Amnesty International Described 2014 as a 'Horrific Year' for Human Rights

Amnesty International described 2014 as a horrific year for human rights defenders and all those caught in war zones. Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International, accused governments in its annual report of only paying lip service to the necessity of protecting civilians, while in practice failing to do anything for those in urgent need of their support. According to him, international humanitarian law could not be clearer that civilians should never be targeted, yet it is these civilians who suffer the most from war. The Secretary General then noted that while last year marked the twentieth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, politicians repeatedly violated laws protecting civilians or turned a blind eye to severe violations of these laws. The Amnesty report criticized the United Nations Security Council for failing to resolve the Syrian crisis. The report states that over 200,000 people have been killed in the four years of the Syrian civil war, mostly due to government forces' attacks, and about four million have fled to other countries, while over 7.6 million have been internally displaced within Syria. Amnesty International then pointed to the spillover of the Syrian war into neighboring Iraq, where the Islamic State, which had previously committed war crimes in Syria, has engaged in ethnic cleansing, kidnapping, and mass executions of civilians. On the other hand, Iraqi Shiite militias have also kidnapped and killed numerous Sunni civilians, an issue that has been met with silence from the Iraqi government. The report also addresses the Gaza war in the summer, stating that Israeli forces killed around two thousand Palestinians, the majority of whom – at least 1,500 – were civilians, which constitutes evidence of war crimes. Conversely, Hamas also committed war crimes by continuously shelling Israel, resulting in the deaths of six people. The internal conflict in Nigeria is another issue addressed by Amnesty International, a war that has erupted in the north of the country between government forces and Boko Haram militants. Amnesty International refers to the abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Nigeria as an example of the countless crimes committed by Boko Haram. The organization also accuses the Nigerian government of committing horrific crimes against those suspected of being Boko Haram members or supporters, such as killings and mass graves, some of which Amnesty International has documented. The deaths of over 5,000 people during ethnic conflicts in the Central African Republic and the massacre of tens of thousands in the war between the South Sudanese government and opposition are among other issues covered in Amnesty International's annual report. This human rights organization ultimately emphasizes that such conditions must change globally. In this context, Amnesty International accused Iraqi Shiite militias of 'war crimes,' stated that 'both sides' in Eastern Ukraine have committed unlawful executions, urged the Islamic Republic to not just make good statements about human rights, accused the Israeli army of committing 'war crimes,' and stated that Boko Haram has committed its worst mass killings.