At the same time, the campaign offers a chance to focus attention on the
denial of human rights and democracy in the Middle East and Central
Asia, where authoritarian governments have left millions of people with
a choice between extremist politics and no politics. Many of these
authoritarian governments cling to power without challenge from Western
governments.

The 670-page Human Rights Watch World Report 2002 includes summaries of
human rights events in 2001 in 66 countries, as well as analyses of U.S.
and European foreign policy, refugee issues, international justice,
corporate social responsibility, and the weapons trade.

Some countries, such as Russia, Uzbekistan, and Egypt, are using the war
on terror to justify abusive military campaigns or crackdowns on
domestic political opponents. In the United States and Western Europe,
measures designed to combat terrorism are threatening long-held human
rights principles.

"Terrorists believe that anything goes in the name of their cause," said
Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch. "The fight
against terror must not buy into that logic. Human rights principles
must not be compromised in the name of any cause."

The anti-terrorism campaign will not succeed if it is conducted merely
as a struggle against a particularly ruthless set of criminals, Roth
said. To defeat the fundamental amorality of terrorism requires a firm
grounding in international human rights.

"The fight against terror must reaffirm the principle that no civilian
should ever be deliberately killed or abused," said Roth. "But for too
many countries, the anti-terror mantra has provided a new reason to
ignore human rights."

On Afghanistan, Roth said that the demise of the Taliban regime created
an opportunity for positive change. But he urged that the international
community devote real resources to bringing perpetrators to justice for
past crimes. Establishing the rule of law will be essential for ending
the cycle of atrocities in Afghanistan.

Roth said that Human Rights Watch had not yet conducted an on-the-ground
investigation of civilian deaths in the U.S. bombing campaign in
Afghanistan, but that serious questions had been raised by reports of
civilian casualties.

Human Rights Watch does not generally take a position on whether
particular wars should be fought, but does urge strict respect for
international humanitarian law in the conduct of any war. Human Rights
Watch urged the U.S. military to be more forthcoming about civilian
casualties in Afghanistan.

Roth also said that new restrictions on civil liberties in the United
States, such as the proposed military commissions, could compromise the
U.S. government's ability to criticize human rights violations in other
countries.

"Imagine the U.S. condemning military tribunals set up by a tin-pot
tyrant to get rid of his political enemies," said Roth. "That kind of
criticism can have real sting. But now it will ring with hypocrisy -- if
the Pentagon does not narrow President Bush's order on military
commissions with appropriate guidelines." Anti-terror legislation in
many Western European countries would have a similar effect on their
abilities to provide international leadership on human rights, Roth
said.

"The fight against terror isn't just a matter of security," said Roth.
"It's a matter of values."

The willingness of most Western governments to tolerate abuses by
friendly governments in the Middle East and North Africa has tended to
undermine the growth of a human rights culture there, Roth noted. The
problems include the West's failure to rein in Israeli abuses against
Palestinians, and its apparent disregard for grave civilian suffering
caused by sanctions against Iraq.

"In societies where basic freedoms flourish, citizens can press their
government to respond to grievances," said Roth. "But in Saudi Arabia
and other countries where Osama bin Laden strikes a chord of resentment,
governments prohibit political debate. As the option of peaceful
political change is closed off, the voices of non-violent dissent are
frequently upstaged by advocates of violent opposition."

Human Rights Watch is an international monitoring organization based in
New York. It accepts no financial support from any government.

==^================================================================
This email was sent to: [email protected]

EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://igc.topica.com/u/?b1djVS.b2lgQg
Or send an email to: [email protected]

T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail!
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register
==^================================================================