Human rights situation deteriorates in Asia: Amnesty

Thursday , May 28, 2009
Agencies

In Cambodia, it said, the much anticipated trial of one of the country's notorious Khmer Rouge regime was accompanied by widespread allegations of corruption and a government threat to terminate the process prematurely.

London: Human rights situation deteriorated in much of Asia and Pacific region in the first quarter of this year, with conflicts in Sri Lanka and Pakistan adversely affecting innocent civilians, global human rights body Amnesty International said on Thursday.

In its report on the state of human rights in South Asia, Amnesty said conflicts in Sri Lanka and Pakistan led to serious harm to civilians and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.

Meanwhile in China, the impact of the global financial downturn aggravated problems of migrant labour and rural unrest, prompting heavier repressive measures by government.

The report said the new civilian government in Pakistan in February released prisoners detained during the November 2007 state of emergency, but failed to fulfil many of its promises to ensure human rights protection.

"Torture, deaths in custody, attacks on minorities, enforced disappearances, 'honour' killings and domestic violence persisted. After the new government announced that it would commute death sentences to life imprisonment, at least 36 were executed throughout the year," it said.

The report said violence in Pakistan's tribal areas spilled over into other areas of the country, as Taliban militants took hostages, targeted and killed civilians and committed acts of violence against women and girls.

In Sri Lanka, the conflict between government forces and the LTTE led to widespread displacement of civilians causing misery to them, Amnesty said.

In other countries of the Asia-Pacific region, Amnesty listed Fiji where an authoritarian military government came to power.

In Cambodia, it said, the much anticipated trial of one of the country's notorious Khmer Rouge regime was accompanied by widespread allegations of corruption and a government threat to terminate the process prematurely.

Amnesty International's Secretary General Irene Khan said: "world is sitting on a social, political and economic time bomb fuelled by an unfolding human rights crisis."

Releasing the Amnesty International Report 2009: State of the World's Human Rights," Khan said "underlying economic crisis is an explosive human rights crisis. The economic downturn has aggravated abuses, distracted attention from them. In the name of security, human rights were trampled on. Now, in the name of economic recovery, they are being relegated to the back seat."

She said world leaders must invest in human rights as purposefully as they are investing in the economy as this crisis is about shortages of food, jobs, clean water, land and housing and about deprivation and discrimination, inequality, xenophobia and racism violence and repression.

She said: "marginalised and indigenous communities were denied basic rights for decent life, despite economic growth in countries like India, Brazil and Mexico."