Human rights Eroding

Toronto's Globe and Mail reports that "The U.S. war on terrorism is encouraging less democratic countries to reduce human rights in the name of security." Echoing much of what Amnesty International said in their 2002 annual report, this story quotes Mary Robinson, the UN Human Rights chair, lamenting the "erosion of civil liberties in the name of combating terrorism." Particularly, she cites problems in "countries without a strong democratic tradition," but notes that the example being set by the traditional leaders of
the human rights community is being exploited to justify wrongful behavior all over the world:

"...when the issue is raised with them [egregious human rights abusers], they say, 'Why are you pinning us to those standards when those standards are not being observed in the United States and a number of European countries?'

"Their response is, 'Well, look at what is happening in the United States, at the number of people that are being held under immigration laws without a lawyer...Look at what's happening in European countries, at the harsh treatment of asylum-seekers and immigrants.'"

She also acknowledges that her UN office is receving many "reports from human-rights defenders, trade unionists, journalists around the world that measures are being taken by countries saying that they're combating terrorism but in fact clamping down on political opposition, freedom of the press, branding activities as being terrorist which were not so described before the 11th of September."