Amnesty blames war on terror for abuses in Asia

Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan holds a copy of the Amnesty International Report 2006 in London yesterday. The Report is a global overview of the state of the world's human rights in 150 countries. PHOTO: AFP

From secret court hearings in China to detention without trial in Australia to the US internment of Afghans at Guantanamo Bay, the group said armed conflict was the background for a range of serious violations.

"Arbitrary arrests in the name of combating terrorism were reportedly made in Afghanistan, including by US and coalition forces, and in Pakistan by the security forces," the London-based group said.

It said China carried out closed-door trials for those accused of terrorism and "state secrets" offences, while Australia introduced new counter-terror legislation allowing for detention without trial.

The report also took aim at the US detention camp at Guantanamo, a part of President George W. Bush's "war on terror" which the United States has refused to close despite international criticism.

"Men returning to Afghanistan from US custody in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, brought home gruelling accounts of torture and ill treatment which further fuelled local anger, anxiety and unrest," it said.

Instability in Afghanistan, where President Hamid Karzai's government has struggled to impose control over tribal areas reportedly held by militants, had also set the stage for ongoing rights abuses.

"Fundamental flaws in the criminal justice system, the legacy of decades of conflict, and deeply embedded discrimination against women profoundly militated against the promotion of human rights," Amnesty said.

Other nations meanwhile continued to ignore international pressure to improve their rights records.

"Governments in countries including Myanmar, North Korea and Vietnam appeared largely impervious to pressure to uphold human rights," the report said.

The region also continues to have a "poor profile" in issuing death sentences and executing citizens, Amnesty said.

Twenty-six countries in the Asia-Pacific region have retained the death penalty and execution rates were high, it said.

In 2005 China carried out at least 1,770 executions and handed down 3,900 death sentences, it said.

There were also at least 31 executions and 241 death sentences in Pakistan, at least 21 executions and 65 death sentences in Vietnam, and at least 24 death sentences in Afghanistan, it said.

Nepal saw a takeover by King Gyanendra in February 2005 resulting in a serious curtailment of civil liberties, including mass detentions and a breakdown in security, the group said.

The king was last month forced to hand back power to an interim government.

And even though China and India enjoyed healthy economic growth, this was not reflected in improved human rights, the report said.