Amnesty warns of "decimation" of global order, slams world powers

Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, Amnesty International warned of about the potential collapse of the post-World War II international system, criticizing Israel, Russia, China, the United States, and the UK.

In its annual report, the organization assessed the human rights situation in 155 countries.

In the report, both the USA and the UK were criticized for their "failures" concerning the human rights crisis in Gaza, while the behavior of Russian forces in Ukraine, the Myanmar military, and warring parties in Sudan are all cited as "major factors in the intensifying deterioration of protections for civilians around the world."

The 418-page report presented a stark indictment of the "betrayal of human rights principles by today's leaders and institutions. In the face of multiplying conflicts, the actions of many powerful countries have damaged the credibility of multilateralism and undermined the global rules-based order first established in 1945."

In this regard, Amnesty International's Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, said, "The confounding failure of the international community to protect thousands of civilians - a horrifically high percentage of them children - from being killed in the occupied Gaza Strip makes patently clear that the very institutions set up to protect civilians and uphold human rights are no longer fit for purpose."

"Israel's flagrant disregard for international law is compounded by the failures of its allies to stop the indescribable civilian bloodshed meted out in Gaza."

She considered many of Israel's allies to be the "very architects of that post-World War Two system of law."

"Many powerful states are abandoning the founding values of humanity and universality enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." She said.

Callamard pointed out that alongside Russia's ongoing "aggression" against Ukraine, the growing number of armed conflicts and massive human rights violations witnessed, for example, in Sudan, Ethiopia, and Myanmar - show that the global rule-based order is "at risk of decimation."

Delving into the situation in the Gaza Strip, where more than 34,000 Palestinians were killed, Amnesty considered the sheer scale of civilian death in Gaza and the complete ineffectiveness of global mechanisms to end the onslaught demonstrate the "complete inadequacy of the current global system." The report pointed to the "USA's brazen use of its veto to paralyse the UN Security Council on a much-needed resolution for a Gaza ceasefire even as it, continues to arm Israel."

The report also highlighted the "double standards of the UK and others who have denounced war crimes committed by Russia and Hamas while failing to do likewise with Israel."

At least 34,200 Palestinians have been killed and 77,200 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza over the past six months.