Kenneth Roth
Kenneth Roth
Kenneth Rothis an American attorney who has been the executive director of Human Rights Watch since 1993...
childish commission cooperate council decades government human inferior rights vastly
It's childish for the U.S. government not to cooperate with the new Human Rights Council when it cooperated for decades with the vastly inferior old Commission on Human Rights.
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It obviously doesn't do everything we hoped for. But it is clearly better than the Human Rights Commission.
changed continued power
Things have changed in Venezuela, but not for the better. There's been a continued consolidation of power on the part of Chavez.
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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.
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The new council should be a great improvement over the old Commission, but today's vote is only the beginning. Its ability to protect the weakest will now depend on the commitment of governments to curb rights violations.
mexican rarely respected supported
It's a right that is broadly supported by the Mexican people, but it is a right that is rarely respected in practice.
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.
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The Mexican government needs to ensure that rape victims do not have to endure dangerous back-alley abortions or imposed pregnancies. A public official who fails to inform rape victims of how they can obtain a voluntary legal abortion is contributing to a human rights violation and should be disciplined.
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As western governments improve relations with Libya, they should press the government to improve its respect for human rights. Libya's cooperation in fighting terrorism should not mean carte blanche to commit abuse.
ability defense inhumane largest played promote role torture treatment
The U.S. government's use and defense of torture and inhumane treatment played the largest role in undermining Washington's ability to promote human rights.
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The commission will continue until the creation of a council. The proposed new council is a major improvement.
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The hypocrisy factor has encouraged copycat techniques around the world by people who do like the U.S. does and has also weakened the United States as one of the traditional important supporters of human rights.
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The EU largely ignored human rights abuses by its friends in Africa. It was very good about speaking out against the pariah Zimbabwe. But when it came to Angola, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, there was little if anything said.
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.