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Rights Group Assails Inaction on Syria Rights Group Assails Inaction on Syria
(about 1 hour later)
BERLIN — Human Rights Watch on Tuesday deplored what it called the failure of international powers to intervene in Syria, saying the desire to bring President Bashar al-Assad’s government to the negotiating table should not become a pretext for failing to protect civilians caught up in the almost three-year civil war that has claimed more than 100,000 lives.BERLIN — Human Rights Watch on Tuesday deplored what it called the failure of international powers to intervene in Syria, saying the desire to bring President Bashar al-Assad’s government to the negotiating table should not become a pretext for failing to protect civilians caught up in the almost three-year civil war that has claimed more than 100,000 lives.
The criticism, in an annual accounting of human rights records around the world, came a day before international negotiations, known in diplomatic shorthand as Geneva II, are to begin in Switzerland, first in the city of Montreux and then moving to Geneva. Separately, a team of legal and forensic experts commissioned by the government of Qatar said on Monday that thousands of post-mortem photographs showing scarred, emaciated corpses offered “direct evidence” of mass torture by Syrian government forces. The criticism, in an annual accounting of human rights records around the world, came a day before international negotiations, known as Geneva II, are to begin in Switzerland, first in the city of Montreux and then moving to Geneva. Separately, a team of legal and forensic experts commissioned by the government of Qatar said on Monday that thousands of photographs showing scarred, emaciated corpses offered “direct evidence” of mass torture by Syrian government forces.
“As the Geneva II peace talks begin, with uncertain prospects of success, they shouldn’t become the latest excuse to avoid action to protect Syrian civilians,” Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, which has its headquarters in New York, said in a statement. “This requires real pressure to stop the killing and allow the delivery of the humanitarian aid they need to survive.” Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, which has its headquarters in New York, said the images were consistent with what his organization had seen when it visited detention centers in Syria. The photographs, provided to the Syrian opposition by a man who described himself as a defector from the security forces of President Assad, highlight the importance of opening up Syrian detention facilities to international inspection, he said.
In addition to Syria, the report also condemned what it called “lip service” paid by unspecified governments to democracy in Egypt and Myanmar. Mr. Roth further criticized western governments, in particular the United States, for not being vocal enough in their criticism of the violence for fear that it could endanger the peace talks.
While Syria has suffered, international military missions have been reinforced to protect vulnerable people in some parts of Africa, Human Rights Watch said, pointing to efforts by France, the United State and the United Nations in the Central African Republic and South Sudan. “It is essential that the mass atrocities being committed in Syria be a parallel focus of any diplomatic effort,” Mr. Roth said at a news conference in Berlin. He called for an end to the indiscriminate killing of civilians and an opening of Syria’s borders for humanitarian aid. “We cannot afford to wait for the distant prospect of a peace accord before the killing of 5,000 Syrians a month comes to an end.”
In addition to Syria, the report also condemned what it called “lip service” paid by governments in Egypt and Myanmar to democracy.
While Syria has suffered, international military missions have been reinforced to protect vulnerable people in some parts of Africa, Human Rights Watch said, pointing to efforts by France, the United States and the United Nations in the Central African Republic and South Sudan.
President Obama’s record on national security issues came under fire in the report, from the continued existence of the detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to what the group called the unlawful killing of civilians through drone attacks in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.President Obama’s record on national security issues came under fire in the report, from the continued existence of the detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to what the group called the unlawful killing of civilians through drone attacks in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.
Sharp criticism was reserved for what the organization called the “virtually unchecked mass electronic surveillance” that was revealed by documents released by Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor. While Human Rights Watch praised President Obama for appointing a panel to recommend reforms, the group questioned whether the recommendations will translate into concrete policy changes. Sharp criticism was reserved in the report for what the organization called the “virtually unchecked mass electronic surveillance” that was revealed by documents released by Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor. While Human Rights Watch praised President Obama for appointing a panel to recommend reforms, the group questioned whether the recommendations will translate into concrete policy changes.
“There is a danger that in response to the U.S. government’s overreaching, other governments, some with poor rights records, will force user data to stay within their own borders, setting up the potential for increased Internet censorship,” the report said. “His speech did not address some of the fundamental problems with the massive invasion of our privacy rights represented by the N.S.A.'s surveillance,” Mr. Roth said, referring to the president’s speech last week on the nation’s intelligence programs. “There is a complete failure to recognize the privacy interests involved.”
In addition, the group chided the United States for attempting to prosecute Mr. Snowden under the Espionage Act, noting that the decision has allowed Russia, which has offered temporary sanctuary to Mr. Snowden, to “recast itself as a champion of privacy rights.” The report also expressed concern that other governments, including those will a poor rights record, could follow the American example in surveillance, forcing “user data to stay within their own borders, setting up the potential for increased Internet censorship.” In addition, the group chided the United States for attempting to prosecute Mr. Snowden under the Espionage Act, noting that the decision has allowed Russia, which has offered temporary sanctuary to Mr. Snowden, to “recast itself as a champion of privacy rights.”
President Vladimir V. Putin’s decision to free activists from the punk band Pussy Riot and the environmental group Greenpeace, as well as the Russian dissident Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, were dismissed as attempts to avoid international criticism ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics that begin next month. “The effect was largely to highlight the arbitrariness” of Mr. Putin’s government, the report said.President Vladimir V. Putin’s decision to free activists from the punk band Pussy Riot and the environmental group Greenpeace, as well as the Russian dissident Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, were dismissed as attempts to avoid international criticism ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics that begin next month. “The effect was largely to highlight the arbitrariness” of Mr. Putin’s government, the report said.
The governments of Egypt, Myanmar and Thailand, as well as Ukraine — where mass street protests turned violent again this week — were singled out as examples where governments pledged to make democratic changes that were never brought to fruition. Human Rights Watch praised the resulting widespread protests as an indication that the public is not willing to be denied basic freedoms.The governments of Egypt, Myanmar and Thailand, as well as Ukraine — where mass street protests turned violent again this week — were singled out as examples where governments pledged to make democratic changes that were never brought to fruition. Human Rights Watch praised the resulting widespread protests as an indication that the public is not willing to be denied basic freedoms.
Compromises between political parties achieved in Tunisia were held up as an example of how, despite a stalled economy and political polarization, a consensus can be achieved in a young democracy that emerged from the popular movements for change across the Arab word in 2011, known as the Arab Spring. Compromises between political parties achieved in Tunisia were held up as an example of how, despite a stalled economy and political polarization, a consensus can be achieved in a young democracy that emerged from the popular movements for change across the Arab world in 2011, known as the Arab Spring.