Kenneth Roth
Kenneth Roth
Kenneth Rothis an American attorney who has been the executive director of Human Rights Watch since 1993...
concern detainees effect holding justify legal lingering lots people questions
I think the effect of this will be to revive concern about the government's mistreatment of detainees and to get people to take another look at the legal basis. There are lots of lingering questions about how do you justify holding these people.
commission continue council creation major proposed until
The commission will continue until the creation of a council. The proposed new council is a major improvement.
appeal changed civilian judge potential serving
There still is no appeal to an independent civilian court, ... The commissions still have Rumsfeld or his designate serving as prosecutor, judge, appellate judge and potential executioner. That has not changed one iota.
allowing armed attacking civilians conflicts create immense involve justify power
Armed conflicts often involve discrepancies of power between adversaries. Allowing those discrepancies to justify attacking civilians would create an immense loophole in the protections of international humanitarian law.
blocked despite fact formal hurdles legal maze negligence public victims
Despite the fact that rape victims have a formal right to legal abortion, that right was blocked by a maze of administrative hurdles and negligence and obstruction by public officials.
allowed cannot members onto states
States like Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, or Zimbabwe, which are members of the old Commission, cannot be allowed onto the new Council.
promises proper reveals risks sent suspect torture treatment
These promises of proper treatment are unenforceable. Any suspect who reveals mistreatment risks being sent back to the torture chamber.
government human meets road standards steps toward travel welcome
We welcome Libya's first steps toward reform. But the government has a long road to travel before it meets the international standards of human rights.
call countries pledge vote
We call on all countries to pledge not to vote for governments that systematically repress their people.
consensus creating damaged document draft human pages picked progress rights threw toward tremendous
There had been tremendous progress toward a consensus in creating a human rights council. That consensus has now been damaged because Bolton picked up the pages of the draft document and threw them into the air.
accept behind commission consensus council force function human improvement invite major proposed reckless states time united vote work
The proposed new council is a major improvement over the old Commission on Human Rights. It would be reckless for the United States to force a vote because that will invite amendments from spoiler states to weaken the council. The time has come to accept the overwhelming consensus behind the council and to work to make it function effectively.
against apart attacks carry category clearly committed crimes fall help nature people plan scale sets suicide systematic war
The people who carry out suicide bombings are not martyrs, they're war criminals, and so are the people who help plan such attacks. The scale and systematic nature of these attacks sets them apart from other abuses committed in times of conflict. They clearly fall under the category of crimes against humanity.
disagree government listen openly spoke willing
We spoke openly with the Libyan government about our concerns. We disagree on many substantive issues, but they are willing to listen and discuss.
dictators economic gives human means pressure rights rule secure western
When Western governments try to use economic pressure to secure human rights improvements, China's no-strings rule gives dictators the means to resist.