| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"K James" |
| Date: |
23 Mar 2006 08:20:44 PM |
| Object: |
Ex-President Blasts US Over Human Rights |
Ex-President Blasts US Over Human Rights
Daily Ireland - Mar 21, 2006
The United States has fallen out of step with the rest of the world in the
wake of September 11, 2001, former Irish president Mary Robinson said
yesterday.
Mrs Robinson expressed sadness and regret at Washingtons erosion of human
rights as part of its so-called war on terror.
In a speech in central London, the former UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights praised the British courts for taking a global lead on interpreting
international human-rights laws.
Highlighting US opposition last week to the creation of a new UN Human
Rights Council, Mrs Robinson said: It illustrates the seismic shift which
has taken place in the relation of the US to global rule-of-law issues.
Today, the US no longer leads but is too often seen merely to march out of
step with the rest of the world.
She said she hoped it was a temporary loss of moral compass.
Speaking at an event organised by the human-rights and law reform group
Justice, Mrs Robinson criticised the official use of Big Brother-style
language to cover up its activities.
Misuse of language has also led to Orwellian euphemisms, so that coercive
interrogation is used instead of torture, or cruel and inhuman treatment;
kidnapping becomes extraordinary rendition, she said.
The former Irish leader disputed the argument that the post-9/11 world meant
that human rights could be curtailed in the name of security.
This would lead to democracies losing the moral high ground, she said.
Almost five years after 9/11, I think we must be honest in recognising how
far international commitment to human- rights standards has slipped in such
a short time, she told an audience at Middle Temple Hall.
In the US in particular, the ambivalence about torture, the use of
extraordinary rendition, and the extension of presidential powers have all
had a powerful knock-on effect around the world, often in countries that
lack the checks and balances of independent courts, a free press and
vigorous non-governmental organisations and academic communities.
The establishment of an offshore prison in Guantanamo [and] its retention
in the face of the most principled and sustained criticism are all aspects
of this situation.
http://dailyireland.televisual.co.uk/
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| User: "Werner Hetzner" |
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| Title: Re: Ex-President Blasts US Over Human Rights |
27 Mar 2006 09:30:05 AM |
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K James wrote:
Ex-President Blasts US Over Human Rights
Daily Ireland - Mar 21, 2006
The United States has fallen out of step with the rest of the world in the
wake of September 11, 2001, former Irish president Mary Robinson said
yesterday.
Mrs Robinson expressed sadness and regret at Washingtons erosion of human
rights as part of its so-called war on terror....
Our civil liberties were slipping away long before Patriot Act
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/PatriotAct.shtml
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