Amnesty accuses West of double standards over human rights abuses

Amnesty International has accused the West of double standards in its dealing with human rights abuses. The rights group makes the allegation in its Annual Report for 2022 released on Monday.

“The West’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also underscored its own double standards, and its inconsequential reactions to so many other violations of the UN Charter,” said Amnesty. “The West’s robust response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine contrasts sharply with a deplorable lack of meaningful action on grave violations by some of their allies including Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.”

The report highlights double standards throughout the world on human rights last year, and the failure of the international community to unite around consistently-applied human rights and universal values.

READ: Amnesty: More than 200,000 people demand end of Israeli apartheid

A press release quoted Amnesty International’s Secretary-General, Agnes Callamard, as saying that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a “chilling” example of what can happen when states think they can “flout international law and violate human rights” without consequences.

“Responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine gave us some evidence of what can be done when there is political will,” added Callamard. However, when Palestinian human rights are being violated, the response is very different. “Rather than demand an end to that system of oppression, many Western governments chose instead to attack those denouncing Israel’s apartheid system.”

According to Amnesty, the application of such double standards has emboldened regimes around the world to evade, ignore and deflect criticism of their human rights abuses, and encouraged further repression. Callamard called for the response to the Ukraine war to become a “blueprint for how we address all massive human rights violations.”

The report — “The State of The World’s Human Rights” — is also highly critical of the Iranian regime’s violent crackdown on anti-government protesters, as well as Beijing’s attempts to intimidate demonstrators with violence and threats.

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