Amnesty International – Global response to atrocities by states and armed groups ‘shameful and ineffective’
Press Release – 25 February 2015
[Excerpts]
:: Amnesty International releases Annual Report along with forecast of human rights trends for the coming year
:: Says governments must ‘stop pretending the protection of civilians is beyond their power’
:: Forecasts more civilians at risk of abuses by armed groups, continued attacks on freedom of expression, and a worsening humanitarian and refugee crisis; unless there is a fundamental change to the global response to conflict
:: Calls for global action including renouncement of veto rights by five permanent members of UN Security Council in situations of mass atrocities

2015/16 forecast
Amnesty International’s Annual Report provides a comprehensive overview of human rights in 160 countries during 2014. Unless the world’s leaders act immediately to confront the changing nature of conflict and address other shortcomings identified in the report, the human rights outlook for the coming year is bleak:
:: more civilian populations forced to live under the quasi-state control of brutal armed groups, subject to attacks, persecution, and discrimination
:: deepening threats to freedom of expression and other rights, including violations caused by new draconian anti-terror laws and unjustified mass surveillance
:: a worsening humanitarian and refugee crisis with even more people displaced by conflict as governments continue to block borders and the international community fails to provide assistance and protection.
Of particular concern is the rising power of non-state armed groups, including the group which calls itself Islamic State (IS).
Armed groups committed abuses in at least 35 countries in 2014, more than 1 in 5 of the countries that Amnesty International investigated.
“Governments must stop pretending the protection of civilians is beyond their power and help roll back the tide of suffering of millions. Leaders must embrace a fundamental change in the way they respond to crises around the world.”

UN Security Council veto
In Syria, Iraq, Gaza, Israel and Ukraine, the UN Security Council (UNSC) has failed to deal with crises and conflict, even in situations where horrific crimes are being committed against civilians by states or by armed groups, based on vested interests or political expediency.
Amnesty International is now calling for the five permanent UNSC members to renounce their veto rights in situations of genocide and other mass atrocities.
“This could be a game changer for the international community and the tools it has at its disposal to help protect civilian lives. By renouncing their veto rights the five permanent members of the Security Council would give the UN more scope to take action to protect civilians when lives are at grave risk and send a powerful signal to perpetrators that the world will not sit idly by while mass atrocities take place,” said Salil Shetty.

Arms trade
The bloody legacy of the flooding of weapons into countries where they are used for grave abuses by states and armed groups claimed tens of thousands of civilian lives in 2014.
Amnesty International is calling for all states—including the US, China, Canada, India, Israel and Russia—to ratify or accede, and adhere, to the Arms Trade Treaty which came into force last year after decades of campaigning by Amnesty International and others.
“Huge arms shipments were delivered to Iraq, Israel, South Sudan and Syria in 2014 despite the very high likelihood that these weapons would be used against civilian populations trapped in conflict. When IS took control of large parts of Iraq, it found large arsenals, ripe for the picking. The irresponsible flow of weapons to human rights abusers must stop now,” said Anna Neistat.

Explosive weapons
Amnesty International is calling for world leaders to introduce new restrictions to tackle the use of explosive weapons—such as aircraft bombs, mortars, artillery, rockets and ballistic missiles—in populated areas, which led to countless civilian deaths in 2014.
“Further restrictions on the use of explosive weapons which cannot be precisely targeted or which otherwise have wide-area effect in populated areas could have helped save thousands of lives lost in recent conflicts, including in Israel, Gaza and Ukraine. The international community can and must do more to protect civilians whose homes have become the frontline battle zone of warring parties,” said Anna Neistat….

…Refugees
A tragic consequence of the international community’s inability to deal with the changing face of conflict is one of the worst refugee crisis the world has seen, as millions of people – including 4 million from Syria alone – continue to flee violence and persecution.
“It is abhorrent to see how wealthy countries’ efforts to keep people out take precedence over their efforts to keep people alive. The global refugee crisis is only likely to get worse, unless urgent measures are taken,” said Salil Shetty.
“Leaders have it in their power to alleviate the suffering of millions—by committing political and financial resources to assist and protect those fleeing danger, delivering humanitarian aid generously, and resettling the most vulnerable.”

Call to action
“The global outlook on the state of human rights is bleak, but there are solutions. World leaders must take immediate and decisive action to avert an impending global crisis and take us one step closer to a safer world in which rights and freedoms are protected,” said Salil Shetty.
:: Human rights in numbers