Amnesty International Report 2017/2018

                  This post is a summary of the book with the title above published at  https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/POL1067002018ENGLISH.PDF

                  The Amnesty International Report 2017/2018 shines a light on the state of the world's human rights during 2017. The foreword, a survey of 159 countries from all regions document the struggle of many people to claim their rights, and the failures of governments to respect, protect and fulfil human rights. Yet, there are also glimpses of hard-won progress, demonstrating that the defence of human rights does yield positive developments. This report pays tribute to the human rights defenders who continue to fight for change, sometimes risking their own lives in the process. As we enter 2018, the year in which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 70, it is abundantly clear that none of us can take any of our human rights for granted. We certainly can not take for granted that we will be free to gather together in protest or to criticize our governments. Neither can we take for granted that social security will be available when we are old or incapacitated; that our babies can grow up in cities with clean, breathable air; or that as young people we will leave school to find jobs that enable us to buy a home. The battle for human rights is never decisively won in any place or at any point in time. The frontiers shift continually, so there can never be room for complacency.  Faced with unprecedented challenges across the world, people have shown that their thirst for justice, dignity and equality will not be extinguished; they continue to find new and bold ways of expressing this, in 2017, this battle of values reached a new level of intensity. 2017 demonstrated the enduring willingness of people to stand up for their rights and for the values they want to see in the world. New and severe threats gave fresh oxygen to the spirit of protest. But the cost of speaking out against injustice continues to grow. In Turkey, the ruthless and arbitrary assault on civil society continued at a furious pace. China unleashed unprecedented crackdowns on individuals perceived to be critical of the government. Following large, widespread protests in Russia, hundreds of peaceful protesters and journalists were arrested. Across Africa, the intolerance of public protest was alarming apparent, from arbitrary bans in Angola and Chad, to heavy-handed crackdowns in the R.D.Congo, Togo and Uganda. In Venezuela, hundreds of people were arbitrarily detained and many more suffered the consequences of abusive force in response to public protesters. 2018 will mark 20years since the U.N. adopted the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which provides for their protection and support and encourages everyone to stand up for human rights. Yet two decades later, those who take up the mantle of defending human rights often face the gravest of consequences. Today, many of our most important public space exist online, where the tools for addressing emerging challenges have at times proved wholly inadequate to the task. The avalanche of online abuse, the incitement of hatred against minorities, drew weak and inconsistent responses from social media companies and scant action from government. The impact of "fake news" as a tool for manipulating public opinion was widely discussed throughout 2017. These concerns are compounded by the concentration of control in only a handful of companies over the information people view, and by the huge power asymmetry between individuals and the companies and governments who control vast amount of data. As we approach the 70th anniversary of the U.D.H.R., the challenge ahead is clear. This is the time to reclaim the essential idea of dignity of all people, to cherish those values, and demand that they become a foundation for policy-making. The artificial boundaries erected  by a politics of demonization lead us only towards conflict and brutality, a nightmarish vision of munanity governed by naked self-interest.  It is time for this to change. We must refuse to accept narratives of demonization and build instead a culture of solidarity. We must assert the right of all people to participate in building the societies to which they belong. And we must seek constructive answers, rooted in human rights, to anger and alienation that provide a ready context for toxic political narratives of blame. Huge numbers of people across the Americas region faced a deepening human rights crisis, fuelled by the downgrading of human rights in law, policy and practice, together with increasing use of the politics of division. Such regression exacerbated a lack of trust in the authorities and in institutions such as the justice systems, manifested in low levels of participation in elections and referendums. Rather than using human rights as a way to secure a more just and sustainable future, many governments fell back on tactics of repression, misusing their security forces and justice systems to silence dissent and criticism; allowing torture and other ill-treatment to go unpunished by failures in accountability and justice. Huge numbers of people fled their home to escape repression, violence, discrimination and poverty. Many suffered further abuses while in transit or upon reaching other countries in the region. At the Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly, held in Cancún, Mexico, there was a clear lack of political leadership to address some of the region's most pressing human rights issues. After the previous year's financial crisis, the OAS took a step forward by doubling the budget allocation for the Inter-American Court of Human Rights systems to hold states accountable for human rights violations. Impunity remained pervasive and a key driver of human rights violations and abuses in many countries. The extreme risks and dangers of defending human rights were apparent in numerous countries in the region, with human rights defenders facing threats, harassment and attacks in bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico and Paraguay. Brazil's human rights record was examined for the third time under the U.N. UPR process. Brazil received 246 recommendations, including on indigenous people's rights to land; killings by the police; torture in prisions; and protection of human rights defenders. In Brazil, human rights defenders, especially those in rural areas, continued to be threatened, attacked and killed. The states of Pará and Maranhão were among those where defenders were at highest risk. Budget cuts and lack of political will to prioritize the protection of human rights defenders resulted in the dismantling of the National Programme of Protection, leaving hundreds exposed to a higher risk of attacks. Conflicts over land and invasion by illegal loggers and mine workers into indigenous peoples' territory continued, resulting in several episodes of violence against indigenous people. The courts undermined the institutional framework, introdicing further delays in the already slow land demarcation process, aggravating conflicts over land. In Venezuela security forces continued to use excessive and undue force to disperse protests. Hundreds of people were arbitrarily detained. There were many reports of torture and other ill-treatment. The judicial system continued to be used to silence dissidents. Human rights defenders were harassed and subject to raids. The food and health crisis continued to worsen. The number of Venezuelans seeking asylum in other countries increased.