AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2016/17

its stranglehold on communications
technology.
Often the stern measures were simply an
attempt to mask government failures, such as
in Venezuela, where the government sought
to silence critics rather than address a
spiralling humanitarian crisis.
In addition to the direct threats and
attacks, there was an insidious chipping away
at established civil and political freedoms in
the name of security. For example the UK
adopted a new law, the Investigatory Powers
Act, which significantly increased the
authorities’ powers to intercept, access,
retain or otherwise hack digital
communications and data without any
requirement of reasonable suspicion against
an individual. By introducing one of the
broadest regimes for mass surveillance of any
country in the world, the UK took a significant
step towards a reality where the right to
privacy is simply not recognized.
However, the erosion of human rights
values was perhaps most pernicious when
officials blamed a specific “other” for real or
perceived social problems in order to justify
their repressive actions. Hateful, divisive and
dehumanizing rhetoric unleashed the darkest
instincts of human nature. By casting
collective responsibility for social and
economic ills onto particular groups, often
ethnic or religious minorities, those in power
gave free rein to discrimination and hate
crimes, particularly in Europe and the USA.
One variant of this was demonstrated by
the escalation, with enormous loss of life, of
President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs” in
the Philippines. State-sanctioned violence
and mass killings by vigilantes claimed more
than 6,000 lives following repeated public
endorsements by the President for those
allegedly involved in drug-related crimes to
be killed.
When self-styled “anti-establishment”
figures blamed so-called elites, international
institutions and the “other” for social or
economic grievances, they chose the wrong
prescription. The sense of insecurity and
disenfranchisement – arising from factors
such as unemployment, job insecurity,
growing inequality and the loss of public
services – demanded commitment, resources
and policy shifts from governments, not easy
scapegoats to blame.
It was clear that many disillusioned people
around the world did not seek answers in
human rights. However, the inequality and
neglect underlying popular anger and
frustration arose at least in part from the
failure of states to fulfil people’s economic,
social and cultural rights.
The story of 2016 was in some ways a
story of people’s courage, resilience, creativity
and determination in the face of immense
challenges and threats.
Every region of the world saw evidence
that where formal structures of power are
used to repress, people will find ways of
rising up and being heard. In China, despite
systematic harassment and intimidation,
activists found subversive ways to
commemorate online the anniversary of the
1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. At the
Rio Olympic Games, Ethiopian marathon
runner Feyisa Lilesa made global headlines
with a gesture to draw attention to the
government’s persecution of Oromo people
as he crossed the finishing line to win a silver
medal. And on Europe’s Mediterranean
coasts, volunteers responded to the inertia
and failure of governments to protect
refugees by physically dragging drowning
people out of the water themselves. People’s
popular movements across Africa – some
unthinkable only a year earlier – galvanized
and channelled popular demands for rights
and justice.
Ultimately, the charge that human rights is
a project of the elite rings hollow. People’s
instincts for freedom and justice do not
simply wither away. During a year of division
and dehumanization, the actions of some
people to affirm humanity and the
fundamental dignity of every person shone
more brightly than ever. This compassionate
response was embodied by 24-year-old Anas
al-Basha, the so-called “clown of Aleppo”,
who chose to remain in the city to bring
comfort and joy to children even after
government forces unleashed their horrific
14 Amnesty International Report 2016/17