Amnesty Intl: Amnesty International Calls on EU-U.S. Officials Not to Ignore Human Rights in Fight Against Terrorism
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2007
10:50 AM
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CONTACT: Amnesty International
Sharon Singh:
202-544-0200 x302
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Amnesty International Calls on EU-U.S. Officials Not to Ignore Human Rights in Fight Against Terrorism
EU-U.S. Summit Begins Monday in Washington
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WASHINGTON - April 27 - Do not continue to ignore the human rights abuses in the fight against terrorism, appealed Amnesty International prior to the EU-U.S. Summit taking place in Washington on Monday, April 30.
The organization urged that this occasion be used to call on the U.S. government to:
- Take practical steps toward the closure of the U.S.-controlled detention center in Guantánamo Bay and other similar facilities around the world;
- End the CIA secret detention program and reveal names and locations of all those still being held in such prisons;
- End the extraordinary renditions program, as urged by the European Parliament.
“Despite mounting global appeals to shut down Guantánamo Bay, it is still filled with hundreds of men who are being held indefinitely and most without charge,” said Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA. “Guantánamo Bay is the festering symbol of the Bush administration’s continued contempt for international law and disregard for human rights. The administration cannot continue to justify ongoing human rights violations in the name of national security.”
In June 2006, Amnesty International presented United States government officials a framework with concrete steps to close Guantánamo Bay. It is the U.S. administration’s responsibility to find a solution that is compatible with U.S and international standards.
However, the European Union can and must exert pressure so that the U.S. authorities finally start taking steps to close what has become a universal symbol of injustice. Amnesty International has called on the EU to offer the necessary support in bringing about fair trials or release of detainees and that EU member states consider resettling those who cannot be safely returned to their home country.
President Bush admitted last September that the United States operated (and may still operate) a number of secret detention facilities as part of a “high-value terrorist detainee program” run by the CIA. Amnesty International calls on the EU to ask for the end of such practices and that the names of those held in such facilities are disclosed.
Amnesty International urges the U.S. government to pressure the EU to work toward ending racial, ethnic and religious discrimination across the continent. In particular, the organization is urging the EU Member States to end violence against women in France and Spain, protect gay rights in Poland and Latvia and migrants’ rights in Spain and Morocco.
“The European Union and the United States are seen as global leaders and, as such, their actions and justifications are examples for the rest of the world,” said Cox. “If they don’t show courage and leadership, who will?”
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