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          Amnesty International Report Chronicles 'Catastrophic' Year

   by Smita Nordwall

   The year 2014 was a "catastrophic" one for millions of people around
   the world, a human rights watchdog group said Wednesday.

   Amnesty International released its [1]annual report accusing world
   governments of failing to protect civilians from violence by states and
   armed groups, and calling the global response "shameful and
   ineffective."

   "As people suffered an escalation in barbarous attacks and repression,
   the international community has been found wanting,'' Amnesty secretary
   general Salil Shetty said in a statement.

   Refugee Crisis

   The report said millions of civilians were killed from Syria to
   Ukraine, Gaza to Nigeria, while the number of displaced people around
   the world exceeded 50 million last year for the first time since the
   end of World War II.

   ''

   It criticized the European Union's response to the 4 million Syrian
   refugees displaced by conflict in the world's worst refugee crisis. By
   the end of 2014, only 150,000 Syrian refugees were living in EU states,
   it said, while 3,400 refugees and migrants had died in the
   Mediterranean Sea trying to make their way to Europe.

   "It is abhorrent to see how wealthy countries' efforts to keep people
   out take precedence over their efforts to keep people alive," Shetty
   said.

   Amnesty singled out the United Nations Security Council for criticism,
   with Shetty saying it had "miserably failed" to protect civilians.

   UN Security Council

   The five permanent Security Council members -- Britain, China, France,
   Russia and the U.S. -- "consistently abused" their veto right to
   "promote their political self-interest or geopolitical interest above
   the interest of protecting civilians," he said.

   The report pointed out that the threat of a Russian veto has made it
   impossible for the Security Council to take any action because of
   events unfolding in Ukraine.

   Amnesty is now urging the five states to give up their right to veto
   action in cases where genocide and other mass killings are being
   committed.

   Armed Conflicts

   The report said armed groups committed abuses in at least 35 countries
   -- out of 160 surveyed -- in 2014, and called the rise of the Islamic
   State (IS) militant group a particular concern.

   The report said Islamic State committed wide-scale war crimes,
   including mass summary killings and abductions that targeted
   minorities.

   The militants also killed members of the Sunni community they suspected
   of opposing them, the report said.

   Hundreds of women and girls were subjected to sexual abuse by Islamic
   State fighters.

   A huge number of arms were delivered to Iraq, Israel, Russia, South
   Sudan and Syria in 2014, despite the likelihood of these weapons being
   used against civilians, it said.

   The report also highlighted how several governments, including Kenya
   and Pakistan, reacted to security threats with "Draconian and
   repressive" tactics.

   Call to Action

   Shetty said world leaders "have it in their power to alleviate the
   suffering of millions" by committing enough political and financial
   resources. "The global outlook on the state of human rights is bleak,
   but there are solutions. World leaders must take immediate and decisive
   action to avert an impending global crisis."
     __________________________________________________________________

   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/amnesty-international-report-chronicl
   es-catastrophic-year/2657889.html

References

   1. https://www.amnesty.org/en/search/
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/amnesty-international-report-chronicles-catastrophic-year/2657889.html