Amnesty's Moral Bankruptcy

by Joe Katzman at March 31, 2003 1:49 AM

Steven Den Beste makes a clear case that Amnesty is selling out its principles over Iraq, and doesn't really care about human rights as its primary concern. His contrast with the ACLU is especially instructive, and compelling.

The strongest case against Amnesty International, however, would have to include this - Amnesty openly admitting the complete abdication of its principles to the public. This report comes from the left-wing Canadian Broadcasting Corporation:

"Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch criticized the British government for a report on Saddam’s use of torture and summary executions. The two groups usually welcome such documentation of human rights violations, but they criticized the British government for using the report as propaganda to justify an attack on Iraq."
In other words, if attention is drawn to human rights in political contexts we don't like, we condemn the raising of human rights issues.

I'm no longer a member of Amnesty... I was, but quit a couple of years ago despite my ongoing support for their mission. If you're a member, I'd encourage you to follow suit. A "human rights" organization that condemns the raising of human rights issues, for any reason, has lost all claim to legitimacy. It is, in fact, a political fraud.


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