvation and disease. Syria's human rights record was poor, the report said. ``Continuing serious abuses included the use of torture in detention, which at times resulted in death,'' unfair trials and arbitrary arrests. In Indonesia, security forces murdered, tortured, raped, beat and arbitrarily detained civilians and members of separatist movements, especially in Aceh and in Papua, the report said.
U.S. Criticizes Nations on Human Rights
Monday February 28, 2005 7:16 PM
By BARRY SCHWEID
AP Diplomatic Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Tens of thousands of people across the world suffered last year at the hands of repressive governments, some of them friendly to the United States, the State Department says.
From gigantic China, where a wave of detentions targeted writers and political commentators, to Iran with executions and Burma with a ruling junta not bound by any constitutional provisions, man's inhumanity to man was a recurrent concern.
There were scattered positive developments. Saudi Arabia sponsored a conference on women's rights, and the monarchy permitted formation of the first human rights group in the kingdom.
Some other bright spots in Monday's human rights report: Terrorism fell off in post-Taliban Afghanistan; respect for human rights in Ukraine rose with the staging of free elections, and the department said there were prospects for peace in Iraq that helped ``create momentum for the improvement of human rights practices.''
But overall, the findings were similar to those in three decades of annual human rights reports to Congress. ``Freedom and the ability to choose one's government still elude many people and many portions of the globe,'' Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky said.
The United States is not monitored by the State Department, but Michael Kozak, assistant secretary for human rights, said, ``The events at Abu Ghraib were a stain on the honor of the U.S. There's no two ways about it.''
The United States was subject to widespread criticism of its human rights performance last year based partly on abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where terrorist suspects were held.
In the report, Egypt, a close ally of the United States in Mideast peacemaking, was accused of torturing prisoners and criticized for mass arrests. Iran's ``poor human rights record worsened,'' the report said. Summary executions, political killings, disappearances, amputations and flogging were among cited abuses in Iran.
North Korea, which President Bush has denounced as part of an ``axis of evil,'' is one of the world's most repressive and brutal regimes, the report said. An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people are believed to be in detention camps, and defectors report many have died from torture, starvation and disease.
China, described as an authoritarian state, denies its citizens freedom to oppose the political system, the report said. The government used war on terror as a pretext for cracking down on peaceful Uighur separatists and does not permit outsiders to monitor the human rights situation in the country, the report to Congress added.
Syria's human rights record was poor, the report said. ``Continuing serious abuses included the use of torture in detention, which at times resulted in death,'' unfair trials and arbitrary arrests.
In Indonesia, security forces murdered, tortured, raped, beat and arbitrarily detained civilians and members of separatist movements, especially in Aceh and in Papua, the report said.
In Jakarta, meanwhile, human rights groups condemned a U.S. decision to resume limited ties with the Indonesian military. ``This shows that the United States places its strategic interests ahead of human rights concerns,'' said Hendardi, a prominent human rights lawyer who goes by a single name.
Russia was credited with generally respecting the human rights of its citizens. But the Federal Security Service operated with little oversight, security forces committed ``numerous and serious human rights abuses,'' President Vladimir Putin strengthened his power over regional governors and restrictions were imposed on the media, the report said.
``By anybody's account, Russia has moved backward in the past year,'' Kozak told reporters.
Last week, at a summit meeting in Slovakia, Putin, responding to ``loud and clear'' criticism from Bush, said Russia was committed to democracy.
Israel drew high marks for its actions within its pre-1967 borders, but in the territories captured during that year's Mideast war, killings by Palestinian and Israeli security forces and by Israeli settlers and Palestinian militant groups posed a serious problem, the report said.
The Palestinian Authority's overall human rights record remained poor and there were credible reports its officers engaged in torture and abused prisoners, the report said.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
posted by JimG at 4:19 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home