Human Rights Watch : US Credibility Undermined by Current Administration's Use of Torture and Detention Without Trial

London - The credibility of the United States has been undermined by the current administration's use of torture and detention without trial, and the European Union must "fill the leadership void on human rights." That's the main conclusion of Human Rights Watch's "World Report 2007," which was released to coincide with the fifth anniversary of Guantanamo Bay receiving its first detainees.

Torture, persecution, and intimidation are the perils that political activists, independent journalists, and ordinary citizens continued to face in countries around the world last year, according to Human Rights Watch.

The nearly 600-page report, catalogs rights abuses in countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

North Korea, Myanmar (Burma), and Turkmenistan are rated among the world's most repressive regimes. China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Iran are harshly criticized for their worsening human rights climates and continued attacks on independent media.

Lost Leadership

But this year's report takes particular aim at the United States.

The United States -- according to Human Rights Watch -- used to lead the world in promoting global human rights. But the group argues that because of the antiterrorism policies of U.S. President George W. Bush, U.S. credibility on rights has been "utterly undermined."

For Human Rights Watch, America's Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba, where foreigners identified as "enemy combatants" have been detained indefinitely without trial, symbolizes Washington's abdication of moral leadership.

So does the use of what Bush has called "alternative" interrogation procedures. Among the most controversial is holding detainees' heads under water for prolonged periods of time -- which Human Rights Watch calls a "classic torture technique."

"The reason Human Rights Watch selected the fifth anniversary of Guantanamo to launch our annual report is because it really highlights the leadership crisis that is facing the human rights movement these days at the governmental level," said HRW Executive Director Kenneth Roth.

"Traditionally, we're used to looking toward the United States to take the lead, on at least many human rights issues. But because of Guantanamo, because of the Bush administration's policy of using torture and detention without trial as a way of combating terrorism, U.S. credibility on human rights is simply shot in many parts of the world. It is dramatically undermined. And so there's an urgent need for someone else to come in and fill that leadership void."

Can The EU Step Up?

Who, according to Roth, should assume the mantle of global human rights defender?

"Ironically, two governments that are eager to step in are China and Russia," Roth said. "Russia is actively embracing tyrants in its effort to extend its influence, particularly throughout regions of former Soviet influence. And China has a policy of trying to seek resources around the world for its rapidly expanding economy, deliberately without regard to the human rights record of its partners. And so it often ends up bolstering tyrants in places like Sudan or Darfur. So with that somewhat dismal background, Human Rights Watch is looking to the European Union to be the key leader in promoting human rights around the world. And that would be a logical place to look in that the European Union is now 27 democratic governments committed to human rights. But the problem is that the European Union is punching well below its weight. It is not playing the global role on human rights that it should."

Roth sees the main difficulty in the EU's inability to forge a strong and cohesive foreign policy.

"It's a policy of lowest common denominator, since any of the 27 members can veto any kind of effort to actively promote human rights," he said. "Similarly, the European Union tends to operate through its so-called Presidency, which is a different government every six months. And this rotating blur of presidents makes it very difficult to pursue a sustained and effective human rights policy. One thing that we've learned is that you don't change governmental human rights practice unless you stick with it, unless you make it clear that you're going to be there, month after month, year after year. But if the interlocutors for the European Union are switching off every six months, it's very difficult to keep that kind of effective, sustained policy going."

Business Ahead Of Rights

The director of Human Rights Watch also faults some EU governments -- especially Germany's, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel -- for putting business interests at the top of their foreign policy agenda.

"[Merkel's] government seems unwilling to maintain tough pressure -- say on Russia, where [President Vladimir] Putin is cracking down on nongovernmental organizations," Roth said. "They seem more interested in securing energy resources than really pressing for a commitment to human rights by Putin's government. Or if you take, for example, Uzbekistan -- where just a year-and-a-half ago the government of President [Islam] Karimov massacred hundreds of people in the city of Andijon -- rather than maintaining sanctions that were put in place until an independent international organization was permitted, Germany is leading the charge to ease those sanctions."

Still, in what it says is the absence of credible U.S. leadership, Human Rights Watch believes Europe -- for now -- offers the best hope of keeping these issues on the international community's agenda.

Source: rferl.org - Thursday, January 11, 2007

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