Rome – “Many governments have brazenly violated international law and are deliberately weakening the institutions that should protect the rights of the people”. Salil Shetty, secretary of the global movement of Amnesty International, warns: “It is not just our rights are threatened, so are the laws and the system that protect them.” At the launch of its 2015-2016 Report (published by Infinito Edizioni in Italy), the humanitarian organization for the defense of rights has warned that the international protection of individual rights may be jeopardized because of selfish national interests of shortness of breath and the adoption of draconian security measures, which have led to an overall assault on the rights and fundamental freedoms. Millions of people – added Shetty – are suffering untold misery in the hands of states and armed groups, and governments are not ashamed to describe the protection of human rights as a threat to security, law and order and the ‘values national ‘. “
a global threat to human rights. According to Amnesty International, an insidious, creeping trend is endangering human rights: governments attack on purpose the institutions they have created for protect the rights of all, reduce the funding allocated to them or ignore them. in short: “Over 70 years of hard work and human progress are at risk” – has the world’s secretary Shetty. the human rights bodies of the United Nations, international criminal Court and regional mechanisms such as the Council of Europe and the Inter-American system of human rights are threatened by governments trying to escape controls on the domestic situation of their countries.
rights undermined level national. in 2015, many governments have failed in your face international law into their domestic environment: over 122 states have practiced torture or ill-treatment, and 30 countries, if not more, have illegally sent refugees back to countries where they would be in danger. In at least 19 countries, governments or armed groups they have committed war crimes or other violations of the “laws of war”. Amnesty International also warns of a worrying habit of governments that attack and take increasingly targeting activists, lawyers and other people who defend human rights. “Instead of recognizing the crucial role that these people have in society, many governments are intent on silencing criticism and silence their citizens in violation of the same national laws” – complained Shetty.
the threats and responses to safety. In part, says Amnesty International, it is the reaction of many governments to security threats increased in 2015. “The ill-conceived reaction of many governments to the threats to national security has resulted in an attack on civil society, the right to privacy and the right to freedom of speech. We face the blatant attempt to make human rights dirty words, by contrasting them to the national security, law and order, to the ‘national values’. to do this, governments have even violated their own laws “- said Shetty.
a desperate need to reinvigorate the United Nations. in 2015, the United Nations and their offices that deal with protection of rights human and refugees have suffered severely because of the hostility and the refusal to cooperate on the part of governments.
“the United Nations had been established to ‘save succeeding generations from the scourge of war’ and ‘reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights’, but they are more than ever in the face of enormous difficulties present challenges “- said the number one Amnesty. Many governments have stubbornly blocked the initiatives of the United Nations to prevent mass atrocities and call those responsible to account for their actions, discrediting or rejecting the recommendations to improve the situation of human rights at national level.
From Syria horrible examples. the conflict in Syria is one of the horrible examples of the catastrophic consequences for human rights, the systematic failure of the United Nations to live up to their vital role in strengthening human rights and international law and the call to answer those responsible for violations. The next Secretary General, who will be elected during 2016 and will take office in January 2017, will inherit an organization that has achieved a lot – it was recalled during the press conference presenting the annual report – but in desperate need of a new force. Amnesty International calls on member states and the Security Council to show courage in thinking about new reforms, starting from the way in which the election of the new secretary general.
A call to action. “Today the world is facing multiple challenges – said the general secretary – created or prolonged nature by governments that are lost in political games at the expense of human lives. Millions of refugees are suffering because of the proliferation of conflicts and armed groups deliberately attack civilians and commit other serious abuses. world leaders have the power to prevent these crises end up further out of control. governments must end their assault on our rights and strengthen the defenses that the world is given to protect them. human rights are a necessity, not an option. the challenges facing humanity have never been so great, “- said Shetty.
a year of attacks on the rights of people. in 2015 Amnesty International has documented serious violations of economic, social, civil and political in many countries. Here is a list of countries, in strict alphabetical order and means exhaustive, examples of nationwide attacks on human rights and the institutions that should protect them:
Angola : Use the laws libel and security to intimidate, arrest and imprison people who peacefully express their opinions; Failure to follow the recommendations of the United Nations on human rights.
Saudi Arabia : brutal repression against those who had dared to demand reforms or criticizing the authorities; war crimes in the bombing campaign in Yemen; obstacle to the establishment of a commission of inquiry of the United Nations on the crimes committed by all parties in Yemen conflict.
Burundi : systematic killings and massive use of other tactics violent on the part of the security forces; attempt to suppress the human rights community.
China: increased repression against human rights defenders; indiscriminate adoption of laws in the name of national security.
Egypt thousands of arrests, including against those who had been critical in a peaceful manner, in the context of the repression in the name of national security; prolonged detention of hundreds of people without charge or trial; hundreds of death sentences.
Gambia: torture, forced disappearances, the criminalization of LGBTI people; Total refusal to cooperate with the United Nations and regional bodies for Human Rights on issues such as freedom of expression, forced disappearances and the death penalty.
Israel, maintaining the military blockade of Gaza and resulting in damage to the collective punishment of 1.8 million people; non-compliance, as well as on the part of Palestine, the request of the United Nations to conduct serious investigations into war crimes committed in the Gaza conflict of 2014.
Kenya: extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and discrimination against refugees in the context of counter-terrorism operations; attempt to undermine the International Criminal Court and its ability to pursue justice.
Mexico: grave situation of human rights, including disappearances 27,000; harsh reaction to criticism of the United Nations on the massive use of torture, almost completely unpunished despite the increase in complaints.
Pakistan: seriously answer a violation of human rights to the horrible massacre school in Peshawar at the end of 2014; incessant use of the death penalty; monitoring and closure of the offices of international NGOs considered “against the interests” of the country.
UK: continuous use of mass surveillance in the name of fighting terrorism; backward steps made by way of avoiding the scrutiny of the European Court of Human Rights.
Russian use of repressive laws on national security and against extremism by vague content; coordinated action to silence civil society; shameful refusal to acknowledge the civilian victims of the attacks in Syria and ruthless moves to stop the Security Council action on Syria.
Syria: killing of thousands of civilians in attacks and indiscriminate attacks on civilians by barrels-bomb and other weapons as well as the use of torture in custody; long sieges against civilian areas, blocking of international aid to the populations to starvation.
Slovakia: widespread discrimination against Roma, despite years by domestic and European campaigns that groups eventually led the European Commission to open an infringement procedure against the country.
United States : the detention center in Guantánamo – example of the serious consequences of the ” war on terror “- still open; the absence of legal proceedings against the perpetrators of torture and forced disappearances.
Thailand: arrest of people who had been critical so peaceful including actors, Facebook users and authors graffiti; refusal by the military government of international requests not to restrict human rights and not to silence dissent in the name of security.
Hungary: closing of the borders in front of thousands of refugees in desperate conditions; obstacle to regional efforts to help them.
Venezuela: continued absence of justice for serious violations of human rights and constant attacks on human rights defenders; denunciation of the American Convention on Human Rights after the previous withdrawal from the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which meant denying justice to victims of human rights violations.
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