10.06.2003

Amnesty International's Annual Report

Human rights activists face new challenges as various governments, including members of the UN Security Council, use post-September 11 anxiety as an excuse to lower basic civil rights standards and breach essential statutes of international law.

Launch of Amnesty International’s Annual Report 2003

Up until the 2001 attacks on the WTC, Amnesty International’s demands were more or less in line, or did at least not contradict, the stance that Western governments officially took on human rights issues. But the times, they are a-changing: Despite the long strived-for establishment of the International Criminal Court in 2002, international law is up against the wall. Instead of promoting the 1948 International Declaration of Human Rights, various Western democracies undermine major achievements of post-World-War II human rights politics, as the 2003 annual report of Amnesty International shows.

Instead of acting as a role model, several democratic governments have succumbed to the notion that only by taking away basic human rights and civil liberties will it be possible to make society safer. This development has done great damage to one of the most important strengths of human the rights agenda, which is moral integrity. Human rights are not, however, just a luxury item for prosperous and peaceful times. Rather, they are a central means to strengthen individual and collective security in society. Amnesty International’s annual report points its finger to theses issues. The report of the world's largest human rights organisation is one of the most effective means to inform government officials and the public on the moral state of national and international politics.

For further information on Amnesty International’s annual report 2003 go to:
http://web.amnesty.org/report2003/index-eng