HRW asks countries to 'replicate' response to Ukraine crisis

Hailing the international response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday urged governments to follow similar response strategies for other conflicts.

In its annual world report on human rights conditions, the US-based NGO said a ''litany of human rights crises'' emerged in 2022, but the year also presented new opportunities to improve protections against violations.

What did HRW say?

HRW's acting executive director, Tirana Hassan, said amid the tragedy of Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine, the move also showed that the "full global human rights system" could be activated swiftly.

"Amongst the fog of war and the darkness that we have seen in this war in Ukraine, there has been a shining light," she told news agency AFP.

After years of "half-hearted" aid to civilians facing threats in other countries, "the world's mobilization around Ukraine reminds us of the extraordinary potential when governments realize their human rights responsibilities on a global scale," Hassan said in the preface of the report.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, many countries imposed sanctions against Russia and showed their support for Ukraine.

The organization urged governments to "replicate the best of the international response in Ukraine" and "scale up the political will to address other crises."

'Exposed the double standards'

While Hassan hailed the support shown by governments for Ukraine, she also said, ''all governments should bring the same spirit of solidarity to the multitude of human rights crises around the globe, and not just when it suits their interests.''

HRW said the response exposed the "double standards" of most EU countries "in their ongoing treatment of countless Syrians, Afghans, Palestinians, Somalis and others seeking asylum."

Describing the situation in Ethiopia as "one of the world's worst humanitarian crises," Hassan said "it's very important that the international community continues to push for accountability in places like Ethiopia."

What else did the report find?

In this year's 712-page report, HRW examined a slew of other rights crises affecting people around the world, as well as demonstrations that arose around the world in Iran, Sri Lanka, China, and elsewhere.

"Courageous people time and again still take extraordinary risks to take to the streets, even in places like Afghanistan and China, to stand up for their rights,'' HRW's Asia director Elaine Pearson told reporters at the report's launch in Jakarta.

The report noted that the United Nations and other major international bodies had increased their spotlight on China, particularly the treatment of the Muslim minority Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region. The increased scrutiny and protests in China against President Xi Jinping's "zero-COVID" strategy have "put Beijing on the defensive" internationally, the HRW found.

The rights group said one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world concerns the situation in Myanmar, where a military coup ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. HRW urged Myanmar's southeastern Asian neighbors to up their pressure on the junta in Myanmar.

mf/rs (AP, AFP)