AFP, London :
World leaders have proved “shameful and ineffective” in failing to protect civilians from groups like Islamic State (IS), Amnesty International said Wednesday, calling 2014 a “catastrophic” year.
In its 415-page annual report detailing abuses in 160 countries, the group accused governments of “pretending the protection of civilians is beyond their power.”
It said millions of civilians had been killed from Syria to Ukraine, Gaza to Nigeria, while the number of displaced people around the world exceeded 50 million last year for the first time since the end of World War II.
“2014 was a catastrophic year for millions caught up in violence,” said Amnesty’s secretary general, Shalil Shetty.
“The global response to conflict and abuses by states and armed groups has been shameful and ineffective.
“As people suffered an escalation in barbarous attacks and repression, the international community has been found wanting.”
It warned that the situation would get worse this year unless leaders took immediate action.
Amnesty singled out the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for criticism, with Shetty saying it had “miserably failed” to protect civilians.
The five permanent UNSC members-Britain, China, France, Russia and the US-“consistently abused” their veto right to “promote their political self-interest or geopolitical interest above the interest of protecting civilians,” he added.
Amnesty is now urging the five states to give up their right to veto action in cases where genocide and other mass killings are being committed.
This proposal is similar to a push being led by France with the backing of 70 countries, but Amnesty hopes its support will give the idea fresh impetus.
It believes the move would give the UN a better chance to save civilian lives in conflict zones.
Amnesty also urged all states to abide by a treaty regulating the international arms trade which came into force last year, saying this could help stop huge shipments of weapons to countries like Syria and Iraq.
In addition, it called for new restrictions on the use of explosive weapons like mortars and rockets in populated areas.
The human rights group, which says it has seven million campaigners worldwide, sharply criticised the European Union’s response to the four million Syrian refugees displaced by conflict in the world’s worst refugee crisis.
By the end of 2014, only 150,000 Syrian refugees were living in EU states, it said, while 3,400 refugees and migrants had died in the Mediterranean Sea trying to make their way to Europe.
“The response of the EU and its member states was, with few exceptions, driven above all by the desire to keep them out,” the report said.
Shetty added that the European response to the problem was “actually pushing people into the water of the Mediterranean.”
The report said only two percent of refugees from Syria had been resettled by the end of last year, and called for this figure to at least triple this year.
Overall, armed groups like IS, Boko Haram and Shebab were found to have committed abuses in 35 countries last year, Amnesty said-over one in five of those investigated for the report.
Across the border from Syria in Iraq, Amnesty said there was a “marked deterioration in human rights” across the board, as fighting against the IS group intensified.
“IS fighters committed widespread war crimes, including ethnic cleansing of religious and ethnic minorities through a campaign of mass killings of men and abduction and sexual and other abuse of women and girls,” the report said.
“Government forces carried out indiscriminate bombing and shelling in IS-controlled areas, and government-backed Shi’a (Shiite) militias abducted and executed scores of Sunni men in areas under government control.”
Amnesty International has urged the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to give up their power of veto in cases where atrocities are being committed.
In its annual report, the rights group said the global response to an array of catastrophes in 2014 had been shameful.
Richer countries were guilty of taking an “abhorrent” stance by not sheltering more refugees, Amnesty said.
The outlook for 2015 was bleak, the group added.
Saying that 2014 had been a catastrophic year for victims of conflict and violence, Amnesty said world leaders needed to act immediately to confront the changing nature of armed conflict.
Salil Shetty, the organisation’s secretary general, said in a statement that the United Nations Security Council had “miserably failed” to protect civilians.
Instead, the council’s five permanent members – the UK, China, France, Russia and the US – had used their veto to “promote their political self-interest or geopolitical interest above the interest of protecting civilians,” Mr Shetty said.
Part of the solution would be those countries surrendering their Security Council veto on issues related to mass killing and genocide, Amnesty added.
Salil Shetty, the organisation’s secretary general, said in a statement that the United Nations Security Council had “miserably failed” to protect civilians.
Instead, the council’s five permanent members – the UK, China, France, Russia and the US – had used their veto to “promote their political self-interest or geopolitical interest above the interest of protecting civilians,” Mr Shetty said.
Part of the solution would be those countries surrendering their Security Council veto on issues related to mass killing and genocide, Amnesty added.
Last year, the veto was only used twice in the UN Security Council.
In March, Russia vetoed a resolution condemning as illegal a referendum on the status of Crimea and in May Russia and China blocked a resolution condemning Syria.
But many draft resolutions proposing tough action to deal with crises never reach the voting stage because they would almost certainly be vetoed, says the BBC World Affairs correspondent Mike Wooldridge.
The Amnesty report argues that if the use of the veto in the Security Council had already been restrained in the way the report suggests, that could have made it impossible to block UN action over the violence in Syria.
This might have resulted in President Bashar al-Assad being referred to the International Criminal Court, greater access for badly needed humanitarian aid would have been possible and civilians helped more, writes Mike Wooldridge.
The initiative to suspend the veto right in particular circumstances was first raised 15 years ago and may be gathering momentum, but it is still unclear when it might have enough backing to be enforced, our correspondent adds.
One key question is who would decide when a crisis situation warrants a suspension of the veto right.
Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research Anna Neistat told the BBC inquiries by the UN Commission for Human Right or the International Criminal Court could determine what constitutes a crime against humanity for example.
When asked if these mechanisms would be fast enough for action to be taken in time, she cited the international intervention in Libya in 2011 and the green light for cross-border humanitarian assistance to Syria in 2014 as examples where they did work.
The UK government has not yet made a specific commitment in favour of the voluntary renunciation of the veto.
But the Foreign Office said in response to the Amnesty report: “The United Kingdom wholeheartedly supports the principle that the Security Council must act to stop mass atrocities and crimes against humanity.
“We cannot envisage circumstances where we would use our veto to block such action.”
Amnesty’s report said that 2014 had led to one of the worst refugee crises in history, with four million Syrians displaced by war and thousands of migrants dying in the Mediterranean.
The group criticised the response of European leaders to the crisis.
It said the efforts of wealthy countries to keep refugees out took “precedence over their efforts to keep people alive”.
Amnesty also used its report to urge governments to adhere to a worldwide agreement on arms.
A global treaty came into force last year and aims to regulate the arms industry by controlling the supply of weapons to criminal groups.
2014 was a year of “catastrophic” conflict, said Amnesty, with large-scale destruction such as in the city of Kobane in northern Syria
World leaders have proved “shameful and ineffective” in failing to protect civilians from groups like Islamic State (IS), Amnesty International said Wednesday, calling 2014 a “catastrophic” year.
In its 415-page annual report detailing abuses in 160 countries, the group accused governments of “pretending the protection of civilians is beyond their power.”
It said millions of civilians had been killed from Syria to Ukraine, Gaza to Nigeria, while the number of displaced people around the world exceeded 50 million last year for the first time since the end of World War II.
“2014 was a catastrophic year for millions caught up in violence,” said Amnesty’s secretary general, Shalil Shetty.
“The global response to conflict and abuses by states and armed groups has been shameful and ineffective.
“As people suffered an escalation in barbarous attacks and repression, the international community has been found wanting.”
It warned that the situation would get worse this year unless leaders took immediate action.
Amnesty singled out the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for criticism, with Shetty saying it had “miserably failed” to protect civilians.
The five permanent UNSC members-Britain, China, France, Russia and the US-“consistently abused” their veto right to “promote their political self-interest or geopolitical interest above the interest of protecting civilians,” he added.
Amnesty is now urging the five states to give up their right to veto action in cases where genocide and other mass killings are being committed.
This proposal is similar to a push being led by France with the backing of 70 countries, but Amnesty hopes its support will give the idea fresh impetus.
It believes the move would give the UN a better chance to save civilian lives in conflict zones.
Amnesty also urged all states to abide by a treaty regulating the international arms trade which came into force last year, saying this could help stop huge shipments of weapons to countries like Syria and Iraq.
In addition, it called for new restrictions on the use of explosive weapons like mortars and rockets in populated areas.
The human rights group, which says it has seven million campaigners worldwide, sharply criticised the European Union’s response to the four million Syrian refugees displaced by conflict in the world’s worst refugee crisis.
By the end of 2014, only 150,000 Syrian refugees were living in EU states, it said, while 3,400 refugees and migrants had died in the Mediterranean Sea trying to make their way to Europe.
“The response of the EU and its member states was, with few exceptions, driven above all by the desire to keep them out,” the report said.
Shetty added that the European response to the problem was “actually pushing people into the water of the Mediterranean.”
The report said only two percent of refugees from Syria had been resettled by the end of last year, and called for this figure to at least triple this year.
Overall, armed groups like IS, Boko Haram and Shebab were found to have committed abuses in 35 countries last year, Amnesty said-over one in five of those investigated for the report.
Across the border from Syria in Iraq, Amnesty said there was a “marked deterioration in human rights” across the board, as fighting against the IS group intensified.
“IS fighters committed widespread war crimes, including ethnic cleansing of religious and ethnic minorities through a campaign of mass killings of men and abduction and sexual and other abuse of women and girls,” the report said.
“Government forces carried out indiscriminate bombing and shelling in IS-controlled areas, and government-backed Shi’a (Shiite) militias abducted and executed scores of Sunni men in areas under government control.”
Amnesty International has urged the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to give up their power of veto in cases where atrocities are being committed.
In its annual report, the rights group said the global response to an array of catastrophes in 2014 had been shameful.
Richer countries were guilty of taking an “abhorrent” stance by not sheltering more refugees, Amnesty said.
The outlook for 2015 was bleak, the group added.
Saying that 2014 had been a catastrophic year for victims of conflict and violence, Amnesty said world leaders needed to act immediately to confront the changing nature of armed conflict.
Salil Shetty, the organisation’s secretary general, said in a statement that the United Nations Security Council had “miserably failed” to protect civilians.
Instead, the council’s five permanent members – the UK, China, France, Russia and the US – had used their veto to “promote their political self-interest or geopolitical interest above the interest of protecting civilians,” Mr Shetty said.
Part of the solution would be those countries surrendering their Security Council veto on issues related to mass killing and genocide, Amnesty added.
Salil Shetty, the organisation’s secretary general, said in a statement that the United Nations Security Council had “miserably failed” to protect civilians.
Instead, the council’s five permanent members – the UK, China, France, Russia and the US – had used their veto to “promote their political self-interest or geopolitical interest above the interest of protecting civilians,” Mr Shetty said.
Part of the solution would be those countries surrendering their Security Council veto on issues related to mass killing and genocide, Amnesty added.
Last year, the veto was only used twice in the UN Security Council.
In March, Russia vetoed a resolution condemning as illegal a referendum on the status of Crimea and in May Russia and China blocked a resolution condemning Syria.
But many draft resolutions proposing tough action to deal with crises never reach the voting stage because they would almost certainly be vetoed, says the BBC World Affairs correspondent Mike Wooldridge.
The Amnesty report argues that if the use of the veto in the Security Council had already been restrained in the way the report suggests, that could have made it impossible to block UN action over the violence in Syria.
This might have resulted in President Bashar al-Assad being referred to the International Criminal Court, greater access for badly needed humanitarian aid would have been possible and civilians helped more, writes Mike Wooldridge.
The initiative to suspend the veto right in particular circumstances was first raised 15 years ago and may be gathering momentum, but it is still unclear when it might have enough backing to be enforced, our correspondent adds.
One key question is who would decide when a crisis situation warrants a suspension of the veto right.
Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research Anna Neistat told the BBC inquiries by the UN Commission for Human Right or the International Criminal Court could determine what constitutes a crime against humanity for example.
When asked if these mechanisms would be fast enough for action to be taken in time, she cited the international intervention in Libya in 2011 and the green light for cross-border humanitarian assistance to Syria in 2014 as examples where they did work.
The UK government has not yet made a specific commitment in favour of the voluntary renunciation of the veto.
But the Foreign Office said in response to the Amnesty report: “The United Kingdom wholeheartedly supports the principle that the Security Council must act to stop mass atrocities and crimes against humanity.
“We cannot envisage circumstances where we would use our veto to block such action.”
Amnesty’s report said that 2014 had led to one of the worst refugee crises in history, with four million Syrians displaced by war and thousands of migrants dying in the Mediterranean.
The group criticised the response of European leaders to the crisis.
It said the efforts of wealthy countries to keep refugees out took “precedence over their efforts to keep people alive”.
Amnesty also used its report to urge governments to adhere to a worldwide agreement on arms.
A global treaty came into force last year and aims to regulate the arms industry by controlling the supply of weapons to criminal groups.
2014 was a year of “catastrophic” conflict, said Amnesty, with large-scale destruction such as in the city of Kobane in northern Syria
