Human Rights Watch’s analysis of the state of human rights: More repression and governments that ‘turn a blind eye’ to abuses

The human rights situation in the world is in a critical state. But in 2023 the dangers went far beyond the “atrocities” committed in Gaza, Sudan and Myanmar: the constant violation of international law, the rise of autocratic populist leaders in consolidated democracies and many Western countries’ double standards in regard to the abuses committed all contribute to degrading international respect for human rights, Human Rights Watch (HRW) concludes in a report published this Thursday. In the report, the NGO analyzes the state of individual and collective freedoms country by country.

“One of the reasons we are seeing a regression is because governments turn a blind eye to abuses in other countries to advance their own national policy agendas,” Tirana Hassan, the executive director of the NGO, decries during a telephone interview with this newspaper. That is what HRW calls “transactional diplomacy,” that is, reaching agreements with other countries regardless of whether they respect human rights or not. An “excellent example” of this, Hassan claims, is the migration agreement between the European Union and Tunisia, which means that, in order to protect EU borders, Brussels gives “funds to Tunisian security forces, despite the fact that they are involved in abuses” against migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean.

India is another example. “Governments such as those of Japan, the United Kingdom, EU countries and the United States are ignoring abuses, including systematic discrimination against religious minorities, the stifling of political dissent and widespread repression of civil society and independent media,” Hassan says. Meanwhile, as they ignore such abuses, these countries “deepen [their] ties with the [Narendra] Modi government.”

Transnational repression

Democracies’ silence in the face of human rights violations increases a “sense of impunity” and leads “abusive governments” to practice repression beyond their borders, Hassan warns. In Modi’s case, as HRW details in its report, “he has intimidated activists and academics in the diaspora and restricted their entry into the country.” HRW points out that “in September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau believed that there were “‘credible allegations’ that Indian government agents had been involved in the murder of a Sikh separatist activist in Canada,” the NGO says.

India’s “transnational repression” is “not an isolated example.” Just this Wednesday, the Human Rights Collective Nicaragua Nunca Más alleged that two Nicaraguan exiles in Costa Rica (Joao Ismael Maldonado Bermudez and Nadia Robleto, who fled Daniel Ortega’s regime) were attacked in broad daylight on a street in San José. According to the organization, this is the second time there has been an assassination attempt against Maldonado. Costa Rica, which is a signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the American Convention on Human Rights, has yet to clarify any of the attacks.

The UN and Rwanda’s international partners have consistently failed to recognize the scope and gravity of its human rights violations.

HRW

HRW specifically calls out Rwanda: “Three decades of impunity for the Rwandan government’s repression of civil and political rights at home have emboldened it to repress dissent beyond its borders.” According to the NGO, “the Rwandan government has carried out over a dozen abductions or attempted abductions, forced disappearances, assaults, threats and killings, as well as harassment of Rwandan citizens” living in countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. But as Kigali “has become more prominent on the international stage” as a leader of multilateral institutions and one of Africa’s largest contributors of peacekeeping troops, “the U.N. and Rwanda’s international partners have consistently failed to acknowledge the scope and gravity of its human rights violations.”

“Selective outrage,” as Hassan puts it, is closely related to democracies’ silence in the face of abuses committed by their allies. “We saw countries like the United States, as well as EU members, harshly condemn the October 7 [Palestinian Islamist militia] Hamas attacks [in southern Israel], but they were much more silent when the Israeli authorities responded with relentless shelling and collective punishment against the Palestinian population, cutting off and restricting humanitarian aid, water and fuel,” Hassan laments.

“This kind of selective outrage is very dangerous because it sends the message that some lives matter more than others,” she continues. In addition, the West’s double standards have repercussions that go beyond the current war in the Middle East. “Countries like China and Russia are using it to tell governments in the global South that the human rights system” will not protect them, the HRW director warns. However, she adds that this is not a “moral position” of Beijing and Moscow but “a broader agenda to try to dismantle” this system.

The importance of demanding accountability

That is why demanding “accountability” is so important for defending human rights. Measures such as the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children “make the cost of repression higher” and the consequences are tangible. For example, last August, South Africa hosted a BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit. Despite contradictory messages from the country’s authorities about their obligations as members of the court, ultimately Putin did not travel to South Africa: the Gauteng High Court ruled that South Africa had an obligation to arrest the Russian leader if he set foot in the country.

Attacks on women’s rights, refugees and the LGBTQ community are the first signs that human rights are in danger.

Tirana Hassan, HRW director

Another 2023 bright spot that HRW underscores is the political declaration by 83 countries — among them, five of the largest arms exporters— on the protection of civilians against the use of explosive weapons in populated areas during conflicts. Although that has not stopped Israel from bombing densely populated areas of Gaza, Hassan believes that it is necessary to create standards through which aggressors can be held accountable. However, such standards “do not enforce themselves” and require the international community’s involvement, she stresses.

The alternative to not demanding accountability is repeating tragedies like the one in Sudan, which has been experiencing conflict since April 15. According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, that has forced more than seven million people to flee their homes. HRW says that massive abuse against civilians resulting from the power struggle between the army chief, Abdelfatá al Burhan, and the leader of the so-called Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo Hemedti, are a “reflection of the abuses committed in the last two decades by forces loyal to both generals,” yet neither of the parties had to take responsibility for them. The NGO notes that the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for past crimes in Darfur. However, “the Sudanese authorities have obstructed them” and “the UN Security Council has done almost nothing to address the government’s intransigence.” Moreover, the organization adds, “in 2023, when African countries on the Security Council included [the] African [nations of] Gabon, Ghana and Mozambique, the UN closed its political mission in Sudan at the insistence of the Sudanese government, ending what little remained of the UN’s ability to protect civilians in the country.”

According to HRW, this is the year to demand accountability from governments, since half the world will cast a ballot; 3.7 billion people in 70 countries will be able to vote. The NGO highlights the democracies in which populist autocratic leaders are emerging, such as Javier Milei in Argentina. “They are trying to consolidate their power not only by eroding human rights but also the checks and balances that guarantee a society’s freedom by attacking journalists or the judiciary, for example,” Hassan emphasizes. For that reason, the HRW director calls on people to be alert during this election year: “When you start seeing attacks against women’s rights, against refugees or against the LGBTQ community, you are seeing the first signs that human rights are in danger.”

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