AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2016/17

wake of one of the bloodiest periods in
human history, opens with these words:
“Whereas recognition of the inherent
dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights
of all members of the human family is the
foundation of freedom, justice and peace in
the world.”
Yet despite the lessons of the past, 2016
saw the idea of human dignity and equality,
the very notion of a human family, coming
under vigorous and relentless assault from
powerful narratives of blame, fear and
scapegoating, propagated by those who
sought to take or cling on to power at almost
any cost.
The contempt for these ideals was on
plentiful display in a year when the deliberate
bombing of hospitals became a routine
occurrence in Syria and Yemen; when
refugees were pushed back into conflict
zones; when the world’s near-total inaction in
Aleppo called to mind similar failures in
Rwanda and Srebrenica in 1994 and 1995;
and when governments across almost all
regions of the world carried out massive
crackdowns to silence dissent.
In the face of this, it has become
alarmingly easy to paint a dystopian picture
of the world and its future. The urgent and
increasingly difficult task ahead is to rekindle
global commitment to these core values on
which humankind depends.
Among the most troubling developments of
2016 were the fruits of a new bargain offered
by governments to their people – one which
promises security and economic betterment
in exchange for surrendering participatory
rights and civil freedoms.
No part of the world was untouched by
sweeping crackdowns on dissent – some
overt and violent, others subtler and veiled in
respectability. The quest to silence critical
voices surged in its scale and intensity across
large parts of the world.
The killing of Indigenous leader Berta
Cáceres in Honduras on 2 March epitomized
the dangers faced by individuals who bravely
stand up to powerful state and corporate
interests. These courageous human rights
defenders, in the Americas and elsewhere,
are often cast by governments as a threat to
economic development because of their
efforts to highlight the human and
environmental consequences of resource
exploitation and infrastructure projects. Berta
Cáceres’ work to defend local communities
and their land, most recently against a
proposed dam, had earned her global
acclaim. The armed men who killed her in
her home sent a chilling message to other
activists, particularly those who do not enjoy
the same level of international attention.
The security justification for crackdowns
was widely deployed across the world. In
Ethiopia, in response to largely peaceful
protests against unjust dispossession of land
in the Oromia region, security forces killed
several hundred protesters and the
authorities arbitrarily arrested thousands of
people. The Ethiopian government used its
Anti-Terrorism Proclamation to carry out a
sweeping crackdown on human rights
activists, journalists and members of the
political opposition.
In the wake of a coup attempt in July,
Turkey escalated its crackdown on dissenting
voices during a state of emergency. More
than 90,000 public sector employees were
dismissed on grounds of alleged “links to a
terrorist organization or threat to national
security”, while some 118 journalists were
held in pre-trial detention and 184 media
outlets were arbitrarily and permanently
closed down.
Across the Middle East and North Africa,
repression of dissent was endemic. In Egypt,
security forces arbitrarily arrested, forcibly
disappeared and tortured alleged supporters
of the banned Muslim Brotherhood
organization, as well as other critics and
opponents of the government. Bahraini
authorities ruthlessly prosecuted critics on a
range of national security charges. In Iran,
the authorities imprisoned critics, censored
all media and adopted a new law that made
virtually any criticism of the government and
its policies liable to criminal prosecution.
In North Korea, the government furthered
its already extreme repression by tightening
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