Bsr globescan state_of_sustainable_business_poll_2011_report_final
TEPALCATEPEC: Assault rifles to be delivered to the newly...
1
WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2014 US flying aircraft over Nigeria in hunt for girls Page 10 India ‘set an example for the world’: Obama Page 12 TEPALCATEPEC: Assault rifles to be delivered to the newly created rural police, in Tepalcatepec, Michoacan State, Mexico are seen. — AFP LONDON: Torture is rampant across the world and has become almost normalized by the “war on terror” and its glamorous portrayal in shows such as “24” and “Homeland”, Amnesty International said on Tuesday. The London-based human rights group is launching a new campaign aimed at ending torture, which it says remains widespread even 30 years after a blanket prohibition was agreed by the United Nations. In the past five years, Amnesty says it has recorded incidents in 141 countries, including 79 of the 155 sig- natories to the 1984 UN Convention against Torture. The global survey of 21,000 people in 21 countries also revealed a widespread dread of the practise, with 44 percent say- ing they feared being abused if they were taken into custody. Yet over a third percent of the respondents said they believed tor- ture was sometimes necessary and accept- able to gain information that may protect the public. “It’s almost become normal- ized, it’s become routine,” Amnesty secre- tary general Salil Shetty told reporters at the launch of the “Stop Torture” campaign in London. “Since the so-called war against terror- ism, the use of torture, particularly in the United States and their sphere of influ- ence... has got so much more normalized as part of national security expectations.” Support for torture ranged widely across nations, from 74 percent in China and India, to just 12 percent in Greece and 15 percent in Argentina, the GlobeScan sur- vey found. In Britain, which had the lowest fear of torture among all the countries, 29 percent backed its use-a fact Amnesty country director Kate Allen attributed to the popularity of violent, spy-based TV shows. “Programs like ‘24’ and ‘Homeland’ have glorified torture to a generation, but there’s a massive difference between a dramatic depiction by screenwriters and its real-life use by government agents in torture chambers,” she said. ‘They get away with it’ Amnesty won the Nobel Peace prize in 1977 largely because of its work fighting against torture, and the new two-year cam- paign is an attempt to revisit one of its core issues. The group notes how the UN Convention made torturers “international outlaws” and prompted governments worldwide to denounce the practice. But it warns that in reality many are endorsing or at least failing to tackle the issue head-on. It described police brutality in Asia, where torture is a “fact of life”, and pointed out that more than 30 countries in Africa have yet to make such abuse punishable by law. Shetty spoke of “the cruelty of inmates in the United States being held in solitary confinement with no light”, of stoning and flogging in the Middle East and of the “stubborn failure” of European nations to investigate allegations of com- plicity in torture. The new campaign focus- es on five countries where torture is a par- ticular problem and where the NGO believes it can have the most impact: Mexico, the Philippines, Morocco and Western Sahara, Nigeria and Uzbekistan. Loretta Ann P. Rosales, who was tortured under the Marcos regime in the Philippines in 1976 and now leads that country’s human rights commission, said there were several reasons why torture continued. It was seen as a shortcut to get confessions from detainees, a tool of corruption or an instrument of repression, and came from a prioritization of “the need for state security over human security”, she told reporters. Shetty said in many instances it was simple: “People get away with it.” ‘Govts have broken promises’ Amnesty is calling on governments to prevent torture by providing medical and legal access for prisoners and better inspection of detention centers. But it also wants an end to the impunity that exists in many places, urging independent investi- gations of allegations of torture. “Governments have broken their promises, and because of these broken promises millions of people have suffered terribly,” Shetty said. Concern about torture is high- est in Brazil and Mexico, where 80 percent and 64 percent of people respectively said they would not feel safe from torture if arrested, and lowest in Australia and Britain, at 16 and 15 percent each, the poll showed. “Although governments have prohibit- ed this dehumanizing practice in law and have recognized global disgust at its exis- tence, many of them are carrying out tor- ture or facilitating it in practice”, Amnesty said in a new report. Of the more than 21,000 people in 21 countries surveyed for Amnesty by GlobeScan, 44 percent said they would not feel safe from torture if arrested in their home country. Four out of five wanted clear laws to prevent torture and 60 percent overall supported the idea that torture is not justi- fied under any circumstances - though a majority of people surveyed in China and India felt it could sometimes be justified. Amnesty said 155 countries have ratified the 30-year-old United Nation Convention Against Torture which was started 30 years ago but many governments were still “betraying their responsibility”. Respect the rule of law “Three decades from the convention and more than 65 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights torture is not just alive and well. It is flourishing,” read Amnesty’s report “Torture in 2014 - 30 Years of Broken Promises”. Amnesty said it had received reports of torture being used in more 140 countries and the report gave examples from countries ranging from Nigeria to Mexico and the Ukraine. In August 2012, Mexican marines broke into Claudia Medina’s home in Veracruz and took her to the local navy base where she was given electric shocks, forced to inhale a very spicy sauce and wrapped in plastic while beaten up, Medina said. She denied the charge of being a member of a criminal gang but was forced to sign a confession she had not even read. “If they had not tortured me, I would not have signed the statement,” Medina was quoted as saying in the report. In January 2014, Ukrainian police detained and tortured 23-year-old computer pro- grammer Vladislav Tsilytskiy after protests in Kiev which led to the overthrow of the pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovich, according to another case cited by Amnesty. His hospital report listed injuries including “skull and facial fractures, includ- ing of the eye socket; concussion and bruising, including around the neck”. “Rather than respecting the rule of law through zero-tolerance of torture, govern- ments persistently and routinely lie about it to their own people and to the world,” Amnesty said. — Agencies Torture spreading as ‘glorified’ by TV: Amnesty In 21-country poll, 44 percent fear torture in detention BAGHDAD: Militants unleashed a wave of car bombings in Iraq yesterday, killing at least 34 people and sending thick, black smoke into the Baghdad skies in a show of force meant to intimidate the majority Shiites as they marked what is meant to be a joyous holiday for their sect. The attacks came nearly two weeks after Iraqis cast ballots in the country’s first parliamentary election since the US military withdrawal in 2011. No preliminary results have yet been released, deepening a sense of uncertainty in a country strained by a resurgence of violence. It was the deadliest day in Iraq since April 28, when militant strikes on polling stations and other targets killed 46. No group immediately claimed responsibili- ty for yesterday’s attacks, most of which hit Baghdad during morning rush hour, but they were most likely the work of the Al-Qaeda offshoot known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. The militant group, made up of Sunni Muslim extremists, has strengthened control over parts of western Iraq since late December. It seeks to undermine the Shiite Muslim-led government’s efforts to maintain security across the country. Coordinated car bomb attacks against Shiites, whom it considers heretics, are one of its favorite tactics. All of yesterday’s blasts were caused by explosives-laden vehicles parked in public areas. A short while later, a car bomb exploded in a commercial street in the capital’s eastern district of Jamila, killing three people and wounding 10. Police said a fourth car bomb went off near a traffic police office in eastern Baghdad, killing four people and wounding seven. Juice shop owner Haithem Kadhum was rushing home to Sadr City to check on his family after hearing of the attacks when he was struck by the explosion in Jamila. Flying shrapnel struck him in the shoulder. “I got out of the car and I saw dead and wounded people on the ground. Everybody was in panic,” Kadhum said after being treated at a nearby hospital. Other blasts struck commercial areas in downtown Baghdad, in the eastern dis- tricts of Ur and Maamil, and in the south- ern Dora district. Those attacks together killed 15 and wounded 45, according to police. Yet another parked car bomb exploded in the afternoon in Balad, a largely Shiite town surrounded by Sunni areas some 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital. That blast killed six and wounded 17, police said. — AP Car bombs kill 34 in Iraq
Transcript of TEPALCATEPEC: Assault rifles to be delivered to the newly...
WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2014
US flying aircraft over Nigeria in hunt for girls
Page 10
India ‘set an example for the world’: Obama Page 12
TEPALCATEPEC: Assault rifles to be delivered to the newly created rural police, in Tepalcatepec, Michoacan State, Mexico are seen. — AFP
LONDON: Torture is rampant across theworld and has become almost normalizedby the “war on terror” and its glamorousportrayal in shows such as “24” and“Homeland”, Amnesty International saidon Tuesday. The London-based humanrights group is launching a new campaignaimed at ending torture, which it saysremains widespread even 30 years after ablanket prohibition was agreed by theUnited Nations. In the past five years,Amnesty says it has recorded incidents in141 countries, including 79 of the 155 sig-natories to the 1984 UN Conventionagainst Torture.
The global survey of 21,000 people in21 countries also revealed a widespreaddread of the practise, with 44 percent say-ing they feared being abused if they weretaken into custody. Yet over a third percentof the respondents said they believed tor-ture was sometimes necessary and accept-able to gain information that may protectthe public. “It’s almost become normal-ized, it’s become routine,” Amnesty secre-tary general Salil Shetty told reporters atthe launch of the “Stop Torture” campaignin London.
“Since the so-called war against terror-ism, the use of torture, particularly in theUnited States and their sphere of influ-ence... has got so much more normalizedas part of national security expectations.”Support for torture ranged widely acrossnations, from 74 percent in China andIndia, to just 12 percent in Greece and 15percent in Argentina, the GlobeScan sur-vey found. In Britain, which had the lowestfear of torture among all the countries, 29percent backed its use-a fact Amnestycountry director Kate Allen attributed tothe popularity of violent, spy-based TVshows. “Programs like ‘24’ and ‘Homeland’have glorified torture to a generation, but
there’s a massive difference between adramatic depiction by screenwriters andits real-life use by government agents intorture chambers,” she said.
‘They get away with it’ Amnesty won the Nobel Peace prize in
1977 largely because of its work fightingagainst torture, and the new two-year cam-paign is an attempt to revisit one of its coreissues. The group notes how the UNConvention made torturers “internationaloutlaws” and prompted governmentsworldwide to denounce the practice. But itwarns that in reality many are endorsing orat least failing to tackle the issue head-on.
It described police brutality in Asia,where torture is a “fact of life”, and pointedout that more than 30 countries in Africahave yet to make such abuse punishableby law. Shetty spoke of “the cruelty ofinmates in the United States being held insolitary confinement with no light”, ofstoning and flogging in the Middle Eastand of the “stubborn failure” of Europeannations to investigate allegations of com-plicity in torture. The new campaign focus-es on five countries where torture is a par-ticular problem and where the NGObelieves it can have the most impact:Mexico, the Philippines, Morocco andWestern Sahara, Nigeria and Uzbekistan.
Loretta Ann P. Rosales, who was torturedunder the Marcos regime in the Philippinesin 1976 and now leads that country’shuman rights commission, said there wereseveral reasons why torture continued. Itwas seen as a shortcut to get confessionsfrom detainees, a tool of corruption or aninstrument of repression, and came from aprioritization of “the need for state securityover human security”, she told reporters.Shetty said in many instances it was simple:“People get away with it.”
‘Govts have broken promises’Amnesty is calling on governments to
prevent torture by providing medical andlegal access for prisoners and betterinspection of detention centers. But it alsowants an end to the impunity that exists inmany places, urging independent investi-gations of allegations of torture.“Governments have broken their promises,and because of these broken promisesmillions of people have suffered terribly,”Shetty said. Concern about torture is high-est in Brazil and Mexico, where 80 percentand 64 percent of people respectively saidthey would not feel safe from torture ifarrested, and lowest in Australia andBritain, at 16 and 15 percent each, the pollshowed.
“Although governments have prohibit-ed this dehumanizing practice in law andhave recognized global disgust at its exis-tence, many of them are carrying out tor-ture or facilitating it in practice”, Amnestysaid in a new report. Of the more than21,000 people in 21 countries surveyed forAmnesty by GlobeScan, 44 percent saidthey would not feel safe from torture ifarrested in their home country.
Four out of five wanted clear laws toprevent torture and 60 percent overallsupported the idea that torture is not justi-fied under any circumstances - though amajority of people surveyed in China andIndia felt it could sometimes be justified.Amnesty said 155 countries have ratifiedthe 30-year-old United Nation ConventionAgainst Torture which was started 30 yearsago but many governments were still“betraying their responsibility”.
Respect the rule of law“Three decades from the convention
and more than 65 years after the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights torture is notjust alive and well. It is flourishing,” readAmnesty’s report “Torture in 2014 - 30Years of Broken Promises”. Amnesty said ithad received reports of torture being usedin more 140 countries and the report gaveexamples from countries ranging fromNigeria to Mexico and the Ukraine.
In August 2012, Mexican marines brokeinto Claudia Medina’s home in Veracruzand took her to the local navy base whereshe was given electric shocks, forced toinhale a very spicy sauce and wrapped inplastic while beaten up, Medina said.
She denied the charge of being amember of a criminal gang but was forcedto sign a confession she had not evenread. “If they had not tortured me, I wouldnot have signed the statement,” Medinawas quoted as saying in the report. InJanuary 2014, Ukrainian police detainedand tortured 23-year-old computer pro-grammer Vladislav Tsilytskiy after protestsin Kiev which led to the overthrow of thepro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovich,according to another case cited byAmnesty.
His hospital report l isted injuriesincluding “skull and facial fractures, includ-ing of the eye socket; concussion andbruising, including around the neck”.“Rather than respecting the rule of lawthrough zero-tolerance of torture, govern-ments persistently and routinely lie aboutit to their own people and to the world,”Amnesty said. — Agencies
Torture spreading as ‘glorified’ by TV: Amnesty
In 21-country poll, 44 percent fear torture in detention
BAGHDAD: Militants unleashed a wave ofcar bombings in Iraq yesterday, killing atleast 34 people and sending thick, blacksmoke into the Baghdad skies in a show offorce meant to intimidate the majorityShiites as they marked what is meant to bea joyous holiday for their sect. The attackscame nearly two weeks after Iraqis castballots in the country’s first parliamentaryelection since the US military withdrawalin 2011. No preliminary results have yetbeen released, deepening a sense ofuncertainty in a country strained by aresurgence of violence.
It was the deadliest day in Iraq sinceApril 28, when militant strikes on pollingstations and other targets killed 46. Nogroup immediately claimed responsibili-ty for yesterday’s attacks, most of whichhit Baghdad during morning rush hour,but they were most likely the work of theAl-Qaeda offshoot known as the IslamicState in Iraq and the Levant.
The militant group, made up of SunniMuslim extremists, has strengthenedcontrol over parts of western Iraq sincelate December. It seeks to undermine theShiite Muslim-led government’s efforts tomaintain security across the country.Coordinated car bomb attacks againstShiites, whom it considers heretics, are
one of its favorite tactics.All of yesterday’s blasts were caused
by explosives-laden vehicles parked inpublic areas. A short while later, a carbomb exploded in a commercial streetin the capital’s eastern district of Jamila,killing three people and wounding 10.Police said a fourth car bomb went offnear a traffic police office in easternBaghdad, killing four people andwounding seven. Juice shop ownerHaithem Kadhum was rushing home toSadr City to check on his family afterhearing of the attacks when he wasstruck by the explosion in Jamila. Flyingshrapnel struck him in the shoulder.
“I got out of the car and I saw deadand wounded people on the ground.Everybody was in panic,” Kadhum saidafter being treated at a nearby hospital.Other blasts struck commercial areas indowntown Baghdad, in the eastern dis-tricts of Ur and Maamil, and in the south-ern Dora district. Those attacks togetherkilled 15 and wounded 45, according topolice. Yet another parked car bombexploded in the afternoon in Balad, alargely Shiite town surrounded by Sunniareas some 80 kilometers (50 miles)north of the capital. That blast killed sixand wounded 17, police said. — AP
Car bombs kill 34 in Iraq
