Amnesty paints a grim picture of the world

The situation of human rights appears to be deteriorating globally and the pandemic has accelerated the downward spiral, according to Amnesty International’s latest report. In its global analysis, the London-based advocacy group presents an overall dire picture of the world.  According to the document, human rights norms appear to be severely challenged by the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused lockdowns and enabled governments across the world to exercise greater control -- without accountability. “The pandemic and some measures taken to tackle it, had a devastating effect on millions. It also aggravated existing patterns of abuses and inequalities,” cautioned Amnesty in its analysis titled ‘The State of The World’s Human Rights’. The 407-page report on the nose-diving human rights standards, blames governments around the world, for using the coronavirus crisis “as a smokescreen for power grabs, clampdowns on freedoms, and a pretext to ignore human rights obligations.” According to the document, close to half of the 149 countries analyzed by the advocacy group, imposed states of emergency related to the pandemic, particularly restricting rights such as freedom of movement, expression, and peaceful assembly. In the United States, a self-proclaimed defender of rights, the report said serious deterioration of human rights was recorded during former president Donald Trump’s term. During this time, the group said, more than 1,000 people were killed by the police and the killings disproportionately affect African Americans. India, which claims to be the largest democracy, too, received a slap on the wrist for its violations in Kashmir.  “A year after the government revoked the special status of Kashmir and split the state into two union territories, the clampdown on civil liberties and restrictions on communications services continued,” the report said.   Journalists and politicians from the valley, the document said, continue to face persecution. The clampdown on civil liberties and restrictions on communications that began when India revoked Kashmir’s special status, Amnesty said, still continues more than 19 months after the annexation. Dissent across India, the London-based rights organization said, was repressed through unlawful restrictions on peaceful protests and by silencing critics.  During this period, Amnesty International itself became the target of the Narendra Modi government’s limited tolerance for human rights defenders. Last year, shortly after Amnesty released a damning report exposing targeted violence against Muslims, it was forced to halt operations in the country and its officials were haunted by a slew of legal inquiries. In its section covering India, the advocacy group also condemned the government for its handling of the recent protest by farmers. It criticized the Modi administration for the “widespread demonisation” of those protesting against the “discriminatory nature of the CAA”.  The Indian authorities, Amnesty said, ignored violence and hate speech by the supporters of the CAA. Additionally, the rights group recorded widespread impunity and lack of accountability for murders and attacks carried out by vigilante mobs and police officers against religious minorities in India. In the report, the advocacy group reinforced its assessment that South Asia’s Muslims were particularly vulnerable.  Responding to a question about a lack of coherent effort to prevent the persecution of ethnic and religious minorities, Michael Parsons, Amnesty’s Media Manager for South Asia said: “While concerted global efforts are necessary, discrimination will not end until governments in the region get rid of discriminatory laws and take action to tackle the root causes of discrimination.” “Protect everyone, whoever they are, from discrimination and violence,” Parsons said by email from Amnesty’s headquarters in London.   The world, he said, needed to rethink a radically different future that is “more just, equitable and sustainable than the past.” In Pakistan, Amnesty said, the pandemic created new challenges for economic, social and cultural rights.  In its assessment, violence against women remained prevalent. “Prime Minister Khan made encouraging announcements to release women prisoners and criminalize torture but there was little progress in implementing these measures,” the report noted.  The group also recorded tighter control on the media in the country. In Amnesty’s global human rights evaluation, several European countries fared poorly.  Law enforcement officials, the group pointed, unlawfully used force along with other violations in Belgium, France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Romania, and Spain. Russia, it said, was branding individuals as ‘foreign agents’ and clamping down further on single-person pickets. Pandemic inequality The London-based group heaped scorn on wealthy nations for hoarding Covid-19 vaccines. “The richest countries have controlled the world's supply of vaccines, leaving countries with the fewest resources to face the worst health and human rights outcomes,” warned the rights organization.   Acknowledging the fact that rich countries are controlling the flow of vaccines, Michael Parsons, Amnesty’s Media Manager for South Asia said: “So far they’ve created a dangerous situation with global inequalities in vaccine access spiraling out of control.” A few rich countries, Parsons pointed, are racing ahead, while the rest of the world appears to be struggling to get off the starting line. “Everyone deserves a fair shot at a vaccine - when it comes to our right to health, there’s no place for discrimination,” he said by email. When asked to comment on the overall situation of human rights around the world and the possibility of it reversing to pre-pandemic times, Dr. Gregory H. Stanton, Founder and President Genocide Watch, a global organization that flags the intentional destruction of ethnic, racial and religious groups said: “I hope the trend can be reversed, but I am not optimistic.”

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