Amnesty International (AI) believes that the system of universal human rights established in the world after World War II is in danger: "New and dark forces are waging a campaign against the ideal of universal human rights," writes Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, in the introduction to this year's report.
Amnesty's current annual report is 409 pages long and discusses the state of human rights in more than 150 countries.
Three recognizable patterns
This year, Amnesty recognizes three patterns. First: the civilian population in war-torn areas is under increasing pressure.
"In our annual report, we describe a general trend. The rules that should apply in conflicts, the red lines set by the international community, are being respected less and less," Julia Duhrov, secretary general of Amnesty Germany, told DW. Examples of this, she says, are the conflicts in Sudan, Gaza, Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Another example, Duhrov states, are minorities who are endangered in different countries: queer people, refugees, people who think differently.
And third: more and more states are failing to confront the human rights crisis. This applies to countries that were once committed to universal human rights, such as the United States.
"The US government is acting as an instigator of this human rights crisis, thereby endangering billions of people around the world," Duhrov explains, citing sanctions against the International Criminal Court and withdrawal from the United Nations Human Rights Council as examples.
Israel is committing "genocide" in the Gaza Strip
Amnesty is once again placing special focus on the war in the Gaza Strip – a conflict that erupted in October 2023 following a Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, during which thousands of people were killed.
AI accuses Israel of committing "genocide" against the Palestinians. "The international community has watched helplessly as Israel kills thousands upon thousands of Palestinians, including entire families and generations, and destroys the foundations of their existence - homes, hospitals and schools," the report states. The NGO has already substantiated these accusations in a 300-page report published in December last year.
However, the accusation of genocide is controversial. The Israeli government categorically rejects the claims, and human rights lawyers such as Stefan Talmon doubt the legal validity of the accusations. On the other hand, other NGOs such as Human Rights Watch accuse Israel of "genocidal acts", for example through a targeted policy of starvation of the civilian population.
Humanitarian disaster in Sudan, but not genocide
Sudan has been facing a civil war for more than two years, with the worst consequences for the civilian population. "More people have been displaced there than anywhere else in the world," the report says.
The former US government accused the rebel group of genocide. Amnesty's document does not mention this, but rather mutual violence and calls for an arms embargo. However, Secretary General Duhrov does not rule out that AI could in the future conclude that genocide is being carried out there.
Attitudes towards climate and pro-Palestinian protests in Germany
In the case of Germany, Amnesty, in addition to stricter asylum laws, also criticizes the attitude towards protests.
The climate movement has been criminalized, and "during protests in solidarity with the Palestinians, we experienced blanket bans, police violence, and inappropriate government responses," says Duhrov. Amnesty includes the dissolution of congresses, court rulings for slogans, and police actions during demonstrations, which it considers too repressive.
What is not covered in the report are attacks on journalists linked to pro-Palestinian demonstrations, such as a particularly serious attack in Leipzig in January 2024.
Amnesty has not documented the severe physical attack on student Lahav Shapira in February 2024, which left him with a concussion and a bruised face - and which the court has now characterized as anti-Semitic motivated. When asked about this, Duhrov points out:
"We fight against anti-Semitism and all xenophobic attitudes and attacks, including those based on racism and Islamophobia. We can only publish what we have researched and documented ourselves. That did not happen in this particular case," Duhrov said.
Demand: Return to respect for human rights and, for example, arrest Netanyahu
Amnesty urges governments to return to a rules-based human rights order and to respect human rights and international law.
According to Yulia Duhrov, this also includes respecting and implementing international arrest warrants, such as the one against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Reform of the UN Security Council would also be necessary.
Despite all the negative things, she said, there are also positive developments, as demonstrated by the protests in South Korea. "In addition to the negative, we always see positive developments. Human rights have the strength that people who take to the streets rely on. And that is why we call on governments to put human rights at the center of their policies. But, of course, this requires everyone's engagement - it depends on all of us," concludes Duhrov.
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