February 24, 2016
The millions of refugees from Syria,
Eritrea, Myanmar and elsewhere -- living in limbo or braving desperate
journeys in search of asylum -- are, for many of us, the most visible
symbol of how governments are stripping people of fundamental human
rights, in this case the right to seek safe haven. In 2015, 30 or more
countries broke a once-sacred principle of international law by forcing
refugees to return to countries where they would be in danger.
Amnesty International's annual report on the state of human rights
in the world, published Tuesday, warns that this is the tip of the
iceberg. The international human rights system has been pushed to the
breaking point by governments.
Governments
are also cracking down on the people who defend our rights, such as
lawyers, journalists and activists. Eighty-eight countries conducted
unfair trials, and at least 61 countries locked up people who were
simply exercising their rights and freedoms. Amnesty International
considers many of those people prisoners of conscience.
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