Paris (EFE) Universal values
It is the main conclusion of Amnesty International’s annual report on the global situation of human rights, presented this year from Paris, and in which the organization highlights that “the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022 triggered numerous crimes war, spawned a global energy and food crisis, and sought to further disrupt a weak multilateral system.
But it also “exposed the hypocrisy of Western states, which reacted forcefully to the Kremlin’s aggression but condoned or were complicit in gross violations elsewhere,” AI emphasized in the report.
Among these “silences”, the organization highlights Saudi Arabia’s record on human rights or “the refusal to confront Israel’s ‘apartheid’ system against the Palestinians.”
“The deadliest conflict of 2022 was that of Ethiopia” but it remained far from “world attention”, recalled the AI secretary general, Agnès Callamard, from the Chaillot Palace in Paris, the place chosen to launch this report because it was the scene where 75 years ago the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted.
Likewise, there was little response to other conflicts that are worsening year by year, such as the situation in the Sahel, as highlighted in the presentation by Ousmane Diallo, an AI researcher specialized in this African region.
“Flagrant hypocrisy” regarding human rights
For AI, the “shameful double standards” of the international community, evident in the case of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, pave the way for more abuses in the future.
“Had the system held Russia to account for its documented crimes in Chechnya and Syria, thousands of lives could have been saved then and now, in the Ukraine and elsewhere. Instead, what we have is more suffering and devastation,” Callamard argued.
Amnesty International therefore stressed the importance of consistency in applying international law. Thus, he denounced cases such as that of the United States, which at the same time that it admitted thousands of Ukrainians fleeing the war, expelled 25,000 Haitians between September 2021 and May 2022.
Similarly, members of the European Union “opened their borders” to Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion, while keeping them closed to those fleeing Syria, Afghanistan and Libya.
Double standards are not only a matter of the West, but their example “emboldened”, according to AI, countries like China, Egypt or Saudi Arabia when it comes to dodging or deflecting criticism even more in their human rights record.
“The situation is certainly getting worse in objective human rights terms, be it freedom of expression, the right to protest and for certain women’s rights, but there is little hope that, with political will, there can be an effective response to mass violations. (of these rights). Unfortunately, we have not yet seen that response in other contexts,” Callamard told EFE in Paris.
Increased repression, with women in the target
AI’s annual report also denounces a “ruthless increase in repression” in places like Sri Lanka, Iran, Peru or Russia itself.
When states have failed or ignored their duty to safeguard human rights, women have often suffered the worst, AI also denounces.
It is not only the case of the notable repression against women in Iran or Afghanistan, but this phenomenon has also occurred in countries such as Pakistan or India.
“States’ eagerness to control women’s and girls’ bodies, their sexuality and their lives leaves a terrible legacy of violence, oppression and stunted potential,” said Agnès Callamard.
The international system equally failed to respond to other crises, such as global warming and the effects of increasing extreme weather events, while big oil companies made record profits.
For all these reasons, AI considers it “vital” to reform and strengthen international institutions, especially the United Nations Security Council. This must be adapted to “give a voice to countries and situations that have traditionally been ignored”, especially the global south.
“It is essential that the institutions in charge of protecting human rights be strengthened, instead of weakened,” Callamard stressed.
Despite everything, the report also highlights “inspiring” cases of progress in human rights, such as the decriminalization of abortion in Colombia or the so-called “only yes is yes” law in Spain, which puts “consent” in the focus of the legal definition of rape.