WASHINGTON—Amnesty International's annual report on human rights issues in 149 countries was released Wednesday. It includes these findings:
_The United States tried to dilute the absolute ban on torture, and its mistreatment of prisoners grants a license to others to commit abuse with impunity.
_In Darfur, the Sudanese government generated a human rights catastrophe, and the international community did too little, too late to address the crisis, betraying hundreds of thousands of people.
_In Haiti, individuals responsible for serious human rights violations were allowed to regain positions of power.
_In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, there was no effective response to the systematic rape of tens of thousands of women, children and even babies.
_Russian soldiers reportedly tortured, raped and sexually abused Chechen women with impunity.
_Zimbabwe's government manipulated food shortages for political reasons.
_Calls to reform the United Nations human rights machinery increased, and campaigns grew to strengthen international justice, control the arms trade and stop violence against women.
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For a copy of the report, go to http://amnesty.org/
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(c) 2005, Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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