American Hegemony Under Amnesty Criticism

In a 300-page critic of human rights violations across the globe (view full report here), the United States gained considerable space, specifically in regards to the detention of suspected terrorists. In a time when the US attempts to assert its hegemony, Amnesty International argues that it is not setting an appropriate example—the indefinite detention of detainees, the use of torture, and the inhumane living conditions in Guantanamo gained the US a lot of attention this year. The report also took note of the abnormally high civilian deaths in both Iraq and Afghanistan and the high level of displacement as a result of the ongoing conflicts. While the US has argued it would close Guantanamo, the findings of Amnesty show that the US has not yet responded to international criticism in regards to human rights abuses, and while the US continues to advocate human rights and liberty abroad, it is unable to set an example domestically.

Along with the US, China and Russia also received strong criticism. China was criticized for media censorship and specifically it’s inappropriate dealings and repression of the Tibetan population that is protesting for its own independence. Additionally, in 2007 a large number of human rights activists were either imprisoned or harassed in China. Russia’s repression of it’s own political dissenters was not overlooked either as Amnesty commented on the regime’s intolerance and dubbing of dissenters as “unpatriotic.”

Overall statistics showed that 81 countries subjected prisoners to torture, 54 countries practiced unfair trials, and 77 countries did not allow proper freedom of expression.