Repression, persecution, war crimes – Amnesty International denounces a massive increase in human rights violations worldwide. The focus is on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
It is a bleak picture that the non-governmental organization Amnesty International paints in its annual report on global compliance with human rights: more violations in more countries – not only in already known crisis regions, the wars in the Middle East and against Ukraine have also led to a worsening of the international situation guided. The organization also criticizes Germany sharply.
“The rule of law and human rights are under greater threat worldwide than they have been in decades,” Amnesty International concludes. In the foreword to the report, Agnès Callamard, the NGO’s International Secretary General, even speaks of significant regression in the protection of human rights. The number of people living in democracies worldwide has declined to 1985 levels. Democracy includes countries that adhere to the rule of law, such as the separation of the executive, judiciary and legislature, and in which basic civil rights are safeguarded. 1985 – “This is the time before Nelson Mandela was released from prison, before the fall of the Berlin Wall, before the end of the Cold War and before all the associated hopes for a new era for humanity,” writes Callamard.
Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are exacerbating grievances
From Amnesty International’s perspective, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the war in the Middle East also contributed to the deterioration of the global situation. Russia is deliberately attacking densely populated civilian areas and infrastructure that is necessary for energy supplies. According to the NGO, cases of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners of war by the Russian military have also been documented.
With a view to the Middle East, Amnesty International accuses both the militant Islamist Hamas and the Israeli army of war crimes. The suffering of the victims of Hamas’ attack on Israel at the beginning of October last year “cannot be put into perspective by anything,” emphasized the Secretary General of Amnesty International Germany, Julia Duchrow.
But at the same time she criticized that Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip had “lost all measure”. War crimes are being committed and violations of international humanitarian law are being accepted. An accusation that Israel is already confronted with from several sides. The USA and the United Nations have also repeatedly warned that the Israeli military must better protect the civilian population living in the Gaza Strip during its offensive. Recently, criticism had increased again in view of the threat of an offensive on Rafah. More than a million Gazans have sought refuge in the town near the border with Egypt.
Many violations have long been criticized
But Amnesty International also addresses other sources of crisis and conflict in its annual report. These include Sudan, in which a civil war has been raging for more than a year and in which the two conflicting parties vying for power are also carrying out targeted and indiscriminate attacks on civilians.
The organization has long been denouncing many of the human rights violations addressed by Amnesty International. In Afghanistan, the opportunities for girls to attend school have been further restricted. Iran is taking stricter action against women who refuse to wear veils. Same-sex acts continue to be criminalized and punished in more than 60 countries.
Amnesty International also takes aim at the USA and the stricter abortion laws there in its report
Federal Government “keeps silent war crimes” Israel
In dealing with the Middle East war, the federal government has also come under criticism from NGOs – especially Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who wants to stand for a human rights-based foreign policy. And yet the federal government remains silent “about the war crimes of the Israeli army and is thereby losing its credibility,” warned Duchrow.
With regard to Germany, this is not the only point of criticism in the annual report. The Federal Republic does not recognize enough structural racism and does not do enough to protect the population from hate crime. According to the organization, freedom of expression and assembly are also at risk of being partially restricted in the Federal Republic. The organization cites bans on pro-Palestinian demonstrations as an example.
Another example: the action against the climate protection movement “Last Generation”. In Bavaria, members of the movement can be taken into preventive detention for up to 30 days; in several federal states, the group is being investigated on allegations of forming a criminal organization. “This is an attack on the right to peaceful protest and civil society,” warns Amnesty Secretary General Duchrow.
Artificial intelligence as a risk factor
The use of artificial intelligence could also pose a threat to human rights, warns Amnesty International. The use of video surveillance and facial recognition at both the Olympic Games in France and the European Football Championship is currently being debated – contrary to the ban on facial recognition promised by Germany. The NGO sees such a practice as a possible infringement on people’s personal rights.
Another possible use of systems that work with artificial intelligence criticized by Amnesty International is the biometric registration of refugees to Europe. Even when spreading hate speech, systems such as ChatGPT could be used to create hate speech.