Amnesty denounces a “double standard” in terms of human rights and criticizes Western inaction against its allies

The NGO says that the invasion of Ukraine “is a horrifying example” of what happens when states violate human rights “without consequences”

March 28 () –

Amnesty International has denounced this Tuesday a “double standard” in the field of Human Rights at the international level that, in its opinion, is reflected in the “forcefulness” of the West in its response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the face of the “deplorable absence of measures significant” in the face of violations by some of its allies.

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a horrifying example of what happens when states believe they can break international law and violate human rights without paying the consequences,” said Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard.

Thus, he has argued that “if the system had worked and Russia had been held accountable for its documented crimes in Chechnya and Syria, thousands of lives could have been saved then and now, in Ukraine and elsewhere.” “Instead, we have to deal with more suffering and devastation,” she lamented.

“If the Russian war of aggression makes one thing clear for the future of the world, it is the importance of having an international order based on rules that are applied effectively and consistently. All states must intensify their efforts to have an order based on in rules and renewed that benefits all people everywhere,” he explained.

In this sense, he has said that “Russian aggression against Ukraine is also a war against universal values ​​and the multilateral systems designed to defend them”, for which he has argued that “if it wants to win this war, the Western world cannot consent to practice similar aggression in other countries just because their interests are at stake”.

“Indeed, the West’s double standards were exposed by the resounding silence that accompanied the human rights violations committed in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as well as by its incoherent responses to the grave impact on human rights of other conflicts, some of which of which constitute crimes against humanity, and to the protection of refugees fleeing from them,” he stated.

“The countries applied Human Rights depending on the case, in an amazing spectacle of hypocrisy and double standards,” he argued, before asking “the states that until now have not dared to raise their voices” to “take action on the matter and take a stand against abuses, wherever they occur”. “We need less hypocrisy, less cynicism and more coherent action by all states (…) to promote and protect all rights,” she said.

Callamard has stressed that “in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the apartheid system was consolidated” and added that “successive Israeli governments took measures that forced more Palestinians to leave their homes and expanded illegal settlements.” “Instead of demanding an end to this system of oppression, many Western governments chose to attack those who denounced the apartheid system,” he said.

DIFFERENT POSITION ON REFUGEES

He has also criticized that “the doors of the EU, open to Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression, remained closed to those fleeing the war and repression in Afghanistan and Syria.” “Between September 2021 and May 2022, the United States expelled more than 25,000 Haitians and detained and subjected many of them to torture and ill-treatment motivated by anti-black racism,” he denounced.

“These examples only confirmed to the rest of the world that Western support for Human Rights is selective and self-interested, which undermines support for Ukraine. This double standard did not only benefit Western powers,” he said, before affirm that “China continued to evade international condemnation (…) despite the massive violations of Human Rights (…) that were committed in its territory against the Uyghur population and other Muslim minorities”.

In this sense, the NGO recalled that, although the UN Human Rights Council appointed a rapporteur on the situation in Russia and created an investigation mechanism on Iran for the repression of protests over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, detained for allegedly wearing the headscarf incorrectly, voted not to investigate her own findings into possible crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and suspended a resolution on the Philippines.

For this reason, Callamard has said that “any logic that seeks to defend that the global response to Russian aggression represents a turning point to establish an international system based on values ​​and the rule of law is undermined by the palpable deterioration in the protection of Human Rights that states must guarantee in their territories”.

Thus, he has given as an example that “in Brazil, Canada, Sweden, Tanzania and Vietnam, among other countries, the rights of indigenous peoples were violated, by not protecting them against the expropriation of their lands by companies or public powers” . “The Supreme Court of the United States annulled a long-standing constitutional guarantee of access to abortion, which endangered the exercise of fundamental rights,” he stressed.

“In Afghanistan, the Taliban imposed draconian restrictions that denied women and girls the rights to education, work and autonomy, while publicly proclaiming the submission of women to men. In Iran, the ‘Moral Police’ murdered Amini for wearing the hijab incorrectly, sparking protests in which more women and girls were injured, arrested or killed,” he recalled.

NO “TIPPING POINT” IN HUMAN RIGHTS

For this reason, he has said that “2022 may have been a crossroads for the international order”, including an increase in cooperation between the United States and other Western powers within NATO, although he regretted that “there was no point turning point in Human Rights, which, on the other hand, continued in free fall”.

“Russian aggression served to further destabilize a multilateral international system already weakened by powerful states that had flouted international law for decades with impunity. The war diverted resources and attention from the climate crisis, other longstanding conflicts, and human suffering around the world. the world”, has defended.

Callamard has also asserted that “in order to reflect today’s realities, it is necessary to undertake a profound reform of the international system.” “We cannot allow the permanent members of the UN Security Council to continue exercising their veto power and abusing their privileges unchecked. The lack of transparency and effectiveness of the Council’s decision-making process leaves the entire system exposed to manipulation, abuse and poor functioning”, has settled.

Finally, he indicated that “the devastating costs of an out-of-control climate crisis were abundantly clear.” “Floods, droughts, heat waves and fires have caused deaths, loss of homes and livelihoods, and growing food insecurity,” he said, before lamenting that COP27 ended without an agreement on “necessary measures to keep the global temperature rise below the 1.5 degree threshold.”

“States refused to tackle the main driver of global warming: the production and use of fossil fuels. Global cooperation to curb this rise in temperature was ineffective, and negotiations failed to yield the requisite commitments to phase out all fuels. fossils”, he added.