The price of impunity

When the UN Human Rights Council convened a special session on Sri
Lanka last May, many were hoping for meaningful discussion about
possible war crimes committed during the final phase of the country's
civil war.
Thousands of civilians, who had been trapped between the Sri Lankan
military and increasingly desperate Tamil rebels, were dead. Reports
allege they were shelled by the military whilst sheltering in
so-called "No Fire Zones" where they had been promised safety.
Hospitals and food distribution points had also been hit, and as the
council convened in Geneva, tens of thousands of survivors huddled in
sprawling internment camps in the north of the island, unable to leave
and rebuild their shattered lives.
You would not know this, however, from the resolution thecouncil
passed. Drafted by the Sri Lankan delegation, it "commended" the
government of Sri Lanka for its treatment of civilian victims of the
war.
"It was a low point in the short history of the Human Rights Council,"
says Widney Brown, the director of the international law program at
Amnesty International, describing how Asian countries allowed the
resolution to pass unopposed.
Mind the gap
Amnesty's annual global human rights assessment, released on Thursday,
says the Sri Lankan case offers a perfect example of agrowing threat
to the applicationof international law - the so-called "justice gap"
between the powerful and the weak.
"We see governments holding themselves above the law," says Brown. "A
lot of countries are working in regional blocs to shield themselves
from criticism."
The problem is not restricted to asingle country or region. Brown says
that powerful countries are undermining justice efforts all over the
world by refusing to submit themselves to the laws that protect
civilians in conflict.
She cites US support for Israel as another manifestation of the same
problem, predicting that if the situation arises, Washington will use
its UN Security Council veto to prevent any meaningful action against
Israel for crimes committed in Gaza.
"China, Russia and US, as permanent members of the Security Council,
are holding themselves above the law," she says. "It's so
fundamentally unfair for victims that will be denied justice."
Double standards
Meanwhile less powerful countries, particularly in Africa, feel
aggrieved when they find that they are being held accountable for
human rights abuses while more powerful countries act with impunity.
It is, Brown says, an understandable resentment at a double standard
that underminesefforts to make international justice the norm rather
than the exception.
"The hypocrisy and double standards undermine calls for justice that
are legitimate."
She wants to see the levels of scrutiny applied to Africa extended to
all countries.
"It's not a bad thing that victims in Africa have a chance of justice.
We want to extend that accountability."
For many, such accountability willcome too late. The Amnesty report
paints a disturbing pictureof human rights violations that have gone
unpunished because powerful nations are unwilling tosubmit to
international human rights standards. Rather than setting an example,
campaigners say they are creating a culture of impunity.
From the failure to implement the recommendations of the Goldstone
report into war crimescommitted during the Gaza conflict, to the
refusal of some of the world's most powerful countries to sign up to
the International Criminal Court (ICC), the report catalogues example
after example of rights abuses for which there has been no justice.
"Repression and injustice are flourishing in the global justice gap,
condemning millions of people to abuse, oppression and poverty," says
Claudio Cordone, Amnesty's interim secretary general.
Disturbing trends
The report identifies trends in human rights violations, including
"mass forced evictions of people from their homes in Africa, for
example in Angola, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, often driving people
deeper into poverty".
It also records "increased reportsof domestic violence against women,
rape, sexual abuse, and murder and mutilations after rape," and a
"sharp rise in racism,xenophobia and intolerance in Europe and Central
Asia".
The overall message from Amnesty is clear; there is a long way to go
before powerful nations stop trading away the application of justice
for short-term political gains.
PHOTO CAPTION
A still image from the documentary Fallujah: The HiddenMassacre which
charges U.S. warplanes illegally dropped white phosphorus incendiary
bombs on civilians in Iraq