Topic: Brazil

States must not ignore human rights in efforts to end poverty

Governments risk failing some of the world’s most impoverished and vulnerable groups unless human rights are put at the centre of efforts to eradicate poverty, Amnesty International warned today.

In a new report looking at how to strengthen the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs], the organization highlights how key targets fall short of existing international human rights standards. The report, From Promises to Delivery, outlines crucial steps governments can take to deliver meaningful progress on the MDGs over the next five years.

“The MDGs promised some of the worlds most impoverished and excluded a fairer future but it is now painfully obvious that unless urgent action is taken governments will fail the most vulnerable communities,” said Claudio Cordone, interim Secretary General of Amnesty International.

“The message for world leaders when they come together in September to review progress on the MDGs is clear:  they must act now to put human rights at the centre of efforts to improve the lives of those living in poverty.”

The report calls on governments to ensure all MDG initiatives are consistent with human rights; address discrimination experienced by women; set national targets for delivery; fulfill the right of participation and strengthen mechanisms for accountability.

It was launched today in New York, where representatives from governments, civil society and the UN are gathering at an Amnesty International and Realizing Rights conference to discuss the importance of human rights in achieving the MDGs. 

Three main issues – gender equality, maternal health and slums –are highlighted in the report to illustrate the gulf between the current MDGs framework and international human rights standards.

On gender equality the report shows how the MDGs fail to ensure that governments address women’s human rights across all targets despite it being an essential element in tackling poverty. Where gender equality is listed in the MDGs it is limited to a single target to eliminate disparities in education.

It is estimated that 70 per cent of those living in poverty are women. The report documents how women and girls continue to suffer from gender discrimination, violence and further human rights violations in all societies.

Improving maternal health is an area that has seen far too little progress according to the report. The MDGs fail to take into account a variety of underlying factors that contribute to maternal deaths and injuries.

Human rights issues such as early or forced marriage, violence against women and girls prevents women from making decisions about their own lives.  The MDGs also do not pay sufficient attention to sexual and reproductive rights. From Peru to Serria Leone, the report illustrates the barriers women in poverty face when trying to access maternal healthcare.

The MDG target to improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers is described as ‘grossly inadequate and weak’ given that an estimated 1.4 billion people will live in slums by 2020. The target also falls short of existing obligations on states under international human rights law.

Amnesty International has documented forced evictions of communities living in slums in all regions of the world. The effects of these forced evictions is catastrophic for people who were already living in poverty. The MDGs ignore the crucial obligations of states to prevent and protect people from these violations.

From Burkino Faso to the favelas in Brazil, the report show how an accountability deficit exists which makes it hard for people living in poverty to access justice. Mechanisms to ensure accountability do not exist or are inaccessible to people living in poverty.

“Human rights are central to making the MDGs effective,” said Claudio Cordone. “Governments must be held to account to ensure their efforts to achieve the MDGs are consistent with human rights.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors

This work is part of Amnesty International’s Demand Dignity campaign which aims to end the human rights violations that drive and deepen global poverty. The campaign will mobilise people all over the world to demand that governments, corporations and others who have power listen to the voices of those living in poverty and recognise and protect their rights. For more information visit http://www.amnesty.org/en/demand-dignity

The MDGs remain the most prominent global initiative to address poverty and are drawn from the Millennium Declaration adopted 10 years ago.

The MDGs focus on eight areas: (1) eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; (2) providing universal primary education; (3) promoting gender equality and empowering women; (4) reducing child mortality; (5) improving maternal health; (6) combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; (7) ensuring environmental sustainability; and (8) developing a global partnership for development.

REPORT 2010: GLOBAL JUSTICE GAP CONDEMNS MILLIONS TO ABUSE

A global justice gap is being made worse by power politics despite a landmark year for international justice, said Amnesty International today in its annual assessment of human rights worldwide.

Launching Amnesty International Report 2010: State of the World’s Human Rights, which documents abuses in 159 countries, the organization said that powerful governments are blocking advances in international justice by standing above the law on human rights, shielding allies from criticism and acting only when politically convenient.

“Repression and injustice are flourishing in the global justice gap, condemning millions of people to abuse, oppression and poverty,” said Claudio Cordone, interim Secretary General of Amnesty International.

“Governments must ensure that no one is above the law, and that everyone has access to justice for all human rights violations. Until governments stop subordinating justice to political self-interest, freedom from fear and freedom from want will remain elusive for most of humanity.”

Amnesty International called on governments to ensure accountability for their own actions, fully sign up to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and ensure that crimes under international law can be prosecuted anywhere in the world. It said that states claiming global leadership, including the G20, have a particular responsibility to set an example.

The International Criminal Court’s 2009 arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al Bashir, for crimes against humanity and war crimes, was a landmark event demonstrating that even sitting heads of state are not above the law. However, the African Union’s refusal to cooperate, despite the nightmare of violence that has affected hundreds of thousands of people in Darfur, was a stark example of governmental failure to put justice before politics.

The UN Human Rights Council’s paralysis over Sri Lanka, despite serious abuses including possible war crimes carried out by both government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, also stood as a testament to the international community’s failure to act when needed. Meanwhile, the recommendations of the Human Rights Council’s Goldstone report calling for accountability for the conflict in Gaza still need to be heeded by Israel and Hamas.

Worldwide, the justice gap sustained a pernicious web of repression. Amnesty International’s research records torture or other ill-treatment in at least 111 countries, unfair trials in at least 55 countries, restrictions on free speech in at least 96 countries and prisoners of conscience imprisoned in at least 48 countries.

Human rights organizations and human rights defenders came under attack in many countries, with governments preventing their work or failing to protect them.

In the Middle East and North Africa, there were patterns of governmental intolerance of criticism in Saudi Arabia, Syria and Tunisia, and mounting repression in Iran. In Asia, the Chinese government increased pressure on challenges to its authority, detaining and harassing human rights defenders, while thousands fled severe repression and economic hardship in North Korea and Myanmar.

Space for independent voices and civil society shrank in parts of Europe and Central Asia, and there were unfair restrictions on freedom of expression in Russia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Uzbekistan. The Americas were plagued by hundreds of unlawful killings by security forces, including in Brazil, Jamaica, Colombia and Mexico, while impunity for US violations related to counter-terrorism persisted. Governments in Africa such as Guinea and Madagascar met dissent with excessive use of force and unlawful killings, while Ethiopia and Uganda among others repressed criticism.

Callous disregard for civilians marked conflicts. Armed groups and government forces breached international law in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka and Yemen. In the conflict in Gaza and southern Israel, Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups unlawfully killed and injured civilians. Thousands of civilians suffered abuses in escalating violence by the Taleban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, or bore the brunt of the conflicts in Iraq and Somalia. Women and girls suffered rape and other violence carried out by government forces and armed groups in most conflicts.

Other trends included:

§         Mass forced evictions of people from their homes in Africa, for example in Angola, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, often driving people deeper into poverty.

§         Increased reports of domestic violence against women, rape, sexual abuse, and murder and mutilation after rape, in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Jamaica.

§         Millions of migrants in Asia-Pacific countries including South Korea, Japan and Malaysia faced exploitation, violence and abuse.

§         A sharp rise in racism, xenophobia and intolerance in Europe and Central Asia.

§         In the Middle East and North Africa, attacks by armed groups – some apparently aligned to al-Qa’ida – in states such as Iraq and Yemen, heightened insecurity.

Globally, with millions of people pushed into poverty by the food, energy and financial crises, events showed the urgent need to tackle the abuses that affect poverty.

“Governments should be held accountable for the human rights abuses that drive and deepen poverty. The UN review meeting on the Millennium Development Goals in New York, USA, this September is an opportunity for world leaders to move from promises to legally enforceable commitments,” said Claudio Cordone.

Women, especially the poor, bore the brunt of the failure to deliver on these goals. Pregnancy-related complications claimed the lives of an estimated 350,000 women, with maternal mortality often directly caused by gender discrimination, violations of sexual and reproductive rights, and denial of access to health care.

“Governments must promote women’s equality and address discrimination against women if they are going to make progress on the Millennium Development Goals, ” said Claudio Cordone.

Amnesty International also called on G20 states that have failed to fully sign up to the International Criminal Court  – USA, China, Russia, Turkey, India, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia – to do so. The international review meeting on the court, beginning in Kampala, Uganda on 31 May, is a chance for governments to show their commitment to the court.

Despite serious failures in ensuring justice last year, many events revealed progress. In Latin America, investigations into crimes shielded by amnesty laws were reopened, with landmark judgments involving former leaders including the convictions of former President Alberto Fujimori of Peru for crimes against humanity and Argentina’s last military president, Reynaldo Bignone for kidnapping and torture. All trials in the Special Court for Sierra Leone were concluded apart from the on-going trial of former President of Liberia Charles Taylor.

“The need for effective global justice is a key lesson from the past year. Justice provides fairness and truth to those who suffer violations, deters human rights abuses, and ultimately delivers a more stable and secure world,” said Claudio Cordone.

Ends

NOTES TO EDITORS

1.       Amnesty International Report 2010: State of the World’s Human Rights covers the period January – December 2009.

For more information or to arrange an interview with an Amnesty International spokesperson, contact the Press Office on ++ 44 (0)20 7413 5566 or press@amnesty.org.

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