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January 14, 2009

HRW: US Should Restore Human Rights Leadership
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=2196E6E:A6F02AD83191E1605A26C4989D989DDC30EB2FA2E66CBB22&
 
Rights group says President-elect Barack Obama must undo what it called
'enormous damage' caused by Bush administration 
A U.S.-based rights group is calling on President-elect Barack Obama to
restore the standing of the United States as a human rights leader. In
a report Wednesday, Human Rights Watch says Mr. Obama must undo what it
called "the enormous damage" caused by the Bush administration. Guards
escort a Guantanamo detainee at the Camp 4 detention facility in
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 18 Nov 2008The
group has called for the closure of the U.S. military detention
facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where some 250 terror suspects are
being held. Most detainees have not been charged and some have been
held for seven years. Mr. Obama is expected to announce plans to close
the facility within days after he takes office Tuesday. The
Human Rights Watch report says without strong leadership from the West,
countries that the group says oppose human rights enforcement are now
setting the agenda - naming Algeria, China, Egypt, India, Pakistan and
Russia. It notes human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, and also
criticizes South Africa for not doing enough to stop those abuses as an
example of nations that fail to address problems in neighboring
countries.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.


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