By Norm Dixon
The Amnesty International Report 1996 paints a chilling portrait of the state of human rights in the world today. The reality is in stark contrast to the rosy picture of a new era of democracy and human rights predicted by world leaders for the post-Cold War New World Order. "Governments worldwide are failing to prevent massive human rights violations committed by other governments, often preferring to ignore suffering in the search for profit", AI said.
Spanning the period of January-December 1995, AI found widespread human rights abuses in 146 countries, including:
- prisoners of conscience in 85 countries;
- at least 10,000 detainees subjected to torture in 110 countries;
- more than 4500 deaths in custody in 54 countries;
- more than 3700 death sentences in 58 countries;
- more than 140,000 "disappeared" people in 49 countries still unaccounted for.
The report singles out the governments of the USA, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China for "trading in terror". "These same governments who deny responsibility are busy promoting and organising the export of military and security equipment to people who have shown time and time again that they use these weapons and devices to kill and torture", says Pierre Sane, AI secretary general. The report calls on governments to ban the sale of military, security and police equipment to countries with records of human rights abuse.
The report's section on Australia raises concerns about the highly disproportionate rate of Aboriginal deaths in custody, fatal police shootings, the growing "law and order" push by state governments, specifically NSW. It points out that federal legislation on the detention of asylum-seekers who enter Australia without proper documents "failed to meet international human rights standards". The report also singled out Tasmania's anti-gay laws as a breach of human rights.
Despite promises to implement the findings of the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, 21 Aboriginal people died in custody or in police operations in 1995, the highest since records were first kept in 1980. At least 87 deaths have been recorded since the end of the royal commission. Although indigenous people make up 1.3% of the Australian adult population, they account for 14% of the prison population and 24% of deaths in custody.
Of particular significance for Australian foreign policy are continuing human rights abuses in East Timor and Indonesia. The report found that at least 20 prisoners of conscience were sentenced to prison terms after unfair trials and some 200 political prisoners remain in jail. Torture and extrajudicial executions are common.
The Amnesty International 1996 report is available from Amnesty International Australia, Level 3, 134 Broadway, NSW, 2007. Phone (02) 281 4188.