January 16, 2002

1:26 PM

Anti-Terror Campaign Cloaking Human Rights AbuseThe Human Rights Watch annual global survey was released today. According to it, the anti-terror campaign led by the United States is inspiring opportunistic attacks on civil liberties around the world
posted by papalotl (2 comments total)

Having now read several pages of this very large report, I decided to download it and read it all at a later time. There's two things I find disturbing right up front:
1) That governments already predisposed to human rights abuse and censure of dissent are going to get more Americans killed by their campaigns against there own folks. As the cover page (linked) indicates, many are going to blame the US for what their own governments are doing, whether we're actually leading the way, "inspiring", or simply going about our business, as opportunist sharks smell blood in the water. The slant of this report puts the US squarely into a lose-lose image.
2) just in pages I read, it appears that the UN is backing off its human rights goals, in favor of letting the US take heat for human rights failures.
However, there is a helluva lot here to read, and I strongly suggest that everyone do it before the innevitable flame war begins.
posted by Wulfgar! at 2:15 PM on January 16, 2002

yeah, i haven't heard much about chechnya or tibet lately. like russia and china have both labeled displaced peoples within their borders "terrorists" which i guess kinda means you're not supposed to worry about them anymore.
posted by kliuless at 2:33 PM on January 16, 2002