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Whitebird Sings
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we ALL are responsible for each other

Post by Whitebird Sings » May 26th, 2005, 12:58 pm

Amnesty says world governments 'betraying promises on human rights'

Last Updated Wed, 25 May 2005 22:58:20 EDT
CBC News

LONDON - Amnesty International is calling the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay "the gulag of our time," a human rights failure, and says it should be closed.

In a 308-page report, the human rights organization accuses the United States, as well as many other countries, of shirking their responsibility to protect human rights.

"The U.S.A., as the unrivaled political, military and economic hyper-power, sets the tone for governmental behaviour worldwide. When the most powerful country in the world thumbs its nose at the rule of law and human rights, it grants a licence to others to commit abuse with impunity," said Irene Khan, Amnesty's secretary general, speaking at a news conference in London.

Amnesty says it has documented at least 10 cases of abuse or mistreatment at Guantanamo, but a White House spokesman says the criticism is "ridiculous and unsupported by the facts."

White House press secretary Scott McLellan says the United States leads by example and holds people accountable when there is abuse.

About 540 prisoners from 40 different nations are being detained at the military base in Cuba.

Many have been kept there for years without charge.

The Amnesty report cites documented cases of abuse or mistreatment at the facility.

Beside the United States, the report also criticizes many other countries, including Sudan, Haiti, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Russia and Zimbabwe.

"Governments are betraying their promises on human rights. A new agenda is in the making with the language of freedom and justice being used to pursue policies of fear and insecurity. This includes cynical attempts to redefine and sanitize torture," said Khan.

from: CBC News (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/ ... 50525.html

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