America, Russia and China stand accused over human rights

AMNESTY International yesterday accused the United States, Russia and China of ignoring human rights violations by allies and failing to open their own records to scrutiny in its annual survey.

The human rights organisation took the US to task for President Barack Obama's failure to close its prison camp at Guantanamo Bay and criticised Russia and China for blocking international scrutiny of the Sri Lankan government's conduct during its bloody conflict with insurgents.

Amnesty criticised all three nations – and several other Group of 20 countries – for refusing to participate in the International Criminal Court, which is intended to prosecute war criminals.

"China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Turkey and the US have stood aside from – if not deliberately undermined – international justice efforts," interim Secretary-General Claudio Cordone said.

Nations have yet to respond to the report, though several have previously stressed the principle of noninterference in other countries' internal affairs.

Amnesty's annual round-up of global human rights abuses urged members of the G20 to set an example to the international community by signing up to the International Criminal Court.

The US and others have refused to ratify the court's founding treaty partly because they fear the court could become a forum for politically motivated prosecutions of troops in unpopular wars such as Iraq.

In the US, Amnesty said Mr Obama's administration had produced a mixed picture on human rights. Although some progress has been made toward closing Guantanamo Bay, there was little sign that anyone would be held accountable for alleged torture there, Cordone said.

"There were some good signs when they promised to close (Guantanamo]," he said. "However it's still open, and still using military commissions that don't meet international standards."

Mr Obama missed his self-imposed deadline to close the military prison in January. He has not offered a new deadline.

"The president and the administration continue to take steps to close the detention facility as quickly and safely as possible," US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

Amnesty complained that the US and members of the European Union had obstructed international justice by using their positions on the UN Security Council to shield Israel from accountability for war crimes allegedly committed during last year's Gaza war.

The US State Department said it "supports the need for accountability" for any violations that may have occurred in relation to the Gaza conflict.

The rights group said China, Russia and allies of Sri Lanka sitting on the 47-member Human Rights Council helped block legal accountability for the violence and alleged abuses during the final stages of Sri Lanka's civil war last year by voting for a resolution that stressed the war was a "domestic" matter.

The UN estimates at least 7,000 civilians died. Rights groups have accused government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels of deliberately targeting civilians.