FOR INDIVIDUAL COUNTRY ENTRIES PLEASE SEE THE ANNUAL REPORT VIEW IN AIDOC.

FOR TABLE SHOWING SELECTED INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES PLEASE CLICK "VIEW PDF"

PREFACE
Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights.

AI's vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.

In pursuit of this vision, AI's mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights.

AI is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion. AI does not support or oppose the views of the victims whose rights it seeks to protect. It is concerned solely with the impartial protection of human rights.

AI has a varied network of members and supporters around the world. At the latest count, there were more than 1.8 million members, supporters and subscribers in over 150 countries and territories in every region of the world. Although they come from many different backgrounds and have widely different political and religious beliefs, they are united by a determination to work for a world where everyone enjoys human rights.

AI is a democratic, self-governing movement. Major policy decisions are taken by an International Council made up of representatives from all national sections.

AI's national sections and local volunteer groups are primarily responsible for funding the movement. No funds are sought or accepted from governments for AI's work investigating and campaigning against human rights violations.

Amnesty International Report 2004
This report documents human rights issues of concern to AI during the year 2003. It also reflects the activities AI has undertaken during the year to promote human rights and to campaign against specific human rights abuses.

The core of this report is made up of entries on individual countries and territories, grouped alphabetically by region. Each of these entries gives a summary of the human rights situation in the country or territory and describes AI's specific human rights concerns there. The absence of an entry on a particular country or territory does not imply that no human rights abuses of concern to AI took place there during the year. Nor is the length of individual entries any basis for a comparison of the extent and depth of AI's concerns.

Maps of the world and of each region are included in this report to indicate the location of countries and territories. Each individual country entry begins with some basic information about the country during 2003. Neither the maps nor the country information may be interpreted as AI's view on questions such as the status of disputed territory.

The final part of the report contains information about AI and its work during the year, including some specific areas on which it has taken action (see AI's Appeals and AI in Action). The final chapter focuses on AI's work with intergovernmental organizations and includes information about which states are signatories or state parties to key international and regional human rights treaties.

AI reports
Reports published during the year are listed at the end of country entries. These are available on the AI website.

The AI Index given in this report can be used to locate a document as follows: AI Index: ABC 56/013/2003 http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/index/ABC560132003

Abbreviations for treaties
The following abbreviations have been used: 
UN Convention against Torture refers to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

UN Women's Convention refers to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Optional Protocol to the UN Women's Convention refers to the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against women.

UN Children's Convention refers to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

UN Convention against Racism refers to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

UN Refugee Convention refers to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

European Convention on Human Rights refers to the (European) Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

European Committee for the Prevention of Torture refers to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

UN Human Rights Norms for Business refers to the Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights.


Amnesty International prepares for the launch of its worldwide campaign to Stop Violence against Women by joint campaigning with the mothers of women killed in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua, Mexico, AI biennial International Council Meeting, Mexico, August 2003. Irene Khan, Amnesty International's Secretary General, is seen in the centre, front row.



WHY HUMAN RIGHTS MATTER
A message from Irene Khan, Amnesty International's Secretary General

On 19 August 2003 the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, was killed in a bomb attack on the UN building in Baghdad, almost 10 years after the Office of the High Commissioner was established to uphold and promote human rights.

As one of the most prominent international human rights defenders lay dying in the rubble, the world had good cause to ponder how the legitimacy and credibility of the UN could have been eroded to such a fatal degree. Bypassed in the Iraq war and marginalized in its aftermath, discredited by its perceived vulnerability to pressure from powerful states, the UN seemed virtually paralysed in its efforts to hold states to account for their adherence to international law and their performance on human rights.

It was easy at that moment to wonder whether the events of 2003 had also dealt a mortal blow to the vision of global justice and universal human rights that first inspired the creation of global institutions such as the UN. If human rights are used as a cloak by governments to put on or cast away according to political expediency, can the international community of states be trusted to bring about that vision? And what can the international community of citizens do to rescue human rights from the rubble? The answer came the same week that the UN office was bombed, when a group of women in Mexico won the first step towards achieving justice for their murdered daughters. Marginalized and poor, they had fought for 10 years to get that far but, finally, they compelled Mexican President Vicente Fox and the federal authorities to intervene. I was with the mothers of Ciudad Juárez when the news of this breakthrough came through. I will never forget the joy on the faces of the women and their gratitude to the thousands of people around the world whose efforts had helped bring about change. A worldwide web of international solidarity had globalized their struggle. Looking at them, I saw how much can be achieved for human rights through the dynamic virtual space of global civil society.

The challenges facing the global movement for human rights today are stark. As activists, we must confront the threat posed by callous, cruel and criminal acts of armed groups and individuals. We must resist the backlash against human rights created by the single-minded pursuit of a global security doctrine that has deeply divided the world. We must campaign to redress the failure of governments and the international community to deliver on social and economic justice.

The Baghdad tragedy was a clear reminder (though by no means the only one) of the global threat posed by those who are ready to use any means to further their political objectives. We condemn their acts unequivocally. They are guilty of abuse of human rights and violation of international humanitarian law, sometimes amounting to crimes against humanity and war crimes. They must be brought to trial but – and here we part company with some governments – in accordance with standards of international law. Human rights are for the best of us and the worst of us, for the guilty as well as the innocent. Denial of fair trial is an abuse of rights and risks converting perpetrators into martyrs. This is why we call for Saddam Hussein to be tried in accordance with international standards. This is why we oppose military commissions for the detainees at the US naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, that fail to meet international standards.

There is no path to sustainable security except through respect for human rights. The global security agenda promulgated by the US Administration is bankrupt of vision and bereft of principle. Sacrificing human rights in the name of security at home, turning a blind eye to abuses abroad, and using pre-emptive military force where and when it chooses have neither increased security nor ensured liberty.

Look at the growing insurgency in Iraq, the increasing anarchy in Afghanistan, the unending spiral of violence in the Middle East, the spate of suicide bombings in crowded cities around the world. Think of the continued repression of the Uighurs in China and the Islamists in Egypt. Imagine the scale and scope of the impunity that has marked gross violations of human rights and humanitarian law in the "forgotten" conflicts in Chechnya, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nepal – forgotten, that is, by all except those who daily suffer their worst effects.

Double speak brings disrepute to human rights but, sadly, it is a common phenomenon. The USA and its allies purported to fight the war in Iraq to protect human rights – but openly eroded human rights to win the "war on terror". The war in Iraq was launched ostensibly to reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction, yet the world is awash with small arms and conventional weapons that kill more than half a million people a year. To make matters worse, in the name of combating the so-called "war on terror", many countries have relaxed controls on exports to governments that are known to have appalling human rights records, among them Colombia, Indonesia, Israel and Pakistan. The uncontrolled trade in arms puts us all at greater risk in peace and war.

Iraq and the "war on terror" have obscured the greatest human rights challenge of our times. According to some sources, developing countries spend about US$22 billion a year on weapons and, for $10 billion dollars a year, they would achieve universal primary education. These statistics hide a huge scandal: the failed promise to attack extreme poverty and address gross economic and social injustice.

According to some analysts, there is a real risk that the targets of UN Millennium Development Goals – MESSAGE such as the reduction of child and maternal mortality, getting all children to primary school, halving the number of people with no access to clean water – will not be achieved because international attention and resources have been diverted to the "war on terror".

The poor and the marginalized are most commonly denied justice and would benefit most from the fair application of the rule of law and human rights. Yet despite the increasing discourse on the indivisibility of human rights, in reality economic, social and cultural rights are neglected, reducing human rights to a theoretical construct for the vast majority of the world's population. It is no mere coincidence that, in the Iraq war, the protection of oil wells appears to have been given greater priority than the protection of hospitals.

Nor is it surprising that big business can do what it wants and get away with it, or choose not to do what it ought to do by claiming that it has no clear legal responsibility or accountability for human rights. The UN Human Rights Norms for Business, approved in 2003, are an important step towards corporate accountability but, sadly, have come under concerted attack by companies and governments.

Against this backdrop of abuse and impunity, hypocrisy and double standards, what can we do to make human rights matter?

We can show that human rights offer a powerful and compelling vision of a better and fairer world, and form the basis of a concrete plan of how to get there. They bring hope to women like Amina Lawal in Nigeria whose death sentence was set aside as a result of the massive support her case generated. They provide a tool to human rights defenders like Valdenia Paulino to fight her battles against police brutality in the favelas of São Paulo in Brazil. They give voice to the powerless: the prisoner of conscience, the prisoner of violence, the prisoner of poverty.

In times of uncertainty the world needs not only to fight against global threats, but to fight for global justice. Human rights are a banner to mobilize people globally in the cause of justice and truth. Thanks to the work of thousands of activists in Latin America, the tide is turning against impunity in that region. Despite the crusade by the USA to undermine international justice and ensure global immunity from prosecution for its citizens, the International Criminal Court appointed its prosecutor and began its work in earnest. Slowly, the courts in the USA and the United Kingdom have begun to scrutinize government attempts to restrict human rights in their "war on terror".

Human rights promise the certainty of equality and equity to millions of women around the world. Recent legislative changes in the status of women in Morocco will open a new chapter in gender equity in the region. Recognizing the power of human rights to universalize the struggle of women, members of Amnesty International are joining hands with women's rights activists and many others to campaign globally to stop violence against women. We call on leaders, organizations and individuals to make a public pledge to change themselves and to abolish laws, systems and attitudes that allow violence against women to flourish.

Human rights are about changing the world for the better. Using the powerful message of human rights, Amnesty International has launched a joint campaign with Oxfam and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) to achieve global control of small arms. To those who say this will not work, we point to the coalitions that led to the banning of landmines and the creation of the International Criminal Court. Combining public pressure and government support, we are determined to bring about change.

We celebrate these and other gains in this report, but we have not allowed them to obscure the very real challenges that persist. We live in a dangerous and divided world where the relevance of human rights is daily put to the test, the legitimacy of activists is questioned, and the "accountability gap" of governments, international institutions, armed groups and corporate actors is growing. It is precisely in such a world that we need a bigger humanity that will say, "This has to stop. Things must change".

There is no stronger international community than global civil society. Through its members and allies in the human rights movement, Amnesty International is committed to reviving and revitalizing the vision of human rights as a powerful tool for concrete change. Through the voices and visions of millions of men and women, we will carry the message of human rights forward.


BUILDING AN INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS AGENDA

During 2002 and 2003 Amnesty International (AI) conducted an intensive and far-reaching analysis of human rights in the world. This analysis was the basis for the development of the organization's strategic plan for the period 2004-2006. The plan was adopted in August 2003 at the 26th International Council Meeting in Morelos, Mexico.

Under the rallying cry of "Justice for all", AI reaffirmed its commitment to defending fundamental human rights around the world and took steps to find new ways of engaging with a rapidly changing human rights environment. A key strategic direction was to clearly position AI within the broader human rights movement, building strategic alliances with others, and supporting, defending and working with other human rights defenders.

AI believes that by presenting the main features and rationale of its human rights agenda for the next few years, set out below, it will contribute to the building of a truly international human rights agenda for action which meets the challenges of our time.

Resisting abuses in the context of the 'war on terror'
The current framework of international law and multilateral action is undergoing the most sustained attack since its establishment half a century ago. International human rights and humanitarian law is being directly challenged as ineffective in responding to the security issues of the present and future. In the name of the "war on terror" governments are eroding human rights principles, standards and values. The international community appears unable or unwilling to halt this trend. Armed groups, meanwhile, continue to flout their responsibilities under international humanitarian law.

All governments have an obligation to protect the security of those under their jurisdiction. Since 11 September 2001, many have adopted draconian new "anti-terrorism" measures, arguing that the existing legal framework is inadequate for combating such threats. Yet, the term "terrorism" is most commonly used to describe a range of actions by armed political groups or individuals which are already prohibited by national and international law. For example, actions of armed political groups such as the killings of civilians by members of al-Qa'ida, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) or ETA in Spain; the hostage-taking by members of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or the Abu Sayyaf group in the Philippines; and the bomb attacks on civilians by members of Palestinian groups – all are crimes under international law. They are also crimes under domestic law. When committed in the context of an armed conflict they are war crimes. Some amount to crimes against humanity. Despite this, many governments have made the introduction of new legislation, often employing vague definitions of "terrorism", a political priority.

Since 11 September 2001, governments around the world have been openly pursuing repressive agendas. Many play on people's fears and sometimes prejudices. Some governments have introduced measures that break with their best judicial traditions. Others have repackaged existing repressive practices using the language of "counter-terrorism". And governments once willing to intercede with other governments on human rights issues have been more reluctant to do so.

Unlawful killings have been perpetrated in the name of "counter-terrorism". The conflict in Colombia has worsened, with government forces, their paramilitary allies and armed opposition groups responsible for widespread killings of civilians. Unlawful killings in the context of "counter-terrorism" also continued in the Chechen Republic and the Philippines.

Governments who publicly expressed their concerns about the threat of weapons of mass destruction at the same time helped to fuel existing conflicts with large transfers of conventional weapons, including small arms. In general, the world's richest states have relaxed restrictions and increased military aid in the name of the "war on terror", even when they know the recipients are responsible for grave human rights abuses.

A very large number of countries toughened up their laws in the wake of 11 September 2001, some rushing through legal amendments in a matter of weeks. Others continued to debate "anti-terrorism" laws in 2003. Common to most such laws are vaguely worded definitions of new offences; sweeping powers to hold people without charge or trial, often on the basis of secret evidence; provisions to allow for prolonged incommunicado detention, which is known to facilitate torture; and measures which effectively deny or restrict access to asylum and speed up deportations.

Laws raising human rights concerns have been introduced since 2001 in countries as far apart as Germany and Mauritius and from Cuba to Morocco. The Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (2002) in India provides for immunity from prosecution for officials acting in "good faith" against "terrorists". Similar provisions exist in the Russian Federation. At the end of 2003, South Korea was preparing a Terrorism Prevention Bill which could further empower the National Intelligence Service, already responsible for serious human rights violations. AI expressed concerns regarding draft "anti-terrorism" legislation in Tunisia which, if adopted, would further undermine fundamental human rights including the right to freedom of expression.

The US naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, remained under the spotlight in 2003. Over 600 detainees continued to be held in indefinite detention at the base. They were held outside the protection of US courts, effectively in a legal vacuum without precedent. The US authorities made clear that these detainees were held primarily to be interrogated or simply to be "kept off the streets". A handful of them faced the prospect of unfair trial before deeply flawed military commissions. Other detainees were held by, or apparently on behalf of, the US authorities in secret locations around the world. The US government used its executive authority to remove even US citizens from the ordinary criminal justice system and place them in indefinite and incommunicado military custody as "enemy combatants", action which was being challenged in the US courts.

Security forces in Yemen embarked on mass arbitrary arrests and detentions in the immediate aftermath of 11 September 2001. In 2002 the Yemeni authorities informed AI that the government had "no option" but to break its own laws and its human rights obligations in order to "fight terrorism" and contain the risk of a US military attack against Yemen. Scores of people remained in detention in 2003. Domestic law as well as international standards also continued to be violated in Pakistan, where nationals and non-nationals were arbitrarily detained and forcibly handed over to the authorities of other countries.

Thousands of Uighurs in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China continued to be arbitrarily detained and accused of "separatism" or "terrorism", as part of a general crack-down which also seriously restricted their religious rights. Some were believed to have been tried unfairly and executed. Members of Islamist organizations were arbitrarily arrested in Uzbekistan, where torture remained systematic.

In the United Kingdom (UK), despite more than 500 reportedly "terrorist related" arrests since 11 September 2001, there had been only a few convictions connected with membership of or involvement with al-Qa'ida. In addition, 14 people remained interned under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act (ATCSA). This law allows for the indefinite detention without charge or trial, principally on the basis of secret evidence, of foreign nationals who cannot be deported. Among other reasons, the UK has justified these measures on the grounds that its rules of evidence are too stringent to allow successful prosecutions.

A number of countries have introduced new capital offences relating to "terrorism" since 2001. They included Guyana, India, Jordan, Morocco, the USA and Zimbabwe. Executions apparently related to "terrorism" offences were reported in China. Three men convicted of the Bali bombing in Indonesia were also under sentence of death at the end of 2003.

Asylum-seekers and other non-nationals continued to be targeted by measures ostensibly designed to counter "terrorism". For example, Afghan asylum-seekers fleeing persecution who had been blocked from entering Australia by the authorities in the weeks before the September 2001 attacks remained in detention, in part as a "counter-terrorism" measure in the wake of the attacks. Such measures were undeniably a response to popular calls for greater security. However, they not only resulted in the violation of rights, such as the right to protection against forcible return to a country where the person faces serious human rights violations, but they also ignored the evidence that foreign nationals intending to enter a country to commit "terrorist" or other crimes seldom rely on the asylum channels.

Since 11 September 2001, public attitudes and government policies relating to the "war on terror" have had a detrimental impact also on the rights of women. In her January 2003 report to the UN Commission on Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, pointed out that the fight to eradicate certain violent cultural practices is often made difficult by what can be termed as "the arrogant gaze" of the outsider. Many feel that this "gaze" has increased since 11 September 2001.

AI believes that only a concerted effort by the world human rights community can resist and reverse the trend of increasing human rights abuses in the context of the "war on terror" and abuses by armed groups. AI's plan of action includes a determined effort to expose and oppose "counter-terrorism" measures that are contrary to international human rights and humanitarian law. AI will continue to campaign against arbitrary detention, unfair trials and discrimination. It will continue to oppose human rights abuses by armed opposition groups and work to increase their accountability. AI will also engage in critical reviews of intelligence and judicial cooperation agreements and the development of treaties on "terrorism".

Defending human rights in armed conflict
In much of the world, armed conflicts, and especially internal conflicts, are the breeding ground for mass violations of human rights. Wherever armed conflicts erupt they are invariably characterized by grave abuses on a mass scale including unlawful killings, rape and other sexual violence, torture, and the denial of the most fundamental economic and social rights.

Many internal conflicts have persisted for decades – despite significant international efforts to find solutions – and in parts of the world conflict appears endemic. Identity issues can trigger conflict, but poverty and, paradoxically, mineral wealth, are more often harbingers of internal conflict. Conflicts over resources, fuelled by discrimination, continue, especially in poorer countries, and the number of situations in which weak states are confronted by economically powerful armed groups may increase.

Mass abuses against civilians continue, and despite significant international and national legal developments, impunity still reigns in most situations. International organizations like the UN have advanced considerably their capacity to monitor and report on human rights in conflict situations, but protection seems to depend all too often on the presence of foreign troops.

The re-emergence of international conflict, and the role of the USA in particular, pose new challenges to the UN's legitimacy. The doctrine of "pre-emptive self-defence" could lead to an escalation of international conflicts as governments, following the precedent of the US-led war on Iraq, feel less constrained about pre-empting perceived threats from other states.

2003 saw AI deeply engaged in attempting to defend human rights in conflict and to protect civilians on many fronts. Long-running conflicts that have produced some of the past decade's most serious human rights crises in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and Sudan showed signs of possible breakthroughs. Elsewhere, for example in Israel and the Occupied Territories, Nepal, and Colombia, old conflicts seemed to intensify. And new armed conflicts, such as that in Iraq, brought to the fore new challenges to the human rights framework and international law.

The war in Iraq forced human rights groups to think anew about whether and to what extent they should comment on when the use of force in international relations is justified. Given the dire humanitarian and human rights situation in Iraq, whose population was already debilitated by years of internal repression and UN-imposed sanctions, many felt that the disastrous consequences of a military invasion would be so severe that they had a duty to speak out against it. Others felt that human rights advocates need to balance the foreseeable dangers with the potential benefits of toppling a regime with such an atrocious human rights record. AI urged the parties to the conflict to consider the use of force only as a last resort. As war became imminent, AI emphasized the need for all parties to adhere strictly to rules of international humanitarian law, explaining its concerns in the light of abuses in past conflicts. When the US/UK attack on Iraq began, AI monitored compliance by both sides with the laws of war, expressing particular concern about the use of cluster munitions by US and UK forces which resulted in the killing of scores of Iraqi civilians. After the fall of Baghdad, AI moved quickly to establish a field presence and documented violations by the occupying powers, including reports of torture and ill-treatment of detainees, and unlawful killings. AI submitted detailed concerns to the occupying powers regarding their compliance with obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention and human rights standards, and concerning legislation and the administration of justice in Iraq.

While the world's media focused on Iraq, little attention was paid to the DRC where the conflict involved armies and armed groups from the DRC itself and several neighbouring states. Despite formal progress towards a political solution and the withdrawal of foreign armies, grave abuses continued, especially in eastern DRC. AI's work focused on the links between exploitation of the region's mineral wealth and grave abuses by all sides to the conflict. In Ituri district, where the remorseless manipulation of ethnic tensions by political leaders resulted in mass killings of civilians on the basis of their ethnic identity, AI campaigned successfully for the introduction of a UN-mandated rapid deployment force to protect civilians and then for a strengthened protection mandate for the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC). In October, an AI delegation visited the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda. AI Secretary General Irene Khan met the Heads of State in Uganda and Rwanda and members of the DRC transitional government in Kinshasa. Contrasting the optimism in Kinshasa with the horrendous cycle of abuses in the DRC, and condemning the complicity of neighbouring states and various factions in the DRC, she pressed for an immediate end to abuses and urged that all those suspected of having perpetrated war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide be investigated and brought to justice.

In Israel and the Occupied Territories the internationally-sponsored "road map" peace plan lacked provisions to ensure the parties' compliance with international law and failed to bring about any improvement in the situation. Meanwhile the death toll in the increasingly bitter conflict continued to mount. At least 600 Palestinians, more than 100 of them children, were killed by the Israeli army. Palestinian armed groups killed some 130 Israeli civilians, including 21 children, and some 70 Israeli soldiers. The Palestinian population of the Occupied Territories were subjected to increasing measures of collective punishment, including the destruction of hundreds of homes, large areas of farmland and commercial properties, and unprecedented restrictions on movement. Israel's construction of a fence/wall in the West Bank confined hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to enclaves cut off from their land and jobs, education, health and other essential services in nearby towns and villages. Such measures caused increased unemployment and poverty and the emergence of malnutrition. Israeli soldiers frequently delayed or refused passage to Palestinians at checkpoints, including to patients and medical personnel, and several women were forced to give birth at checkpoints; some cases resulted in death. During the year, scores of Israelis were imprisoned for refusing to perform military service because of their opposition to human rights violations by the Israeli army in the Occupied Territories.

Abuses by all sides in the long-running conflict in Colombia, which has claimed more than 60,000 lives and displaced over 2.5 million people since 1985, continued throughout 2003. Army-backed paramilitaries carried out extrajudicial executions and "disappearances", and committed torture with complete impunity. Rebel groups committed widespread abuses, including bomb attacks in which civilians were killed. The FARC also executed captured civilians and soldiers. AI pressed the US and other governments to cease military and security transfers to the Colombian security forces, which are responsible for serious human rights violations either directly or in collaboration with paramilitary forces.

In Nepal, a cease-fire between government forces and Communist Party of Nepal (CPN – Maoist) insurgents broke down in August and widespread abuses continued. State security forces were responsible for extrajudicial executions, "disappearances", torture and arbitrary detention. CPN (Maoist) forces unlawfully killed civilians, summarily executed captured soldiers, and carried out abductions. AI focused on ending impunity for abuses including "disappearances" and abductions and urged the government to invite the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances to Nepal.

The persistence, scale and severity of abuses in conflicts around the world call into question the effectiveness of the work of AI and other human rights groups in addressing these situations. It seems that the human rights movement has little impact in some of the worst ongoing conflicts. In many cases it is difficult for AI to influence the warring parties themselves, especially in weak states. However, conflicts are sustained or supported by foreign governments, private companies, international organizations, and diaspora communities. AI believes that refocusing its efforts to bring pressure to bear on such influential outside actors will result in more effective interventions to bring about real improvements in human rights for those caught up in armed conflict.

AI will intensify its efforts to hold economic actors and second states accountable for abuses committed in armed conflicts. AI will continue to scrutinize the role of transnational corporations in Sudan and the DRC; of extractive industries and other international economic interests in Colombia; and the role of military aid in perpetuating violations in many other conflicts. Building on its work on the Kimberley process – an international diamond certification scheme to eradicate the trade in diamonds mined in conflict areas – AI will help to develop clear rules on accountability of businesses and other external actors in conflict zones.

The proliferation of small arms has contributed to deepening and prolonging conflicts, claiming a massive toll on human rights throughout the world. In 2003, AI, together with Oxfam and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), launched the Control Arms campaign which aims to get governments to agree an international arms trade treaty. The treaty would prohibit transfer of arms to destinations where they are likely to be used to commit serious violations of human rights or international humanitarian law. AI will expand its campaigning for the enforcement of arms embargoes and for the development and strengthening of regional arms control agreements to uphold human rights and humanitarian law. AI has also joined the Cluster Munitions Coalition to push for a moratorium on the use of these weapons.

AI will continue active campaigning to end the recruitment of child soldiers and to ensure their demobilization and reintegration into society. AI will lobby at the UN for strengthened protection of civilians, including strict adherence to human rights and humanitarian law in peace-keeping efforts. And AI will seek to ensure the centrality of respect for human rights, including the rights of women, in peace processes, final agreements and post-conflict situations.

Finally, AI will engage with the process of grappling with conflict prevention and peace-building. If mass human rights violations and humanitarian crises are an inevitable by-product of armed conflict, such preventive work must be seen as a necessary activity for a human rights organization like AI.

Protecting the rights of human rights defenders
As this report shows, governments, armed opposition groups and individuals continue to erode respect for international human rights and humanitarian standards. In this environment, human rights defenders have played a unique role in documenting abuses and providing the first direct assistance to many of those whose rights have been violated. Human rights defenders include people from all walks of life and all sectors of society who work for human rights in many different ways, including activists campaigning on a range of social issues.

2003 witnessed the harassment, arrest, torture, "disappearance" and killing of human rights defenders around the world. Those targeted included campaigners seeking to compel governments to deal with gross inequalities in the distribution of wealth, access to basic health facilities, education, water and food. Many fought to protect the environment and defend social, economic and cultural rights. Others were attempting to expose crimes against humanity, extrajudicial killings, "disappearances" or torture. Many were targeted because of their insistence on the need for democratic or judicial reform or their criticism of harsh security measures.

Governments used many pretexts to stifle legitimate criticisms of their policies, including national security and the "war on terror". Around the world individual activists were targeted because those who benefit from the injustices of the status quo perceive them as a threat and sought to evade judicial responsibility, quash public scrutiny or silence criticisms.

The challenges faced by human rights defenders reflect national and international trends in the social, political and technological spheres. Internal or international armed conflict, flawed transitions to democracy, the so-called "war on terror", legal frameworks inconsistent with international standards, cultural factors – all these have provided an environment encouraging human rights abuses. Human rights defenders express people's desire for justice and often expose the failure of state institutions to provide remedies for abuses.

AI's campaigning to stop violence against women highlights the efforts of those working to defend women's human rights. In doing so they challenge political, economic and social discrimination in areas such as access to basic healthcare and education. They too face the very violations they combat, as well as gender-specific human rights abuses ranging from verbal abuse to rape and other forms of sexual violence.

In November, AI published a report on the situation of activists in the Americas where over several decades more human rights defenders have been killed than in any other part of the world. The study found that in 2003 human rights defenders enjoyed no more, and in some cases less, protection than they had in previous years. Killings were a particularly serious problem in Colombia and Guatemala. In March, there was a massive crack-down on dissent in Cuba; 75 people, including several human rights activists, were arrested and sentenced to long prison terms after hasty and unfair trials. AI considered them to be prisoners of conscience.

Human rights defenders often work at great risk to their own safety. In armed conflict zones where international scrutiny is not possible either for security reasons or because the authorities do not allow international organizations to work there, human rights defenders sometimes pay for their dedication with their lives.

Palestinian human rights activists were limited in their ability to carry out their work by increasingly stringent restrictions imposed by the Israeli army on the movements of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. At the same time international and Israeli human rights and peace activists were increasingly targeted. At least four were killed or seriously injured by the Israeli army in the space of a few weeks in March and April 2003.

In May, in the Chechen Republic, armed men killed a woman human rights activist and three members of her family. She had lodged a complaint at the European Court of Human Rights regarding the failure of the Russian authorities to follow up allegations of torture and ill-treatment during her detention in a "filtration" camp.

Courageous lawyers continued to defend human rights and press freedom in Zimbabwe, placing themselves at personal risk. In October 2003 Beatrice Mtetwa, who was named Human Rights Lawyer of the Year in December 2003, called for police assistance when her vehicle was attacked by car thieves; instead the police took her into custody for allegedly driving while intoxicated. While in police custody she was reportedly beaten by police officers and subsequently needed treatment for severe bruising and cuts to her face, throat, arms, ribcage and legs.

An important theme of AI's work in Africa has been supporting and working with human rights defenders, and campaigning for the adoption of measures for the legal protection of human rights defenders at a regional level.

For several years, AI, together with other international and national human rights non-governmental organizations, has called on the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights to adopt a resolution that will recognize the fundamental rights of human rights defenders and strengthen the protection of those rights in Africa. Although the Commission has recently established a focal point on human rights defenders to streamline and better respond to information on the situation of human rights defenders in Africa, the effectiveness of such a mechanism remains a concern.

In February, AI organized a human rights defenders workshop in Somaliland with 23 Somali nongovernmental organizations working in different areas of human rights in different parts of the country, including the conflict-torn southern areas of Somalia, which remained in state of collapse. One purpose of the workshop was to enable the participants to be more effective by increasing familiarity with and use of international human rights mechanisms; to increase knowledge of effective ways of defending freedom of association and expression, justice and the rule of law, women's human rights and minority rights; and to enhance the development of humanitarian activism. This type of workshop is one of the many initiatives that AI will take to involve human rights defenders from all sectors of society, especially marginalized groups, in events aimed at strengthening human rights defence mechanisms, building coalitions and enhancing skills.

As information technology becomes more widely available, human rights defenders are increasingly using the Internet to communicate with each other, to denounce human rights violations or simply as a way of exercising their right to freedom of expression. They have not escaped repression in countries including China and Viet Nam. In Viet Nam one of these so-called "Cyberspace dissidents" was sentenced in June to 13 years' imprisonment. This was later reduced on appeal to five years, following a wave of international solidarity.

Large economic projects such as the building of dams and oil and gas pipelines have been opposed by local activists because of the threat of ecological damage and loss of farmland. In the case of the Thai-Malaysian natural gas pipeline project, activists in Thailand opposed to the pipeline were detained and some were threatened. Opponents of the Pak Mun Dam in northeastern Thailand also received threats during 2003. Some have received death threats and there have been reports of assassination attempts against others.

In many countries human rights defenders continue to struggle to gain acknowledgement of the legitimacy of their work, despite resolutions and declarations by the UN and other intergovernmental organizations such as the Organization of American States. In Tunisia, for example, the government has taken every possible step to silence and deny public space to registered human rights groups and it continues to deny official recognition to many others.

Recognizing the critical role of a wide range of human rights defenders operating in different sectors of society, AI will involve and engage human rights defenders from all social spheres, especially marginalized groups, in all aspects of its work. AI will give special attention to the increasing visibility and role of women human rights defenders. Since human rights defenders often face difficulties in advocating or making appeals for their own protection, AI will use its international status as a global human rights movement to raise the profile of human rights defenders and strengthen local spaces where human rights defenders can operate at local, regional and national levels. AI will also help and support human rights defenders to advocate and create their own protection mechanisms, to reduce dependency on international and foreign agencies.

Reforming and strengthening the justice sector
The rule of law is the cornerstone of the protection of human rights and systems of governance based on the values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Yet domestic institutions that should uphold the rule of law are often seriously flawed. For example, in many countries criminal justice systems are undermined by institutionalized discrimination, lack of resources and corruption. In others, the administration of justice has been manipulated to perpetuate the domination of political elites or ethnic or religious groups. The result is continuing widespread violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

The justice sector should provide the mechanisms to ensure redress for human rights abuses committed either by agents of the state or by private individuals. However, the history of human rights violations is also the history of failures and shortcomings in the administration of justice.

Reform of the justice system involves exposing the gaps and loopholes in domestic legislations that allow human rights to be abused with impunity, and campaigning for the removal of legislation or procedures that are instrumental in the perpetration of abuses. It involves setting up truly independent and impartial judicial institutions and promoting a vision of policing which sees the protection of human rights as integral to public security.

Perhaps the biggest challenge in the administration of justice at the domestic level is ending impunity. Impunity is more than just a failure to do justice in individual cases. It is a cancer which debilitates the very framework of the rule of law. AI's ongoing battle against impunity in countries around the world will need to address the role played by poverty, stigma and marginalization in denying access to justice to particular sectors of society.

Fresh opportunities to combat impunity and restore faith in the rule of law arose in 2003 in countries undergoing processes of democratic transition. Across the Americas, for example, a wave of anti-impunity initiatives throughout the year marked a significant step towards greater accountability of democratic institutions.

Post-conflict situations offer the opportunity to introduce new constitutions, repeal legislation that is inconsistent with international standards, and introduce into domestic law rights enshrined in human rights treaties. AI believes that constitutional processes provide opportunities to advance the rights of women, children, indigenous people and other groups at risk of abuse. In Afghanistan, AI focused its attention on legislation and practices affecting prisoners, the administration of justice, the reconstruction of the police force and the rights and status of women. In its 2003 report Afghanistan: "No one listens to us and no one treat us as human beings" – Justice denied to women, AI stressed the need for measures to protect the rights of women to be built into legal and constitutional reform and integrated into policing and criminal justice processes. An AI delegation was present in Afghanistan in December at the time of the meeting of the Constitutional Loya Jirga (CLJ) in order to press CLJ delegates for a constitution fully consistent with international human rights standards. AI wrote an open letter to President Karzai raising a number of issues concerning the draft constitution, including, for example, the rights of women.

International mechanisms to provide redress for failures of domestic justice systems have evolved rapidly in the past decade. However, they remain embryonic and contested. The international and regional systems to monitor state compliance with human rights standards have also grown significantly, but face a crisis of capacity and credibility. Strengthened international justice and monitoring mechanisms would provide a safety net in the fight against impunity and an international platform for accountability. They would also have the effect of improving domestic systems in the medium to long term.

AI has campaigned tirelessly for the adoption of the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court (ICC). During 2003, AI urged states to adopt effective implementing legislation for the Rome Statute, including provisions giving domestic courts universal jurisdiction over the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture, extrajudicial executions and "disappearances". AI also campaigned vigorously against US government efforts to sign bilateral agreements with other countries providing impunity for US nationals accused before the ICC. The year saw further ground-breaking initiatives to hold perpetrators accountable through transnational judicial cooperation. For example, the Mexican Supreme Court set an important precedent for extraterritorial jurisdiction by confirming the extradition to Spain of an Argentine naval captain to face charges of genocide and terrorism.

International human rights and humanitarian standards provide a comprehensive framework for advancing demands for global justice. While the main emphasis in the coming years will be on implementation of existing standards, AI will continue to support efforts to develop new norms, particularly in areas where accountability is most lacking. So, for example, AI is contributing to efforts to create a complaints procedure for the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). It is also promoting awareness and enforcement of the UN Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights, adopted by the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in August 2003, as part of attempts to ensure that companies, as powerful and influential non-governmental actors, are brought within the framework of international human rights treaties.

2003 saw unequivocal signs that a global justice movement has emerged to respond transnationally to worldwide injustice. The millions of global citizens who gathered at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, who simultaneously took to the streets in solidarity with the Iraqi people or who spoke out through the Internet against the unfairness of global trade rules are all part of a diverse but universal clamour for justice, whether in the legal, economic or social sphere. The era of globalization may present us with many threats, but it also offers unprecedented opportunities to globalize the struggle for justice in all its forms. If we explore their universal reach, expansive scope and transformative potential, human rights can be a powerful driving force behind the global agenda for change.

Promoting abolition of the death penalty
When AI convened an International Conference on the Death Penalty in Stockholm, Sweden, some 26 years ago, just 16 countries had abolished capital punishment for all crimes. Today the figure stands at over 75. The momentum towards worldwide abolition continues, yet the death penalty persists and in some places its use is expanding, especially in relation to criminality and "terrorism". While some governments promote worldwide abolition, others firmly resist.

This dichotomy was shown by two related events in 2003. On 24 April the UN Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution calling on all states that still maintain the death penalty to establish a moratorium on executions, and affirming that the abolition of the death penalty "contributes to the enhancement of human dignity and to the progressive development of human rights". The resolution was co-sponsored by 75 states, seven more than had co-sponsored a similar resolution in 2002.

On the same day, a joint statement by a group of other states, dissociating themselves from the resolution, was circulated at the Commission on Human Rights. This stated that "there is no international consensus that capital punishment should be abolished" and asserted that the characterization of the death penalty as a human rights issue "must be weighed against the rights of the victims and the right of the community to live in peace and security". It was signed by 63 states, one more than had signed a similar statement the year before.

2003 saw a number of key developments in the campaign to abolish the death penalty. In July the President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, commuted all outstanding death sentences and in September Armenia abolished capital punishment in peacetime by ratifying Protocol No. 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights. Earlier in the year the Armenian parliament had adopted a new criminal code that eliminated the death penalty in peacetime but contained a loophole that would allow its use in a case then before the courts.

Groups of prisoners had their death sentences commuted. In the USA in January, George Ryan, the outgoing Governor of the state of Illinois, commuted the death sentences of 167 prisoners and pardoned four others who he believed had been tortured into confessing to crimes they did not commit. In February it was announced that 28 prisoners, who had each spent between 15 and 20 years under sentence of death, had been released in Kenya, while the death sentences of 195 others were commuted to life imprisonment.

By the end of the year, 77 countries had abolished the death penalty for all crimes. A further 15 countries had abolished it for all but exceptional crimes, such as wartime crimes. At least 25 countries were abolitionist in practice: they had not carried out any executions for the previous 10 years or more and were believed to have a policy or an established practice of not carrying out executions. Seventy-eight other countries and territories retained the death penalty, although not all of them passed death sentences or carried out executions during 2003.

Protocol No. 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights entered into force on 1 July, having been ratified by the necessary minimum of 15 states. Protocol No. 13 is the first international treaty to provide for the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances with no exceptions permitted. By the end of 2003 it had been ratified by 20 of the 45 member states of the Council of Europe. Ratifications of the three other international treaties against the death penalty – Protocol No. 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights, the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights to Abolish the Death Penalty – stood at 43, 51 and eight states respectively at the end of 2003.

The World Day against the Death Penalty was commemorated on 10 October with local events in over 60 countries and an Internet appeal calling on the highest authorities of all countries that retain the death penalty "to ensure that executions cease immediately, and to abolish the death penalty for all crimes". The World Day was organized by the World Coalition against the Death Penalty, a coalition established in 2002 that unites national and international human rights organizations, including AI, bar associations, trade unions, and local and regional governments.

In a subsequent event, public buildings in over 100 cities around the world were illuminated on 30 November as part of the "Cities for Life – Cities against the Death Penalty" initiative. This effort was organized by the Italian organization Sant' Egidio with the collaboration of other organizations including AI sections.

The Fourth World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, meeting in Rome, adopted a final statement on 30 November stating, "After a special session, the Nobel Peace Prize Winners have agreed that the death penalty is a particularly cruel and unusual punishment that should be abolished. It is especially unconscionable when imposed on children."

AI opposes the death penalty as a violation of fundamental human rights – the right to life and the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. The organization also cites other features of the death penalty – its brutalizing effect, the inherent risk of executing the innocent, the lack of a proven unique deterrent effect on crime – in support of abolition.

Alongside these considerations, one of the most powerful arguments against the death penalty is its unfairness. This unfairness encompasses recurrent aspects of the death penalty in principle and in practice, such as: its arbitrary infliction; its use following unfair trials and in cases where torture has been used; and its discriminatory use against members of racial and ethnic groups, the poor, the socially marginalized and others.

AI will work to highlight these injustices in its efforts against the death penalty in the coming years.

The use of the death penalty against child offenders – people convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18 years old – is prohibited under international law. However, a handful of countries continue to sentence to death and execute child offenders. AI will make a special effort in the coming years to end the use of the death penalty against child offenders worldwide.

The death penalty has virtually disappeared from certain regions – Latin America, Europe and the Pacific. In parts of other regions it has fallen into disuse and abolition in the near future appears to be a real possibility. In October AI launched a campaign to abolish the death penalty throughout West Africa where only four out of 16 countries have carried out executions in the past decade. AI is calling on West African countries that have not already done so to establish a moratorium on executions and abolish the death penalty in law.

Working through its membership and in collaboration with other organizations, AI continues to strive to rid the world of the death penalty.

Promoting economic, social and cultural rights
In June 1993, at the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights, the international community affirmed its commitment to uphold the full range of human rights as "indivisible, interdependent and inter-related". Yet, 10 years on, the systematic denial of economic, social and cultural rights, growing global inequalities and the failure of governments to significantly reduce the number of people living in extreme poverty, are among the defining human rights problems of our time.

In expanding its work to encompass economic, social and cultural rights, AI faces numerous challenges. Not least among these is the fact that many people – and many governments – continue to doubt that these rights are worthy of the same attention as civil and political rights. Various arguments are raised to justify such doubts; some of the most common are:

• financial resources are required to protect economic and social rights and therefore AI should not criticize governments which fail to fulfil these rights when such resources are lacking;
• resources and other factors make it difficult for courts to apply and enforce economic and social rights, and, if they are not enforceable through the justice system, these rights necessarily carry less force;
• enforcing these rights requires governments to take positive action, not simply to refrain from certain acts, and pushing for their implementation necessarily involves interfering in decisions on how governments should allocate budget resources;
• the best way to fulfil economic, social and cultural rights is to defend the rights to freedom of expression and association, and political participation, because in an open and democratic system citizens will be empowered to ensure their basic needs are met.

Confronting these and other arguments is an essential part of AI's work on economic and social rights. There are differences between individual human rights guarantees, not least in the degree to which they are protected in international law, but most of the common objections to economic and social rights are misguided. All human rights require governments to take positive action, including through the expenditure of resources. For example, meeting fair trial guarantees necessarily entails costs. The fact is that national courts in many countries regularly do adjudicate on rights to education, shelter, social security or access to health care. The idea that one set of rights deserves priority ignores the fact that all rights are interdependent and that political freedoms do not guarantee social justice.

During 2003, AI's experience of working on economic and social rights has demonstrated in practice the interdependence of human rights. The economic and social rights issues the organization has addressed have often arisen as a direct result of ongoing work on civil or political rights.

Lack of respect for human rights in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is well reported, most commonly killings of civilians, arbitrary detentions, and reports of ill-treatment. For most Palestinians, however, human rights abuses also include the ubiquitous and arbitrary restrictions placed on their movement, with whole towns, villages and neighbourhoods cut off from each other by Israeli army blockades and often placed under curfew. Even when travel is possible, military checkpoints and closures make it difficult, lengthy and potentially dangerous. Many of these restrictions amount to collective punishments or are otherwise unjustified. Freedom of movement – and its denial – is without doubt a central part of conventional civil and political rights work. Restrictions on movement, however, also have a profound impact on Palestinians' economic and social rights, not least their ability to make a living. The restrictions severely limit travel to and from work and the transport of products and services. The result has been the virtual collapse of the Palestinian economy. In 2003 AI reported in detail on these restrictions and their impact on Palestinians' right to work (see Israel and the Occupied Territories: Surviving under siege – the impact of movement restrictions on the right to work).

A further example of the interdependence of human rights can be seen in AI's work to expose the abuses suffered by slum-dwellers in Luanda, Angola. In previous years, AI had reported on the beatings and detentions suffered by those who mobilized to defend their homes against arbitrary and forcible evictions carried out by the government. In 2003, AI's work focused on challenging the evictions per se, noting that they were proceeding without due process of law and with inadequate attention to the rights of the people living there.

Similarly, AI has for many years exposed discrimination against minorities in the administration of justice, especially as regards the application of the death penalty and ill-treatment in police custody. In 2003 in Kosovo (Serbia and Montenegro), Bulgaria and Thailand, AI took action against discrimination suffered by minorities and marginalized groups regarding access to basic economic and social rights, including education, housing, work and health care.

The notion that human rights are interdependent may sound rather abstract. In practice all it means is that it is difficult to achieve sustainable progress towards implementation of any one human right in isolation. The right to effective political participation depends on a free media, but also on an educated and literate population. Rights of access to health care, to social security, or to enjoy an adequate standard of living will be better realized if a fair and effective system for the administration of justice is in place. AI will strive to demonstrate these links and in so doing to assert a holistic view of rights protection. It will be particularly important to do so in relation to extreme poverty, and the human rights issues underlying poverty.

The persistence of poverty, and in particular the situation of the more than one billion people living in extreme poverty, is well documented and also widely recognized as a matter requiring global action. All UN member states, UN agencies and the international financial institutions have committed themselves, through the Millennium Declaration, to address extreme poverty.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent international human rights standards hold out the promise of a life with dignity, where every person enjoys an adequate standard of living and access to those essentials that give practical meaning to such a promise – including food, water, shelter, education, work and health care. Poverty is a denial of these rights and therefore a denial of human dignity.

Those living in extreme poverty, furthermore, suffer human rights abuses as a consequence of the marginalization and exclusion that characterizes the treatment of the poor in every country. They are vulnerable to the arbitrary exercise of state power, leading to abuses of the whole range of human rights. To defend their rights, people must have access to, and equal treatment by, the police, the courts, and government offices responsible for delivering services. The poor are too often denied such access, and indeed in many cases face discriminatory treatment by such institutions.

AI developed as a movement committed to denouncing injustice. It believes that the human rights framework can and must grapple with social injustice with the same rigour that characterized its work to combat political and civil injustice. It will do this by working to ensure that marginalized and excluded communities enjoy greater access to the institutions needed to give effect to their rights and denouncing the discrimination they suffer at the hands of these institutions. AI will also insist that at a global level all governments recognize and fulfil their obligation to eradicate extreme poverty and respect basic economic and social rights.

Ending violence against women
2003 saw AI increase its work in opposing violations of women's rights and exploring the effects of gender-based violence in the home and the community committed by private individuals and groups as well as by agents of the state. AI continued to work to highlight its concerns on gender-based violence in states as diverse as Afghanistan, the DRC and Iraq.

One of the key concerns emerging from the reports published and research undertaken in 2003 was that incidents of sexual violence and even patterns of widespread and systematic violations do not necessarily come to light in the immediate aftermath of the event. Disclosure of abuse sometimes takes many years to surface.

A number of factors – such as discrimination, stigma or even the threat of being killed by their own communities – may prevent women from making public their grievances. Indifferent or ineffective justice systems, repressive governments and the lack of a public demand for accountability may also cause many years to lapse before women demand redress. The lapse of time may raise serious concerns about the possibility of fair trial for individuals accused of such abuses. However, where the state is directly implicated there can be no such concern. The Japanese state was directly involved in the sexual slavery of many thousands of so-called "comfort women" during the Second World War, and in June AI publicly expressed its support for the right of redress of surviving "comfort women" from the Japanese state. However, in April the Supreme Court of Japan dismissed an appeal filed by a group of South Korean "comfort women" demanding compensation from the Japanese government.

In July AI published a report on allegations that British soldiers had raped hundreds of Kenyan women in the 1960s and 1970s in areas of central Kenya which were used as training grounds by the British Army. AI called for a public judicial inquiry into what appeared to be a pattern of state indifference to persistent contemporary complaints.

Even where there has been timely and persistent demand for redress the state has failed to act effectively. The scale of violence and the systematic failure of the state to ensure safety for and the protection of the rights of women and girls in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua, northern Mexico, over the past 10 years were the subject of a major AI report published in August. The report also highlighted the role of globalization. Manufacturing industries set up in the free trade zone, where Ciudad Juárez is situated, acted as a magnet for women seeking work and led to an influx of migrants from poorer regions of Mexico. However, the environment created is one characterized by a lack of regulation and the absence of the rule of law in which hundreds of women have been killed. The women's movement and human rights organizations, and particularly the relatives of missing and murdered women, have continued a heroic struggle to demand proper investigations and to hold the state accountable for its failure to prevent or punish these crimes effectively. The intense national and international pressure on the case – including AI's campaigning on the basis of the report and a visit to the country by AI's Secretary General, Irene Khan, to meet with senior officials and President Vicente Fox – led to a number of important government initiatives to tackle the situation. However, there is a long way to go before the women of Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua are assured of justice and safety.

In December, AI published a report on the psychological, social and economic effects on women whose husbands had "disappeared" after being arrested by the security forces in the Casamance region of Senegal. The study showed clearly the aftereffects of unacknowledged deaths in the absence of judicial redress, emotional closure and economic security in the form of pension or financial compensation. The report also highlighted the cases of women rape survivors who were denied appropriate physical and psychological care as well as judicial redress.

In early 2003, AI published an account of sexual violence against women in custody in Turkey. The organization also focused its efforts on detailing the consequences for communities when violence is perpetrated by state officials. It urged the Turkish government, police and judiciary to deal effectively with violence against women in custody.

AI is also seeking to bring to public attention the effect on women of the widespread arrest and detention without charge or trial of hundreds of men in many countries across the world as part of the "war on terror".

The state of insecurity following military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq has had particularly severe implications for the safety of women and girls. Although the situations in the two countries are quite different, the collapse of state institutions has meant that the threat to women of violence in the community, whether committed by armed groups or their own families, has intensified. In Afghanistan, some women in such circumstances were also at risk of being killed if released. AI called for protection and shelter capacity to be developed as an alternative to detention for women and girls accused of zina crimes and at risk of violence from their families.

AI urged that the new authorities in Afghanistan and Iraq ensure that laws to protect the rights of all citizens, and in particular women and girls, were enacted and enforced.

In Africa, AI reported widespread abuses against women, including killings, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence. The conflict in the DRC, which has seen more than three million people killed, witnessed among the highest number of mass rapes committed anywhere in the world. AI called for cases to be investigated by the DRC authorities and the International Criminal Court Prosecutor.

An AI report on child soldiers in the DRC highlighted the appalling toll the conflict has had on women and girls. Many girl soldiers testified that they were abducted and forced to join an armed group to fight on the front lines and most girls reported being raped and sexually exploited by their commanders and other soldiers in their units.

In the Occupied Territories and the DRC there is some evidence that not only do women in conflict situations face rising levels of state violence or violence at the hands of combatants, but they also face increased violence in the family.

Another developing aspect of AI's work is helping to expose the health consequences of violence against women, particularly in the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Southern and East Africa, and to lobby for increased access to appropriate care and treatment as well as access to justice. International and local campaigns by other organizations have focused with increasing success on the non-discriminatory delivery of vital medicine and medical services. AI will continue to monitor the curtailment of civil and political rights and attacks on human rights defenders, including health care providers, trying to spread information about safe-sex practices or ensure access to necessary healthcare.

AI believes that the criminalization of consensual sexual relations between adults is completely unjustified and adopts as prisoners of conscience those imprisoned on such grounds. AI's work has highlighted the application of the death penalty in Nigeria where women who become pregnant outside marriage may face the death penalty under certain laws enacted in parts of the country. At the 2003 UN Commission on Human Rights, AI lobbied governments to support a resolution sponsored by the government of Brazil stating that sexual orientation should not be a ground for discrimination. The resolution was deferred and AI is committed to supporting this or a similar initiative in 2004.

AI continues to campaign to hold states responsible for abuses committed by private individuals where the state has not taken appropriate action to bring the perpetrators to justice or to protect the victims. In 2003, AI Spain issued a report – There is No Excuse – which analysed the gaps and failures in the state's legislation and provision for women who face violence from their intimate partners.

In the UK, AI activists examined the state's denial of resources to refugee women facing domestic violence and to women whose citizenship status is insecure and dependent on an existing marriage.

AI continues to monitor legislation on domestic violence and sexual offences in many countries. It has already commented on the standards required to uphold the human rights of women in new legislation or draft constitutions drawn up in post-conflict Afghanistan and Iraq, and in Turkey, Swaziland and South Africa. AI will promote the International Criminal Court's definition of rape and its incorporation into domestic legislation. AI will also continue to campaign for states to ratify relevant international treaties, such as the Optional Protocol to the UN Women's Convention.

In 2004, AI will launch a global campaign to Stop Violence against Women. The campaign will concentrate on violence in the family and in conflict and post-conflict situations. It will enable AI members to work on an interrelated network of themes, to strengthen the gender dimensions of work which is already under way and to examine and challenge the multiple forms of discrimination faced by women who experience gender-based violence.

The campaign Control Arms, launched by AI, Oxfam and IANSA in October in 63 countries worldwide also provides an opportunity to link increasing militarization and the spread of small arms and other conventional weapons to communities with human rights abuses and in particular with violence against women.

Upholding the rights of refugees and migrants
Migration has always been an essential part of the human condition. It has been characterized by a mixture of motives – some related to social and economic rights and dynamics, and others associated with forced flight from armed conflict and human rights abuses. Among the global population of 6.3 billion people, there are an estimated 175 million migrants including over 14 million refugees and just over 1 million asylum-seekers. There are also some 25 million internally displaced people around the world.

In some respects, movement has become more available for many. For those that the global economy favours, extensive possibilities have opened up. Legal migration options for others have, however, become ever more restrictive, and the alternatives – such as people smuggling and trafficking – remain extremely treacherous. Although only about three per cent of the world's population lives outside their country of origin, the global migration dynamic has rapidly become one of the most highly visible features of today's world.

The debate relating to the rights of refugees, migrants and displaced people has become increasingly controversial and polarized over recent years and has captured a disproportionate and unjustified amount of negative media coverage. The political will to protect refugees has seen a sharp decline over the last decade and 2003 was no exception.

Popular concerns over perceived threats to identity or ways of life in the face of rising immigration have been readily stoked by many politicians. Xenophobic and racist sentiments have featured in both developed and developing countries' responses to migration and refugee movements.

Whatever politicians decide, the reality is that migrants will continue to cross borders – with or without authorization. Some will seek to access asylum procedures. Restrictive migration control measures and security measures targeting foreign nationals risk forcing ever more people "underground" and depriving them of legal protection. Those "uprooted" from their homes are likely to experience increased vulnerability to a wide variety of human rights abuses. Those who are forced, in the absence of legal channels, to turn to smugglers and traffickers will be among those who are particularly vulnerable.

In meeting the challenges that lie ahead, and in an effort to lay the groundwork for effective advocacy for change over the coming decade, AI's work in 2003 sought to identify and highlight some key areas of law and policy that continue to impact negatively on the rights of people on the move, whether refugees, asylum-seekers or migrants.

For example, following recent changes in government in Afghanistan and Iraq, some states sought to pave the way for premature returns of Afghan and Iraqi refugees and asylum-seekers, despite the fact that security and human rights conditions were far from conducive to return. AI expressed concern about the timing of returns and whether they were, or would be, voluntary and sustainable. AI emphasized in particular that where conditions in a country change as a result of the violent overthrow of a regime, safety, security and human rights conditions should be even more cautiously assessed precisely because it is so difficult to make accurate assessments of the durability of change.

In Côte d'Ivoire, xenophobic sentiments were a key cause of the year-long conflict targeting not only Liberian and other refugees, but also migrant workers from neighbouring countries such as Burkina Faso. Many Burkinabè had been resident in Côte d'Ivoire for generations. Since the crisis began in September 2002, many have been forced to leave their homes and some fled Côte d'Ivoire for their country of origin where they had no meaningful social or economic links. Sent to a country which many had never even visited, they found themselves in the extraordinary position of being in a refugee-like situation, yet in their country of origin. AI documented the risks to foreign nationals in the context of a conflict fuelled by xenophobia, and raised concerns about legal, policy and practical protection gaps for refugees and migrant workers forcibly displaced by the conflict.

In early 2003 the UK, the European Union (EU) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) put forward different but related proposals to establish extra-territorial mechanisms for processing the claims of asylum-seekers arriving in countries inside the EU. These would be closed centres to which certain asylum-seekers would be transferred and their claims considered. The UK proposal – the most controversial of the three – was to locate the centres outside the EU and was clearly designed to circumvent international legal obligations to protect refugees. Deeply concerned that a slightly modified form of Australia's controversial "Pacific Solution" would be repeated on the margins of the EU, and that compromise proposals would not sufficiently mitigate the manifest threat to the institution of asylum, in June AI published a report highlighting its fears ahead of the EU Heads of State Summit in Thessaloniki, Greece, and a key UNHCR-hosted meeting (the High Commissioner's Forum). There were clear indications that AI's intervention influenced decisions by a number of states about whether and how to proceed with such "new approaches".

As industrialized countries continue to look for new and creative ways to avoid their obligations to refugees, they are giving increasing prominence to the notion that protection can be denied in those countries because, it is claimed, they could have found "effective protection" elsewhere. On this basis, some states are seeking to shape the concept of "effective protection" to enable them to return asylum-seekers to countries where they first fled or to countries through which they travelled. AI believes that there is a continuing need for clarity on both the doctrine and the reality of "effective protection" of refugees and to ensure that the doctrine is not shaped "down" to fit the reality. AI will continue to advocate an approach which is consistent with human rights principles.

It is increasingly evident that there is a pressing need to expand the focus of AI's work to encompass the promotion and protection of the rights of migrants in order to challenge the way in which many states label people in an effort to define away recognition – both political and legal – of their basic human rights.

Refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants continue to face human rights abuses at the point of departure, transit, arrival, stay or return. The most common abuses are discrimination, in particular on the basis of racism and xenophobia, arbitrary detention, and various forms of exploitation.

Since the end of the Cold War, the role of economic, social and cultural factors as contributory causes of conflict and flight has become more and more evident. These rights are also increasingly becoming issues in countries of asylum and transit. For example, countries such as Australia, Denmark and the UK have undermined the right to an adequate standard of living for asylum-seekers and migrants by adopting deliberately harsh policies in the name of deterrence.

The rapid decline in the political will to protect refugees, exacerbated in a number of key states by a decline in the will to protect human rights in general and those of foreign nationals in particular, represents an enormous challenge for the human rights movement.

The task facing AI and others is to persuade politicians, policy makers and the general public of the urgent need to defend the institution of asylum; to combat discrimination against refugees and migrants and to promote their rights, including economic, social and cultural rights; and to ensure that the international community identifies and implements effective mechanisms for securing protection of the rights of refugees and migrants, and for providing remedies where such rights are abused.




Photo captions and box text:


"Humanity is in need of AI more than at any point in the past because human rights violations are not just limited to authoritarian regimes." Riad al-Turk, a prisoner of conscience held in solitary confinement in Syria for more than 18 years, during a visit with his wife, Asmah al-Feisal, to AI's offices in the UK. He spoke with gratitude of the solidarity shown by AI members towards him and other prisoners in Syria's jails. "AI's support was like alive and vivid in our souls"@AI

A Uighur woman walks past a construction site in the city of Kasghar in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in China. The Chinese authorities continue to use the "war against terror" to justify harsh repression in Xinjiang, resulting in serious human rights violations against the predominantly Muslim ethnic Uighur community. Repression has been manifested through assaults on Uighur culture, such as the closure of several mosques. As part of China's economic development, Uighur communities have also been subjected to substantial reconstruction of their neighbourhoods and towns. This is viewed by many as another attempt to dilute their way of life and cultural heritage. @Reuters

A demonstrator holds a placard reading "Let's stop war in Chechnya".
Hundreds of demonstrators marched through Moscow, Russian Federation, in February calling for an end to the armed conflict in Chechnya.@Reuters

During 2003 AI, Oxfam and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) launched the Control Arms campaign for effective arms control to make people genuinely safer from the threat of armed violence.

A father cries over the bodies of his children in al-Hilla, Iraq, April 2003..Survivors of the attack on al-Hilla described how the explosives fell "like grapes" from the sky. The use of cluster bombs in al-Hilla by US/UK forces may have amounted to indiscriminate attacks and therefore a grave violation of international humanitarian law.@ Reuters

AI representatives from 51 countries at the UK Prime Minister's residence express concern over reported abuses of humanitarian law in the war on Iraq, March 2003. @AI

A demonstrator from the Ruta Pacífica, a Colombian feminist peace movement, during a minute's silence for the dead in Colombia's war.©Paul Smith/Panos Pictures

Over 200 children stage a bicycle parade as part of anti-gas pipeline protests in Songkhla province, Thailand, June 2003. Residents living in the area of the Thai- Malaysia gas pipeline project protested against the goverment's plan, which they said would damage their livelihoods.@AP

"Every time I drive on these roads and see a tank in the distance I wonder if I'll make it home to see the children again. I have a permit, for a month, but if the soldiers shoot at me and I am killed the permit won't do any good to me or my family. They can always say I was a terrorist, or that I did something suspicious that made them think I was a danger. And even if they admit making a mistake and they apologize, what good would that be if I am dead? So I try to avoid travelling as much as possible." A Palestinian human rights lawyer working under restrictions on freedom of movement imposed by the Israeli authorities in the Occupied Territories

Women using an official "writer" to help with their petition to a court in Kabul, Afghanistan.. Women victims of crime are routinely denied access to justice in Afghanistan. AI stressed the need for measures to protect the rights of women to be built into legal and constitutional reform. © AI

AI members stage a protest outside the residence of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair during a visit by US President George W. Bush in November.Demonstrators sought to highlight violations of the fundamental human rights of hundreds of detainees held by the US authorities in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.@Reuters

( Inset) AUS soldier watches over prisoners in Guantánamo Bay. @ US Department of Defence

Leroy Orange, a wrongfully convicted death row inmate pardoned by Governor George Ryan, acknowledges applause during a speech by the Governor at Northwestern University Law School, Chicago, Illinois, USA, in January 2003 @AP.

In 2003 at least 1,146 people were executed in 28 countries. At least 2,756 people were sentenced to death in 63 countries. These figures include only cases known to AI; the true figures were certainly higher.
As in previous years, the vast majority of executions worldwide were carried out in a tiny handful of countries. In 2003, 84 per cent of all known executions took place in China, Iran, the USA and Viet Nam.

Palestinian children on their way to school having to sneak through the wall put up by the Israeli army in the Occupied Territories. The wall/fence has cut off hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from work, education and health care facilities and from their relatives and friends. @Eyal Dor-Ofer

Some 15,000 people listen to the Chair of AI's International Executive Committee at the World Social Forum, Porto Alegre, Brazil.@AI

South Korean former "comfort women" used as sex slaves by the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War demand compensation and redress @AP.

Agnes Siyiankoi, the first Maasai woman to take her husband to court for beating her. In October 1998 a Kenyan magistrate found her husband guilty as charged and sentenced him to six months' imprisonment and a fine. For having the courage to speak out, Agnes Siyiankoi was severely criticized and labelled a traitor to Maasai culture.@AP

A woman in Côte d'Ivoire whose house was destroyed in the conflict which erupted in September 2002 @Sevi Gbekide/Panapress

AI members from 22 countries in Asia take part in a march to Australian Prime Minister John Howard's residence in Sydney, July 2003.Demonstrators demanded the release of child refugees and asylum-seekers held in Pacific island camps. @Reuters

"I am very grateful for all the help that Amnesty International gave me during my long detention. I felt very close to members from all the sections of AI in the world through the cards sending encouragement ..
It's perhaps impossible to imagine, even for one second, how those cards brought me strength, moral comfort, protection and happiness. The letters landed on the desks of all the relevant officials calling for either my release or my transfer to a medical centre which I had been refused… These letters were my great protection...
I will always be grateful to the friends and members of AI's sections and the team at the International Secretariat of AI. I reserve particular thanks for the French section who, on two occasions, sent me financial help without which I would not have been able to survive in prison because we had to pay for our own medical care..."
Letter from N'sii Luanda Shandwe, Democratic Republic of the Congo ©AI

WHAT IS AI?
Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide voluntary activist movement working for human rights. It is independent of any government, political persuasion or religious creed. AI does not support or oppose the views of the victims whose rights it seeks to protect. It is concerned solely with the impartial protection of human rights.

AI mobilizes volunteer activists – people who give freely of their time and energy in solidarity with the victims of human rights abuses. AI has a varied network of members and supporters around the world. At the latest count there were more than 1.8 million members, supporters and subscribers in over 150 countries and territories in every region of the world. AI members come from many different backgrounds, with widely different political and religious beliefs, united by a determination to work for a world where everyone enjoys human rights.

AI members may be organized in one of several thousand groups in local communities, schools and colleges in more than 100 countries and territories. Tens of thousands of members also participate in networks working on particular countries and themes or using particular campaigning techniques. Listed below are the addresses of recognized AI sections in 53 countries and territories and pre-section AI structures in 22 countries and territories; sections and structures coordinate the work of AI members. Also listed are other AI offices around the world; these offices exist for a variety of purposes including research, lobbying, core language translation and coordination at a regional level.

What does AI do?

AI forms a global community of human rights defenders with the principles of international solidarity, effective action for the individual victim, global coverage, the universality and indivisibility of human rights, impartiality and independence, and democracy and mutual respect.

AI's vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.

AI's mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights. In this context:

It campaigns for an end to political killings and "disappearances".

It opposes without reservation the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

It campaigns for perpetrators of human rights abuses to be brought to justice.

It seeks the release of prisoners of conscience.
These are people detained for their political, religious or other conscientiously held beliefs or because of their ethnic origin, sex, colour, language, national or social origin, economic status, birth or other status – who have not used or advocated violence.

It works for fair and prompt trials for political prisoners.

It campaigns for an end to violence against women.

It opposes certain grave abuses of economic, social and cultural rights.

It seeks to persuade companies and economic institutions to respect and promote human rights.

It opposes abuses by non-state actors where the state has failed to fulfil its obligations to provide effective protection.

It works against grave abuses of the right to freedom from discrimination.

It seeks to assist asylum-seekers who are at risk of being returned to a country where they might suffer serious abuses of their human rights.

It calls on governments to refrain from unlawful killings in armed conflict.

It calls on armed political groups to end abuses such as the detention of prisoners of conscience, hostagetaking, torture and unlawful killings.

It campaigns for an end to the use of child soldiers.

AI also seeks to:
cooperate with other non-governmental organizations, the UN and regional intergovernmental organizations;

ensure control of international military, security and police relations, to prevent human rights abuses

organize human rights education and awarenessraising programs.

AI: a democratic movement
AI is a democratic, self-governing movement. Major policy decisions are taken by an International Council made up of representatives from all national sections.

The Council meets every two years, and has the power to amend the Statute which governs AI's work and methods. Copies of the Statute are available from the International Secretariat.

The Council elects an International Executive Committee of volunteers which carries out its decisions and appoints the movement's Secretary General, who also heads up the International Secretariat and is the movement's chief spokesperson.

The movement's Secretary General is Irene Khan (Bangladesh), and the members of its International Executive Committee are Margaret Bedggood (New Zealand), Alvaro Briceño (Venezuela), Ian Gibson (Australia), Paul Hoffman (USA), Mariam Lam (Senegal), Claire Paponneau (France), Marian Pink (Austria), Hanna Roberts (Sweden) and Jaap Rosen Jacobson (Netherlands).

Finances
AI's national sections and local volunteer groups and networks are primarily responsible for funding the movement. No funds are sought or accepted from governments for AI's work investigating and campaigning against human rights violations. The donations that sustain this work come from the organization's members and the public. The international budget adopted by AI for the financial year April 2003 to March 2004 was £25,375,000. This sum represents approximately one quarter of the estimated income likely to be raised during the year by the movement's national sections to finance their campaigning and other activities.

AI's ultimate goal is to end human rights violations, but so long as they continue AI tries to provide practical help to the victims. Relief (financial assistance) is an important aspect of this work. Sometimes AI provides financial assistance directly to individuals. At other times, it works through local bodies such as local and national human rights organizations so as to ensure that resources are used as effectively as possible for those in most need.

During the financial year April 2003 to March 2004, the International Secretariat of AI distributed an estimated £53,000 in relief to victims of human rights violations such as prisoners of conscience and recently released prisoners of conscience and their dependants, and for the medical treatment of torture victims. In addition, the organization's sections and groups distributed a further substantial amount, much of it in the form of modest payments by local groups to their adopted prisoners of conscience and dependent families.

Information about AI is available from national section offices and from: International Secretariat, Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street, London WC1X 0DW, United Kingdom.

AI online — www.amnesty.org
AI's international website is dedicated to providing AI's human rights resources on the Internet and enabling people to take action to prevent human rights abuses. The site contains more than 38,000 pages.

During 2003 there were approximately 15,000 visits to the site per day and there were over 50 million page views over the year.

The website holds most AI reports published since 1996 detailing AI's concerns about human rights issues around the world. Additionally, there is information on the latest campaigns and appeals for action to help protect human rights.

During 2003 increased international resources were devoted to web development, resulting in an improved website with better accessibility, more multilingual content and more action tools to encourage AI supporters to participate in campaigning. The website is also available in: French (http://www.amnesty.org/francais), Spanish (http://www.amnesty.org/espanol), and Arabic (http://www.amnesty.org/arabic) During 2003 the website featured a number of appeals on behalf of individual prisoners of conscience, victims of torture and prisoners facing the death penalty, as well as campaigns on issues such as torture, the arms trade, and on economic relations and human rights. Special web pages and multimedia content were also created to highlight the continuing human rights crises in specific countries, including Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Iraq and Myanmar. Over 40,000 people used the website to sign a petition to stop the funding of armed groups in the DRC. For the most recent appeals please visit: http://www.amnesty.org/actnow/ In October 2003, AI, Oxfam and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) launched a worldwide campaign – Control Arms (http://www.controlarms.org) – to press governments worldwide to introduce a binding arms trade treaty. At the heart of the online campaign is the Million Faces Petition (http://www.controlarms.org/million_faces) which aims to collect one million photographs and self portraits by 2006 as a powerful visual message of support for tougher arms controls.

AI's campaign for justice in the Russian Federation (http://www.amnesty.org/russia) continued to be an online success, with almost 650,000 page views over the course of the year. A dedicated Russian language website (http://www.amnesty.org.ru) was also launched to promote respect for human rights in the Russian Federation.

In November a new website for the Asia-Pacific region was launched (http://asiapacific.amnesty.org).

AI's international website also contains contact details for AI's offices worldwide (http://www.amnesty.org/contact/) and links to thousands of human rights-related websites.

AI sections
Algeria Amnesty International, BP 377, Alger, RP 16004 e-mail: amnestyalgeria@hotmail.com
Argentina Amnistía Internacional, Av. Rivadavia 2206 - P4A, C1032ACO Ciudad de Buenos Aires e-mail: info@amnesty.org.ar http://www.amnesty.org.ar
Australia Amnesty International, Locked Bag 23, Broadway, New South Wales 2008 e-mail: adminaia@amnesty.org.au http://www.amnesty.org.au
Austria Amnesty International, Moeringgasse 10, A-1150 Vienna e-mail: info@amnesty.at http://www.amnesty.at
Belgium Amnesty International (Flemish-speaking), Kerkstraat 156, 2060 Antwerpen e-mail: directie@aivl.be http://www.aivl.be
Belgium Amnesty International (francophone), rue Berckmans 9, 1060 Bruxelles e-mail: aibf@aibf.be http://www.aibf.be
Benin Amnesty International, 01 BP 3536, Cotonou e-mail: aibenin@leland.bj
Bermuda Amnesty International, PO Box HM 2136, Hamilton HM JX e-mail: aibda@ibl.bm
Canada Amnesty International (English-speaking), 312 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 1H9 e-mail: info@amnesty.ca http://www.amnesty.ca
Canada Amnistie Internationale (francophone), 6250 boulevard Monk, Montréal, Québec, H4E 3H7 e-mail: info@amnistie.qc.ca http://www.amnistie.qc.ca
Chile Amnistía Internacional, Oficina Nacional, Huelén 188 A, 750-0617 Providencia, Santiago e-mail: info@amnistia.cl http://www.amnistia.cl
Côte d'Ivoire Amnesty International, 04 BP 895, Abidjan 04 e-mail: amnestycotedivoire@aviso.ci
Denmark Amnesty International, Gammeltorv 8, 5, 1457 Copenhagen K. e-mail: amnesty@amnesty.dk http://www.amnesty.dk
Ecuador Amnistía Internacional, Av. 10 de Agosto N 14-43 y Checa Edificio UCICA, Piso 8, Ofic. #807, CP 17-15-240-C, Quito e-mail: admin-ec@amnesty.org http://www.amnistia.org.ec
Faroe Islands Amnesty International, PO Box 1075, FR-110 Tórshavn e-mail: amnesty@amnesty.fo http://www.amnesty.fo
Finland Amnesty International, Ruoholahdenkatu 24, D 00180 Helsinki e-mail: amnesty@amnesty.fi http://www.amnesty.fi
France Amnesty International, 76 Bd de La Villette, 75940 Paris, Cédex 19 e-mail: info@amnesty.asso.fr http://www.amnesty.asso.fr
Germany Amnesty International, Heerstrasse 178, 53111 Bonn e-mail: info@amnesty.de http://www.amnesty.de
Ghana Amnesty International, Private Mail Bag, Kokomlemle, Accra - North e-mail: amnesty@ighmail.com
Greece Amnesty International, Sina 30, 106 72 Athens e-mail: info@amnesty.gr http://www.amnesty.gr
Guyana Amnesty International, PO Box 101679, Georgetown
Hong Kong Amnesty International, Unit B3, Best-O-Best Commercial Centre, 32-36 Ferry Street, Kowloon e-mail: admin-hk@amnesty.org http://www.amnesty.org.hk
Iceland Amnesty International, PO Box 618, 121 Reykjavík e-mail: amnesty@rhi.hi.is http://www.amnesty.is
Ireland Amnesty International, Sean MacBride House, 48 Fleet Street, Dublin 2 e-mail: info@amnesty.iol.ie http://www.amnesty.ie
Israel Amnesty International, PO Box 14179, Tel Aviv 61141 e-mail: amnesty@netvision.net.il http://www.amnesty.org.il
Italy Amnesty International, Via Giovanni Battista De Rossi 10, 00161 Roma e-mail: info@amnesty.it http://www.amnesty.it
Japan Amnesty International, 2-7-7F Kanda-Tsukasa-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-0048 e-mail: info@amnesty.or.jp http://www.amnesty.or.jp
Korea, (Republic of) Amnesty International Gwanghwamun P.O.Box 2045, Chongno-gu, Seoul, Rep of Korea 110-620 e-mail:amnesty@amnesty.or.kr http://www.amnesty.or.kr
Luxembourg Amnesty International, Boîte Postale 1914, 1019 Luxembourg e-mail: amnesty@pt.lu http://www.amnesty.lu
Mauritius Amnesty International, BP 69, Rose-Hill e-mail: amnestymtius@intnet.mu
Mexico Amnistía Internacional, Zacatecas 230, Oficina 605, Colonia Roma Sur, Delegación Cuahutemoc, CP 06700, Mexico DF e-mail: comitedirectivo@amnistia.org.mx http://www.amnistia.org.mx
Morocco Amnesty International, Place d'Angleterre, Rue Souissra, Immeuble No. 11, Appt No. 1, Rabat - L'Océan e-mail: admin-ma@amnesty.org
Nepal Amnesty International, PO Box 135, Balaju, Kathmandu e-mail: amnesty@ccsl.com.np http://www.amnestynepal.org
Netherlands Amnesty International, PO Box 1968, 1000 BZ Amsterdam e-mail: amnesty@amnesty.nl http://www.amnesty.nl
New Zealand Amnesty International, PO Box 5300, Wellesley Street, Auckland e-mail: campaign@amnesty.org.nz http://www.amnesty.org.nz
Norway Amnesty International, PO Box 702, Sentrum, 0106 Oslo e-mail: info@amnesty.no http://www.amnesty.no
Peru Amnistía Internacional, Enrique Palacios 735-A, Miraflores, Lima e-mail: admin-pe@amnesty.org http://amnistia.org.pe
Philippines Amnesty International, 17-B Kasing Kasing Street, Corner K-8th, Kamias, Quezon City e-mail: amnestypilipinas@meridiantelekoms.net
Poland Amnesty International, ul. Jaókowa Dolina 4, 80-252 Gdañsk e-mail: amnesty@amnesty.org.pl http://www.amnesty.org.pl
Portugal Amnistia Internacional, Rua Fialho de Almeida 13-1, PT-1070-128 Lisboa e-mail: aiportugal@amnistia-internacional.pt http://www.amnistia-internacional.pt
Puerto Rico Amnistía Internacional, Calle El Roble 54-Altos, Oficina 11, Río Piedras, 00925 e-mail: amnistiapr@amnestypr.org
Senegal Amnesty International, BP 269 Dakar Colobane e-mail: aisenegal@sentoo.sn
Sierra Leone Amnesty International, PMB 1021, 16 Pademba Road, Freetown e-mail: aislf@sierratel.sl
Slovenia Amnesty International, Beethovnova 7, 1000 Ljubljana e-mail: amnesty.slo@guest.arnes.si http://www.amnesty.si
Spain Amnistía Internacional, Apdo 50318, 28080 Madrid e-mail: amnistia.internacional@a-i.es http://www.es. amnesty.org
Sweden Amnesty International, PO Box 4719, S-11692 Stockholm e-mail: info@amnesty.se http://www.amnesty.se
Switzerland Amnesty International, PO Box 3001, Bern e-mail: info@amnesty.ch http://www.amnesty.ch
Taiwan Amnesty International, No. 89, 7th floor #1, Chung Cheng Two Road, Kaohsiung e-mail: aitaiwan@seed.net.tw http://www.aitaiwan.org.tw
Tanzania Amnesty International, Luther House 3rd Floor, PO Box 4331, Dar es Salaam e-mail: aitanz@simbanet.net
Togo Amnesty International, BP 20013, Lomé e-mail: aitogo@cafe.tg
Tunisia Amnesty International, 67 rue Oum Kalthoum, 3ème étage, Escalier B, 1000 Tunis e-mail: admin-tn@amnesty.org
United Kingdom Amnesty International, 99-119 Rosebery Avenue, London EC1R 4RE e-mail: info@amnesty.org.uk http://www.amnesty.org.uk
United States of America Amnesty International, 322 8th Ave, New York, NY 10001 e-mail: admin-us@aiusa.org http://www.amnestyusa.org
Uruguay Amnistía Internacional, Colonia 871, apto. 5, CP 11100, Montevideo e-mail: amnistia@chasque.apc.org http://www.amnistiauruguay.org.uy
Venezuela Amnistía Internacional, Apartado Postal 5110, Carmelitas, Caracas 1010A e-mail: admin-ve@amnesty.org http://www.amnistia.int.ve

AI structures
Belarus Amnesty International, PO Box 10P, 246050 Gomel e-mail: amnesty@tut.by
Bolivia Amnistía Internacional, Casilla 10607, La Paz e-mail: perescar@ceibo.entelnet.bo Burkina Faso Amnesty International, 08 BP 11344, Ouagadougou e-mail: aburkina@sections.amnesty.org
Croatia Amnesty International, Marti½eva 24, 10000 Zagreb e-mail: admin@amnesty.hr http://www.amnesty.hr
Curaçao Amnesty International, PO Box 3676, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles e-mail: eisdencher@interneeds.net
Czech Republic Amnesty International, Palackého 9, 110 00 Praha 1 e-mail: amnesty@amnesty.cz http://www.amnesty.cz
Gambia Amnesty International, PO Box 1935, Banjul e-mail: amnesty@gamtel.gm
Hungary Amnesty International, Rózsa u. 44. II/4, Budapest 1064 e-mail: info@amnesty.hu http://www.amnesty.hu
India Amnesty International, C-161, 4th Floor, Guatam Nagar, New Delhi 110-049 e-mail: admin-in@amnesty.org
Malaysia Amnesty International, E6, 3rd Floor, Bangunan Khas, Jalan 8/1E, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor e-mail: amnesty@tm.net.my http://www.crosswinds.net/~aimalaysia/
Mali Amnesty International, BP E 3885, Bamako e-mail: amnesty-mli@djom.net.ml
Moldova Amnesty International, PO Box 209, MD-2012 Chiôinäu e-mail: amnestyrm@araxinfo.com
Mongolia Amnesty International, PO Box 180, Ulaanbaatar 21 0648 e-mail: aimncc@magicnet.mn http://www.amnesty.mn
Pakistan Amnesty International, B-12, Shelezon Centre, Gulsan-E-Iqbal, Block 15, University Road, Karachi - 75300 e-mail: amnesty@cyber.net.pk http://www.amnestypakistan.org
Paraguay Amnistía Internacional, Tte. Zotti No. 352 e/Hassler y Boggiani, Asunción e-mail: ai-info@py.amnesty.org http://www.amnistia.org.py
Slovakia Amnesty International, Staromestská 6/D, 811 03 Bratislava e-mail: amnesty@amnesty.sk http://www.amnesty.sk
South Africa Amnesty International, PO Box 29083, Sunnyside 0132, Pretoria, Gauteng e-mail: info@amnesty.org.za http://www.amnesty.org.za
Thailand Amnesty International, 641/8 Ladprao Road, Ladyao Chatujak, Bangkok 10900 e-mail: info@amnesty.or.th http://www.amnesty.or.th
Turkey Amnesty International, Muradiye Bayiri Sok, Acarman ap. 50/1, Tesvikiye 80200, Istanbul e-mail: amnesty@superonline.com http://www.amnesty-turkiye.org
Ukraine Amnesty International, PO Box 60, Kiev 01015 e-mail: office@amnesty.org.ua
Zambia Amnesty International, PO Box 40991, Mufulira e-mail: azambia@sections.amnesty.org
Zimbabwe Amnesty International, Office 25 E, Bible House, 99 Mbuya Nehanda Street, Harare e-mail: amnestyzimbabwe@yahoo.com

AI groups
There are also AI groups in: Albania, Angola, Aruba, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Grenada, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Lithuania, Malta, Mozambique, Palestinian Authority, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia and Montenegro, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Yemen

AI offices
International Secretariat (IS) Amnesty International, Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street, London WC1X 0DW, United Kingdom e-mail: amnestyis@amnesty.org http://www.amnesty.org

ARABAI (Arabic translation unit) c/o International Secretariat, Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street, London WC1X 0DW, United Kingdom e-mail: arabai@amnesty.org http://www.amnesty-arabic.org

Editorial de Amnistía Internacional (EDAI) Calle Valderribas 13, 28007 Madrid, Spain e-mail: mlleo@amnesty.org http://www.edai.org

Éditions Francophones d'Amnesty International (EFAI) 17 rue du Pont-aux-Choux, 75003 Paris, France e-mail: ai-efai@amnesty.org http://www.efai.org

IS Geneva — UN Representative Office Amnesty International, 22 rue du Cendrier, 4ème étage, CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland e-mail: gvunpost@amnesty.org

IS New York — UN Representative Office Amnesty International, 777 UN Plaza, 6 Floor, New York, NY 10017, USA e-mail: ai-un-ny@amnesty.org

European Union (EU) Office Amnesty International, Rue d'Arlon 37-41, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium e-mail: amnesty-eu@aieu.be http://www.amnesty-eu.org

IS Dakar — Development Field Office Amnesty International, Amadou Shour, Sicap Liberté II, Villa 1608, Dakar, Senegal e-mail: ashour@amnesty.org

IS Kampala — Africa Regional Office Amnesty International, Plot 20A, Kawalya Kaggwa Close, Kololo, Uganda e-mail: admin-kp@amnesty.org

IS Pretoria — Development Field Office Amnesty International, Njeri Kabeberi, PO Box 29083, Sunnyside 0132, Gauteng, South Africa e-mail: nkabeber@amnesty.org

Caribbean Regional Office Amnesty International, PO Box 1912, St. George's, Grenada e-mail: amnestycro@amnesty.org

IS San José — Americas Regional Office Amnistía Internacional, 75 metros al norte de la Iglesia de Fatima, Los Yoses, San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica e-mail: admin-cr@amnesty.org

IS Hong Kong — Asia Pacific Regional Office Amnesty International, Unit D, 3F, Best-O-Best Commercial Centre, 32-36 Ferry Street, Kowloon, Hong Kong e-mail: admin-ap@amnesty.org

IS Moscow — Russia Resource Centre Amnesty International, PO Box 212, Moscow 121019, Russian Federation e-mail: russiaresourcecentre@amnesty.org

IS Paris — Research Office Amnesty International, 76 Bd de la Villette, 75940 Paris, Cédex 19, France e-mail: adminpro@amnesty.org

IS Beirut — Middle East and North Africa Regional Office Amnesty International, PO Box 13-5696, Chouran Beirut 1102 - 2060, Lebanon e-mail: mena@amnesty.org


AI'S APPEALS

The country entries in this report include numerous examples of human rights abuses that AI is dedicated to opposing. AI urges those in authority in all countries where abuses occur to take the steps recommended below. More detailed additional recommendations are included where necessary in the specific country entry.

The right to life and physical integrity
Political killings and 'disappearances'
AI calls on governments to end extrajudicial executions and "disappearances". AI calls for prompt, thorough, independent and effective investigations into political killings and "disappearances", and for the families of the victims to know the fate of their loved ones. AI calls on governments to ensure that those responsible for such human rights violations are brought to justice.

AI calls on governments to:

demonstrate their total opposition to extrajudicial executions and "disappearances" and make clear to security forces that these abuses will not be tolerated in any circumstances;
end secret or incommunicado detention and introduce measures to locate and protect prisoners;
provide effective protection to anyone in danger of extrajudicial execution or "disappearance", including those who have received threats;
ensure that law enforcement officials use force only when strictly required and to the minimum extent necessary – lethal force should be used only when unavoidable to protect life;
ensure strict chain-of-command control of all security forces;
ban "death squads", private armies and paramilitary forces acting outside the official chain of command;
ensure reparations to victims and their families.

Torture and ill-treatment
AI calls on governments to take steps to eradicate torture and ill-treatment. Such steps include initiating impartial, prompt and effective investigations into all allegations of torture and bringing to justice those responsible for torture.

Further safeguards against torture and ill-treatment which AI promotes include:
policies making clear that torture and ill-treatment will never be tolerated;
an end to incommunicado detention, including by giving detainees access to independent medical examination and legal counsel;
abolishing all judicial and administrative corporal punishments;
outlawing the use of confessions extracted under torture as evidence in any proceedings;
independent inspection of all places of detention;
informing detainees of their rights;
human rights training for law enforcement personnel;
compensation, medical treatment and rehabilitation for the victims of torture.

Death penalty
AI calls on governments to abolish the death penalty in law and practice.

Pending abolition, AI calls on governments to commute death sentences, to introduce a moratorium on executions, to respect international standards restricting the scope of the death penalty and to ensure the most rigorous standards for fair trial in capital cases.

Criminal justice issues
Impunity
Impunity literally means exemption from punishment. When used by AI it refers to the failure of the state to redress human rights abuses by bringing suspected perpetrators to justice before courts to determine their innocence or guilt, to discover the truth and to provide full reparations. When human rights crimes go unpunished, they can be repeated without fear.

Impunity denies the victims and their relatives the right to have the truth established and acknowledged, the right to see justice done, and the right to an effective remedy. Impunity deprives whole societies of their right to know the truth about their past, and to protect themselves from any recurrence of oppression in the future.

AI calls on governments to ensure that reports of human rights abuses are promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigated and that those suspected of responsibility are brought to justice in a court of law in accordance with international standards.

AI opposes amnesties for perpetrators of human rights abuses. Only by clarifying the truth about what has happened, establishing accountability for human rights abuses, and bringing to justice those responsible can confidence in the justice system be restored and human rights be guaranteed.

Prisoners of conscience
AI calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience. Prisoners of conscience are people detained anywhere for their political, religious or other conscientiously held beliefs or because of their ethnic origin, sex, colour, language, national or social origin, economic status, birth or other status – who have not used or advocated violence.

Fair trials
AI calls for prisoners whose cases have a political aspect to be given a prompt and fair trial on recognizably criminal charges, or released.

AI calls for trials to meet minimum international standards of fairness. These include, for example, the right to a fair hearing before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal, the right to have adequate time and facilities to prepare a defence, and the right to appeal to a higher tribunal.

Prison conditions
AI calls on governments to ensure that prison conditions do not amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and that they are in line with international human rights standards for the treatment of prisoners.

Economics and human rights protection

Economic, social and cultural rights
As all human rights are indivisible and interdependent, effective work on civil and political rights cannot be conducted without addressing abuses of economic, social and cultural rights. AI is developing a program of work for the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights.

Economic, social and cultural rights are grounded in international law. National jurisprudence in many countries – and trends to include these rights in constitutional reforms – shows that many of these rights can be realized through legal remedies.

Furthermore, numerous international standards permit individuals and groups to present complaints about violations of economic, social and cultural rights to intergovernmental organizations such as the International Labour Organisation, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the regional African and Inter-American systems.

AI activities in this area have included projects relating to the right to health, food, education and employment.

Companies and economic institutions
Economic interests are increasingly influencing and dominating political agendas, and all too often economic development is pursued without paying attention to human rights. AI believes that economic actors (companies, international financial institutions, international and regional economic forums and relevant non-governmental organizations and intergovernmental organizations) have to be made accountable and that they should ensure that their activities do not impair human rights.

AI seeks to increase the number of economic actors agreeing and taking practical measures to protect and promote human rights.

Non-state actors
AI uses the term "non-state actors" to refer to those acting as private individuals or groups, not as representatives of a government or of an armed political group.

Under international human rights standards, governments have a responsibility to respect, protect and fulfil human rights. If a government does not fulfil its obligation to protect and ensure the rights of its people, it becomes legally responsible for its failure to prevent the violation or to respond to it in an appropriate manner. AI may take action when governments breach their duty to safeguard those in their territory from human rights abuses by non-state actors.

AI takes action against abuses by non-state actors:
when the harm they cause is similar in severity and nature to violations that AI would oppose if perpetrated by a government (for example "honour killing", slavery and forced prostitution); and
there is clear evidence that the government has not fulfilled its obligations, under international law, to take the necessary steps to eradicate the abuse.

Such evidence may include failure to punish or prevent the abuses; the absence of legal prohibition or other measures to eradicate the abuses; and failure to provide remedies or compensation to victims.

Discrimination
AI works against grave abuses of the right to freedom from discrimination. Those who are imprisoned solely on grounds such as race, sex, sexual orientation, religion or ethnicity are considered by AI to be prisoners of conscience.

AI calls on all states to take measures to prevent discrimination, not only by their own officials but also by private individuals. States can do this by ratifying international standards against discrimination, such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and by ensuring that national legislation outlaws discrimination. Both these international standards and national laws against discrimination must be fully implemented.

Violence against women

AI campaigns to end violence against women.
AI calls for laws to be adopted and enforced to protect women, to ensure that violence in the family is treated as seriously as assaults in other contexts, and that rape and other violence against women is criminalized.

AI demands the abolition of all laws that:
facilitate impunity for the rape or murder of women;
criminalize consensual sexual relations in private;
restrict a woman's right to choose her partner and restrict women's access to reproductive health care and family planning.

AI calls on national and local authorities to fund and support measures to enable all women to live free from violence, such as programs of civic education, training and systems to support and protect victims of violence and women's human rights defenders.

AI urges governments, financial institutions and corporate actors to counter women's impoverishment by ensuring equal access to economic and social rights, including food, water, property, employment and social entitlements and by safeguarding social safety nets, particularly in times of economic stress and dislocation.

AI demands that states end impunity for violence against women in armed conflict.

AI calls on armed political groups to end violence against women by their members.

Asylum-seekers and refugees
AI calls on governments to ensure that asylum-seekers are not returned to countries where they might suffer violations of their fundamental human rights.

AI calls on governments to ensure that all asylumseekers have access to a fair and impartial individual asylum determination, and to ensure that they are not arbitrarily detained or otherwise put under undue pressure.

Armed conflict
Human rights in wartime
In armed conflict situations, AI continues to oppose human rights violations including the death penalty, torture and ill-treatment, "disappearances", unlawful killings and the imprisonment of prisoners of conscience.

AI takes no position on the reasons behind a particular armed conflict. It is concerned to ensure that the conflict is conducted in accordance with international humanitarian law. AI opposes direct attacks on civilians and indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks, in line with international humanitarian law.

AI does not oppose conscription, except in the case of under 18s, although it insists that conscientious objectors to military service be allowed to perform appropriate alternative civilian service. When such an alternative is not available, and conscientious objectors are imprisoned for their refusal to serve, AI regards them as prisoners of conscience.

Child soldiers
AI campaigns for an end to the recruitment of child soldiers and for the protection of children in armed conflicts. AI opposes both recruitment (voluntary or compulsory) into armed forces and participation in armed conflict by children under 18.

Armed political groups
AI opposes torture, hostage-taking, unlawful killings, and other breaches of international humanitarian law by armed political groups. In opposing these practices, the movement makes its protest known through direct appeals, its own publications and the news media.

Military, security and police (MSP) transfers
AI urges governments to adopt and implement laws and regulations to prohibit the transfer of arms or security equipment or services unless it can be reasonably demonstrated that such transfers will not contribute to serious human rights violations, crimes against humanity or war crimes. In particular, AI calls on all governments to:
support the establishment of suitable mechanisms at the international level to provide effective control of the trade in arms, including an arms trade treaty based upon international human rights and humanitarian law, and to prohibit indiscriminate weapons (e.g. anti-personnel landmines) and weapons of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering;
introduce special legal measures to control the export of foreign licensed arms production, arms brokering and arms trafficking to ensure that such activities do not assist in the violation of human rights;
implement stringent national controls on the transfer and use of security and crime control equipment, including mechanical restraints (e.g.handcuffs) and riot control equipment (e.g. watercannon, plastic and rubber bullets, and tear gas) to prevent such equipment being used for human rights violations;
ban the production, transfer and use of equipment ostensibly for use in law enforcement but whose primary practical use is for the death penalty or for torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (e.g. electric chairs, leg-irons, serrated cuffs, electroshock stun belts);
suspend the transfer and use of security equipment whose effects could pose a substantial risk of human rights abuse (e.g. electro-shock stun guns, pepper sprays, restraint chairs and shackle boards) pending the results of rigorous, independent investigation by experts based on international human rights standards;
establish stringent regulation and monitoring of MSP training to ensure full respect for international human rights standards.

Promotion of human rights
AI calls on states to ratify international and regional human rights instruments without reservations, and calls on all governments to promote and respect the provisions of these instruments.

AI IN ACTION

AI is about achieving change. All activities by AI's members, supporters and staff seek to support the victims of human rights abuses and others working on their behalf and to influence those who have the power to make a difference. To do this AI confronts governments with its research findings; raises awareness of rights and ways to defend them; shows how widely its concerns are shared through millions of letters, e-mails and petitions; uses the media and the Internet to throw light on hidden abuses; and persuades decision-makers and opinion-formers to add their weight to that of millions of human rights activists worldwide.

AI's action is brought to bear in targeted appeals on behalf of individuals in immediate danger and in global campaigns for the systemic change needed to protect millions.

AI action works. For those who have told AI how an Urgent Action saved their lives and for the many others protected by laws or practice reformed only after sustained pressure, AI's work has had a real impact.

This report cannot hope to capture the full range of AI's activities at the international, national or community level. More information about action being taken around the world, and on how supporters can get involved in making a difference, is available from sections and on AI's websites (for contact details and website addresses see What is AI?).

AI visits
During 2003, AI delegates visited 69 countries and territories to conduct research, to meet victims of human rights violations, to observe trials, to contact local human rights activists, and to meet government officials.

Campaign on the Russian Federation
In its year-long worldwide campaign AI highlighted serious violations of human rights in the Russian Federation. During 2003 it published two major reports, 'Dokumenty!' Discrimination on grounds of race in the Russian Federation(AI Index: EUR 46/001/2003) and Rough Justice: The law and human rights in the Russian Federation(AI Index: EUR 46/054/2003).

Throughout the year AI members around the world launched a range of actions aimed at putting pressure on the Russian government to end human rights abuses.

In February, the AI health professional network appealed to the Russian authorities concerning the serious problem of prison conditions, tuberculosis and HIV in Russian prisons.

A media competition launched by AI in conjunction with the Russian Union of Journalists, with the aim of encouraging better reporting within the Russian Federation of human rights issues, attracted over 300 pieces of work from journalists, newspapers, broadcasters and NGOs from all over the country.

On International Women's Day, 8 March, AI members in many countries campaigned on behalf of women subjected to violence within the family in the Russian Federation, by holding vigils, demonstrations and public meetings with representatives of Russian women's organizations, and calling on the Russian government to address and prevent such human rights abuses.

After a violent attack on members of ethnic minority communities in Krasnodar territory, local human rights activists and AI supporters around the world sent appeals to the Russian authorities. News of the incident appeared in the Russian media, which noted the attention brought to the case by AI. A criminal investigation was subsequently opened which was still ongoing at the end of the year.

AI's campaigning helped to reopen the investigation into allegations of torture and ill-treatment of two boys in Nizhnyi Novgorod. The Regional Procuracy confirmed that "international pressure" had led them to reopen the investigation.

AI called on the Russian authorities to conduct a prompt, impartial and thorough investigation into a racially motivated attack on a Zambian student in the town of Vladimir, after the local procuracy attempted to close the case due to lack of evidence. In its response the General Procuracy informed AI that the "unfounded decision" by the Vladimir Procuracy had been revoked and that the investigation was continuing.

In October a petition with more than 16,000 signatures collected by AI's worldwide membership was delivered to the administration of President Putin. The petition – designed as a symbolic passport – urged President Putin to address the plight of hundreds of thousands of former Soviet citizens in Russia who are being denied their legal right to obtain Russian citizenship or permanent residency rights.

In July, AI Switzerland launched a 100-day educational bus tour to raise awareness about human rights abuses in the Russian Federation. The brightly decorated bus passed through 14 European countries on its way from Switzerland to Moscow.

A speakers tour of several Russian cities involved students, academics and future law enforcement officials, among others, in discussions about international mechanisms for human rights protection and actions to end impunity.

On International Children's Day, 20 November, AI members around the world sent postcard appeals to President Putin, calling on him to improve the situation for children with mental disabilities in state institutions. This action formed part of a broader campaign, worked on by many AI members, including the youth and student network and the health professional network.

At the World Economic Forum in January, AI launched a booklet, Doing business in the Russian Federation: the human rights approach(AI Index: EUR 46/059/2002), which identified key human rights issues facing companies operating in the Russian Federation, including security, corruption, and the non-fulfilment of economic, social and cultural rights in a transition economy. The booklet AI IN ACTION Amnesty International Report 2004 319 part2b.qxd 18/03/2004 13:34 Page 319 pointed companies to principles and tools they could apply in order to operate in such a way as to protect human rights.

Throughout the year pages on AI's Russia Campaign website were accessed almost 650,000 times.

Iraq Crisis Response
Early in 2003 AI mobilized its members and supporters around the world to bring human rights concerns to the forefront during the unfolding Iraq crisis.

As the war on Iraq loomed, AI called on all its supporters to urge the governments concerned to consider carefully the impact of such a war on the human rights of Iraqis. On 18 March, hours before the start of the conflict, AI Secretary General Irene Khan published an open letter to US President George W.Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar and Iraqi President Saddam Hussain, urging them to do everything in their power to avoid conflict and warning them that "one of the first casualties of any war in Iraq will be human rights."

During the war, AI members and supporters participated in on-line petitions, met ambassadors from the warring countries, held candlelit vigils, and organized protests. Many of these actions were carried out jointly with other organizations. More than 80 public reports, documents and press statements were released during an eight-month period. AI called on the warring parties to adhere to international humanitarian law, to respect the rights of civilians and prisoners of war in all circumstances, and to protect and assist refugees and internally displaced people. AI highlighted breaches of the rules of war by both sides, for example by urging US and UK forces to refrain from using cluster bombs.

AI activists from around the world handed a petition to Prime Minister Blair asking for assurances that indiscriminate weapons would not be used, that prisoners of war would be treated humanely and that the humanitarian needs of civilians would be met.

As soon as the security situation allowed, AI established a field presence in Iraq. This enabled AI delegates to engage in dialogue with emerging civil society organizations, religious and political leaders, officials from the Coalition Provisional Authority and military officials. The delegates also met victims of recent and past human rights violations committed by former Iraqi government forces and the occupying powers, as well as relatives of victims.

The delegates visited hospitals and police stations in order to assess the security situation. AI's delegates were in the field when the first mass graves were discovered. AI urged the occupying powers to take action to protect evidence being uncovered at the sites of mass graves and to investigate suspected places of detention.

AI issued recommendations to the occupying powers, the international community and companies interested in investing in Iraq to ensure that the reconstruction process was transparent, accountable and consistent with human rights obligations. In June AI delegates attended the Extraordinary Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Jordan to urge business leaders to take into account these recommendations. In June a delegation met the UN Special Envoy to Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, who was later tragically killed in a bomb attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad.

AI made sure that those with power in Iraq heard the concerns of Iraqi people. Having achieved this single aim was worth all the hard work of the movement around the world.

Crisis Alert on the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was the scene of multiple atrocities by armed groups in 2003. The abuses included mass killings and mutilations, rape and the widespread use of child soldiers.

AI responded by launching a period of intensive campaigning, with the primary goals of securing effective international protection of civilians in the region and ending support by regional governments to those committing atrocities. AI members worldwide drew public attention to the crisis and lobbied their governments to strengthen the size and mandate of UN peace-keepers in the areas worst affected by the violence.

An AI report, video and website animation on the widespread use of child soldiers in the DRC were produced, as well as a series of reports on the violence in Ituri district.

In October a high-level AI delegation travelled to the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda to urge these governments to rein in the armed groups responsible for human rights abuses in eastern DRC. A petition of over 40,000 signatures collected from the campaign website was handed to the three governments calling on them to end all support for the armed groups.

As a result of pressure from AI and other organizations, UN peace-keepers in the DRC were given a strengthened protection mandate, their numbers were reinforced in Ituri and more were redeployed to eastern DRC. Regional governments' relations with the armed groups came under increased international scrutiny.

In November, AI launched a keynote memorandum, DRC: Addressing the present and building a future (AI Index: AFR 62/050/2003), detailing measures that the DRC government, regional governments, the UN and the international community need to take if the legacy of mass human rights abuse in the DRC is to be finally overcome. Central to this will be effective national and international judicial mechanisms to bring perpetrators of abuses in the region to justice.

Myanmar web action
Following the violent attack on 30 May on members of the National League for Democracy and the arrest over the following weeks of over 100 of the party's members and supporters, AI launched an online petition for their release, which was signed by more than 20,000 people.

AI Japan tried to hand the petition over to the Myanmar embassy in Tokyo on 30 July, the day AI published its report Myanmar: Justice on trial(AI Index: ASA 16/019/2003) about political imprisonment and the need for reforms to the administration of justice.
Authorities at the embassy refused to take delivery of the petition, which was subsequently posted to them.AI Japan staged a demonstration outside the embassy.

At the end of the year most of those detained on 30 May had been released and dozens of those detained after 30 May had been sentenced to prison terms.

Ecuador country action
In October, AI Ecuador launched the campaign "Commit yourself to know your rights and demand the law is upheld" with a public forum in Quito at which an AI delegation presented the report Ecuador: With no independent and impartial justice there can be no rule of law(AI Index: AMR 28/010/2003) to representatives of civil society.

The campaign, which will continue into 2004, will raise awareness in Ecuadorian society of the rights and duties guaranteed under the constitution and in international human rights standards. It is hoped that such awareness-raising will better enable the public to demand that the authorities protect their rights and prosecute members of the security forces in civil courts.

Throughout the country hundreds of signatures were collected on large pieces of fabric which will be displayed and presented to the authorities in 2004.

Work on behalf of individuals
"I was beaten and verbally abused in detention. After a few days, the guards asked me, 'Do you know your name is all over the Internet?' After that, I was treated better by the guards before being released. The appeals sent by Amnesty members definitely had an impact on my case." Rehab Abdel Bagi Mohamed Ali, speaking to AI in October about the three weeks she spent in detention in Sudan in September 2002.

One of AI's strengths is the ability of its members and supporters to effect change not just at an institutional level, but also on an individual one. Throughout 2003, mass action by AI members on behalf of individuals across the globe made a positive difference to hundreds of lives.

Over two million letters, faxes and emails were sent by the members of AI's Urgent Action network on behalf of people in 74 countries or territories in imminent danger of serious human rights violations. In over 40 per cent of cases, there were some positive developments after the Urgent Action was issued.

After her release from prison, Turkish human rights defender Sevim Yetkiner told AI she had noted a huge difference in her treatment after an Urgent Action was issued. She also attributed her swift release to the pressure brought about by AI's campaigning.

AI's membership also campaigns effectively on longer-term cases. AI groups around the world meet regularly to work on behalf of particular individuals.

Many groups adopt cases of prisoners of conscience and political prisoners and in many cases their action contributes to the release of prisoners or improved conditions, as well as supporting the prisoners and their families through difficult times.

AI groups also adopt cases to fight for justice on behalf of other individuals. For instance, long-term campaigning by membership groups on behalf of scores of people who were beaten and tortured by police in 2000 in Abepura, Indonesia, contributed to pressure on the authorities to investigate the case. In February, two police officers were named as suspects in the case and at the end of the year a trial was pending.

Human rights defenders
The overall aim of AI's work on human rights defenders is to improve the local context so that human rights activists attain the space and freedom to carry out work to protect the rights of others.

Human rights defenders in Africa
Throughout 2003 much was done to strengthen networks and improve information sharing among human rights defenders in Africa.

In June, training was provided to 20 human rights defenders from throughout central and southern Africa in the use of the UN Special Procedures for supporting defenders and on concrete strategies for personal and institutional security.

In August, AI Germany organized training on monitoring and documentation for human rights defenders in Cameroon.

AI supported the participation of the UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders, Hina Jilani, in the July 2003 Consultative Forum on human rights defenders in Durban, South Africa, where she raised the particular plight of women defenders in Africa.

AI collaborated with NGOs in Botswana, South Africa and Uganda to assist and support human rights defenders fleeing from a number of countries, including the DRC, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Campaigning by network members and a coalition of international NGOs resulted in a November agreement by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights to establish a "focal point" on human rights defenders within its Secretariat, to better respond to the needs of human rights defenders in Africa.

Human rights defenders in the Americas
In a report ' Essential actors of our time': Human rights defenders in the Americas(AI Index: AMR 01/009/2003), AI concluded that human rights defenders in Latin America and the Caribbean were enjoying no more – and in some cases less – protection than they had in the past. The report also highlighted cases from North America in which the rights of human rights defenders had been infringed.

Ongoing reports of killings, torture and intimidation were paralleled by a rise in the number of raids on the premises of human rights organizations, theft of important human rights information and increasing restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly.

In March, AI wrote to all European Union (EU) member states asking them to develop foreign policy on the implementation of the principles of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. While some countries demonstrated interest in the idea, no concrete policies were announced.

The Guatemalan government signed an agreement to establish a Comisión para la Investigación de Cuerpos Ilegales y Aparatos Clandestinos de Seguridad(CICIACS), Commission to Investigate Illegal Armed Groups and Clandestine Security Apparatus, aimed at investigating those who perpetrate attacks against members of the judiciary, human rights defenders and others. The Commission, which came about as a result of lobbying by local human rights organizations, was due to be established in 2005.

The Brazilian government announced its intention to set up the Coordenação Nacional de Proteção aos Defensores de Direitos Humanos, National Coordination for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, made up of government officials and representatives from civil society. The National Coordination will facilitate the creation of commissions in states where insecurity for human rights defenders is greatest. Other new proposals included a campaign to raise awareness of work carried out by human rights defenders.

In November, during a high-level mission to Brazil, AI received a pledge of support from President Lula for the protection of human rights defenders across the Americas region.

Human rights defenders in the Middle East/North Africa
Human rights defenders were persecuted in many countries in the region and some were prosecuted on charges ranging from "public order offences" to "undermining the state" and "acts of terrorism". In some countries restrictions imposed by governments have increasingly hampered the activities of human rights defenders. The human rights defenders community in the region is relatively small and at risk and it is important that AI expresses solidarity with them and supports them in all ways that it can.

During 2003, AI took action on behalf of human rights defenders in Algeria, Egypt, Israel and the Occupied Territories, Lebanon, Morocco/Western Sahara, Syria and Tunisia.

Actions taken included issuing press statements, launching appeals on behalf of threatened or detained human rights defenders and sending delegates to observe trials.

In March, Egyptian human rights defender Saad Eddin Ibrahim was acquitted on all charges. AI had adopted him as a prisoner of conscience after he had been sentenced to seven years' imprisonment in a previous trial in May 2001.

In July charges were dropped and travel restrictions lifted against the Syrian human rights defender Haytham al-Maleh.

In October, Algerian human rights defender Salaheddine Sidhoum's earlier conviction ( in absentia) of 20 years' imprisonment was overturned.

Refugees and asylum-seekers
AI's activities aimed at defending the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers have many aspects worldwide. To assist in this work, and as a campaigning and information-sharing tool, AI launched a new multilingual website in 2003, "Refugees have rights" (http://www.amnesty.org/refugees).

Building protection alliances
On World Refugee Day, 20 June, AI Germany and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) coorganized a symposium on refugee protection in Europe.

AI Malaysia organized an NGO meeting in September to discuss protection concerns for Indonesian asylum-seekers from the province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. They also organized a public forum on detention of asylum-seekers.

AI Netherlands published a book aimed at informing the Dutch and European debate on protection of refugees in their regions of origin.

Working for individuals
AI continues to support individual refugees and asylumseekers around the world, providing independent analysis about human rights conditions in countries people flee, and protesting against human rights abuses faced by refugees both in the countries where they seek protection and in their countries of origin. During 2003, AI interventions in individual cases in countries throughout the world ensured that many people were provided protection against return to their persecutors.

AI New Zealand urged the New Zealand government either to release or charge Ahmed Zaoui, an Algerian who sought asylum in New Zealand in December 2002. He was recognized as a refugee in August but at the end of 2003 continued to be held in detention because of a national security assessment – based on secret evidence – made by New Zealand intelligence services.

Rights of children in detention
AI Australia led protests against the continued detention of child asylum-seekers in Australia and on the Pacific island, Republic of Nauru. Those on Nauru had been detained there at the behest of the Australian government. Some of them have now been reunited with immediate family living in Australia. AI Australia also submitted a legal opinion on international law to the High Court in a landmark case about detention of child asylum-seekers in Australia.

AIUSA undertook a joint action against a private hotel chain whose rooms were rented by the government to detain Haitian child asylum-seekers and refugees. Within weeks, all children were moved from the hotel. A letter-writing campaign for a Guatemalan child asylum-seeker resulted in his release after 16 months in detention.

Lobbying activities
AI's EU Office continued to advocate for a more principled approach by EU Member States to agreeing a Common European Asylum System (CEAS).

With negotiations due to be finalized by May 2004, there was significant political pressure to adopt common standards that fell short of international legal standards.

A proposal of the UK government to establish extra-territorial processing centres further threatened prospects of agreeing a CEAS which would meet acceptable standards. AI published a report in June critiquing the UK proposals as well as UNHCR and EU counter-proposals that emerged in the early part of the year. Pressure from a number of quarters, including AI, ensured that the most controversial elements of the UK proposals were rejected at an EU Summit in June.

AI lobbied actively in a number of affected countries, and at EU and UN level, in order to stop forcible returns to Afghanistan, following research findings which showed that in many instances return was neither voluntary nor sustainable.

AI published a briefing paper prepared for EU decision-makers on continuing protection concerns for Algerian asylum-seekers.

Children's human rights
Every day, children across the world are harmed in war zones, in detention, in care homes, and in the community. In 2003, AI took action on a number of concerns, including those listed below.

All the warring parties to the conflict in the DRC use children as soldiers. Child soldiers usually receive violent treatment during their training, and in some camps children have died from the deplorable conditions. They are often sent into combat on the frontlines. Many are raped. Children are often given drugs and alcohol to cloud their emotions whilst fighting. Children interviewed by AI after they escaped from the army or were demobilized have given horrifying accounts of how the armed conflict affected them.

At least four children between the ages of 13 and 16 were among the more than 650 foreign nationals being held at Guantánamo Bay without access to their families or legal counsel.

In Honduras, hundreds of children have been murdered: some by security forces in extrajudicial executions, some by unidentified persons, some in gang warfare. AI called on the Honduran government to investigate all these deaths and to bring those responsible to trial.

AI made appeals on behalf of the families of the "disappeared" children of El Salvador. During the armed conflict in El Salvador in the 1980s, many children who became separated from their families were taken by the army to orphanages or put up for adoption. Their families have been searching for them ever since.

Increasingly severe restrictions imposed by Israel on the movement of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories prevented children from attending school and caused a sharp rise in poverty which led to the emergence of malnutrition in young children and an increase in the number of child labourers.

In the Philippines there were persistent reports of children being detained before trial for periods that exceeded explicit domestic standards and frequently in the same cells or facilities as adults.

Most children with mental disabilities in the Russian Federation are confined to state institutions, many of them in cruel and degrading conditions. AI highlighted the plight of these children as part of its campaign on human rights in the Russian Federation and appealed to the Russian authorities to improve their situation.

As part of AI's activities to mark International Children's Day, 20 November, a series of web actions were issued, covering many of the concerns detailed above. By the end of the year these pages had been visited nearly 90,000 times.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender human rights
AI activists have continued to campaign for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights, tackling cases from Egypt, Honduras, Puerto Rico, the USA and Uzbekistan, amongst others.

AI considered Wissam Tawfiq Abyad, sentenced by an Egyptian appeal court in February to 15 months' imprisonment for "habitual debauchery", to be a prisoner of conscience. He was one of dozens of alleged gay men detained or imprisoned during 2003 solely for their actual or perceived sexual orientation.

Eddie Hartman was executed in North Carolina, USA, on 3 October. The prosecution had used Eddie Hartman's homosexuality against him at the trial as part of its successful bid to obtain a death sentence.

In Uzbekistan, journalist and human rights activist Ruslan Sharipov was found guilty in August of all the charges against him, including homosexuality and sexual relations with minors, following an unfair trial. He had reportedly confessed to the charges against him under duress.

In Honduras, according to NGO sources, some 200 homosexual and transsexual sex workers were murdered between 1991 and 2003. Few cases have been investigated or seen those responsible brought to justice.

At the 2003 Commission on Human Rights, reference to "sexual orientation" in the resolution on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions was fiercely contested and forced to a vote. Likewise, a new Brazilian initiative calling on states to promote and protect the human rights of all people regardless of their sexual orientation proved controversial. AI lobbied to support both resolutions and issued a press release welcoming the Brazilian initiative.Fifty-five possible amendments were proposed to the Brazilian draft resolution, aimed at eliminating reference to sexual orientation. On the last day of the Commission the Chair proposed that the issue be postponed to the 2004 session and the vote was passed. AI will continue to campaign in support of the resolution.

There was good news from the USA in June when the ruling in Lawrence v Texaseffectively overruled all existing sodomy laws in US states and territories, including Puerto Rico, on grounds that such laws were an unconstitutional violation of privacy.

Women's human rights
In all countries of the world, women are treated as second-class citizens, all too often facing violence as a result. In all countries of the world, women are taking action to claim their human rights. In 2003, AI strengthened its capacity to work on gender-based violations through forging alliances with partners in the women's movement and the establishment of a Gender Unit and a dedicated campaign team at the International Secretariat as part of its preparation for the 2004 launch of a major global campaign to Stop Violence against Women. Throughout the year the organization campaigned for women in many countries including Afghanistan, Colombia, DRC, India, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, the Russian Federation, Slovakia, Sudan, Turkey and Venezuela.

Among the many concerns that AI took action on were the following:
AI was gravely concerned by the extent of violence faced by women and girls in Afghanistan two years after the ending of the Talebanregime. The risk of rape and sexual violence by members of armed factions and former combatants remained high.

Forced marriage, particularly of girl children, and violence against women in the family were widespread in many areas of the country.

AI campaigned on behalf of the tens of thousands of women and girls who have been raped during the long-running conflict in the DRC. Almost all girl soldiers have reported being raped or sexually exploited by their commanders and other soldiers in their unit.

On 25 September the Sharia Court of Appeal of Katsina, Nigeria, overturned Amina Lawal's sentence to death by stoning. Both her confession and the conviction were held to be not legally valid. AI maintains that consensual sexual relations between people over the age of consent should not be criminalized and Amina Lawal should never have been brought to court in the first instance.

Every day about 36,000 women in the Russian Federation are beaten by their husbands or partners.

The law does not recognize domestic violence as a distinct crime, and does not even allow officials to give perpetrators a warning through an administrative sentence or a fine.

In September, members of AI's health professional network appealed to the Slovak authorities about allegations of forcible sterilization of Roma women.

Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
More than 370 women have been killed over the last 10 years in the cities of Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua, Mexico, at least 137 of them showing signs of sexual violence prior to death, and at least a further 70 women remain unaccounted for. Local women's organizations believe the figure could be much higher.

In August, AI published the report, Intolerable Killings: 10 years of abductions and murder of women in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua(AI Index: AMR 41/026/2003) during a high-level visit to Mexico by the Secretary General, Irene Khan. The report examined the context in which the abductions and murders occurred and analysed the state's failure to take effective steps to prevent, investigate and punish the crimes.

Launched simultaneously in Ciudad Juárez and Mexico City, the report gained huge publicity in Mexico and internationally and generated intense pressure on the federal and state authorities. Irene Khan met with President Fox and other ministers who committed themselves to taking action.

Sections around the world secured extensive media coverage of the launch. Successful public events were held by sections including Ireland, Spain and AIUSA on 1 November, Day of the Dead, and 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. These initiatives have played an important part in building pressure for real change in Mexico.

AI will continue to develop this work in the forthcoming Stop Violence against Womencampaign, which will be launched to coincide with International Women's Day in March 2004.

Military, security and police transfers
Amnesty International's Military, Security and Police (MSP) Transfers Network continued to campaign to increase the accountability of governments and businesses involved in the manufacture and trading of arms and security equipment, and those providing military, police or security training. AI's members urged all those involved in military, security and police transfers to consider the human rights implications of their operations.

Control Arms
On 9 October, AI joined forces with Oxfam International and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) to launch Control Arms, a major global campaign calling for control of the international arms trade. The campaign aims to reduce armed violence by:

calling for an International Arms Trade Treaty, which would impose minimum standards, based on existing international human rights and humanitarian law, to strictly control the international supply of arms.

calling on all governments to ensure that their security forces uphold the rule of law and do not abuse their legitimate right to use arms in exceptional circumstances.

Control Arms was launched in 63 countries. Among the many ways sections marked the launch were a press conference in Peru attended by representatives from many Latin American countries and a multi-media concert organized by AI Philippines. In Zambia, AI members marched through Lusaka alongside members of the police and the Zambian army.

The campaign report, Shattered Lives – the case for tough international arms control (AI Index: ACT 30/001/2003) was launched at an international press conference in Trafalgar Square in London, transformed for the occasion into a "cemetery" with hundreds of mock gravestones to represent the enormous number of people who die every day from armed violence.

On the same day the Million Faces petition was launched. This action invites people to "sign" the petition by submitting a photo and aims to collect one million "faces" from around the world by 2006, in support of the campaign. The photos are collected and posted on the www.controlarms.org website.

In November, AI France, the IS MSP team and other international NGOs hosted a Control Armsseminar at the European Social Forum in Paris.

On International Human Rights Day, 10 December, AI members lobbied their parliamentarians, urging them to support the call for an international arms trade treaty. Several governments, including those of Brazil, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Finland, Mali, the Netherlands and Slovenia, made public statements of support for the establishment of legally binding international controls on arms transfers.

Other actions during 2003 included:

During the war in Iraq, AI was active in campaigning for the US and UK to refrain from using cluster bombs.

In June, AI attended the G8 Counter-Summit in France and organized a seminar as a prelude to Control Arms. A new edition of the Terror Trade Timesand a report, A Catalogue of Failures – G8 arms exports and human rights violations(AI Index: IOR 30/003/2003) were launched for the occasion.

In July, at the UN Biennial Meeting of States on Small Arms, held in New York, AI organized a fringe meeting with the participation of the UN Special Rapporteur on Small Arms.

In December, AI produced a report and action on security equipment, The Pain Merchants – Security equipment and its use in torture and other illtreatment( AI Index: ACT 40/008/2003). European governments were lobbied to implement draft legislation to control and ban the export of security equipment from EU member states.

Human rights and economic relations
In addition to making valuable contributions to AI's campaign on the Russian Federation and expressing its concerns over the reconstruction process in postconflict Iraq, AI's Business and Economic Relations Network continued to lobby on a number of issues throughout the year.

UN Human Rights Norms for Business
Human rights organizations have addressed concerns to businesses for a number of years, seeking to ensure that companies, like all significant actors, respect and are bound by international human rights standards. AI therefore welcomed as a positive development the approval of the UN Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights (UN Human Rights Norms for Business) by the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in August. AI had campaigned for the adoption of the UN Human Rights Norms for Business, with wide support from the NGO community.

Right to water
AI expressed deep disappointment at the failure of the international community to recognize the right to water in the final Ministerial Declaration of the World Water Forum that took place in Kyoto in March. AI believes that a human rights framework has much to offer efforts to tackle critical water issues and has stated that affirming the right to water would help address issues of water scarcity, climate change, water quality, and the spread of water-borne diseases.

Youth and student networks

During 2003, AI's Youth and Student groups from 70 countries campaigned on a wide range of concerns.
Their activities included:

campaigning on behalf of juvenile prisoners in Guantßnamo Bay, child soldiers in the DRC, "disappeared" children in El Salvador, administrative detention in Israel/OT, "disappeared" students in Nepal, young human rights defenders around the world and HIV/AIDS-related human rights abuses.

working on racial discrimination in the Russian Federation during the International Week of Student Action, and on the rights of children with mental disabilities in the Russian Federation.

organizing several youth camps and workshops to bring together young AI activists from many countries to share activism and leadership skills.

In August the first AI International Youth Assembly gathered 31 AI youth members from around the world in Mexico. The assembly provided a space for youth to discuss AI's role within the wider human rights context; to contribute to AI's strategic plan and youth strategy; and to empower youth leaders to participate in decision-making bodies.

Trade union network
AI's trade union network works for basic labour rights; on behalf of those threatened or imprisoned because of their defence of workers' rights; and with trade unions on all human rights concerns.

During 2003 network members took up cases of individual trade unionists in danger of human rights abuses in many countries including Brazil, China, Colombia, Peru and Sudan, as well as campaigning on the impact of movement restrictions on the right to work in Israel and the Occupied Territories.

In May, AI launched a campaign to work with trade unions internationally on the situation of killings and death threats against trade unionists in Colombia.

AI received good news in April when Dan Byung-ho, President of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, was released after 20 months' imprisonment.

AI had issued a Worldwide Appeal the previous year calling for his release.

Two men accused of ordering the murder of trade unionist João Canuto in Brazil in 1985 were convicted and sentenced to 19 years in prison. AI's trade union network had worked on this case for many years.

Health professional network
AI's network of health professionals in more than 30 countries takes action on cases of prisoners in detention, health professionals at risk, those in institutions being denied adequate care, and in cases of the death penalty.

More than 50 medical actions and updates, as well as relevant Urgent Actions, were sent to network members during 2003.

Twice during the year the network made direct appeals to the Russian authorities as part of AI's campaign on the Russian Federation.

In October, representatives of the network met in London to discuss human rights issues – particularly the AI's developing work on the right to health, HIV/AIDS and violence against women.

Human rights education
Human rights education (HRE) is preventative human rights work promoting awareness and understanding of human rights to equip people with the knowledge and skills necessary to respect and defend those rights.

Internationally, HRE programs reach judges, police, women's groups, teachers, schoolchildren, AI members and others using a range of methods and lobby for the inclusion of human rights education in national curricula.

In the lead-up to AI's Stop Violence against Women campaign, HRE packages and training workshops were used to build the capacity of AI members and those of other NGOs.

AI's Rights Education Action Program (REAP) supported a range of projects, from working with Scout groups in Poland and indigenous communities in Mexico to training prison officials in Morocco. The key aim of this work is to create HRE "multipliers", people who after training are able to take the message forward to wider and more diverse groups.

AI's most ambitious HRE program to date, "Preventing the Practice of Torture through Education", was launched in June. Funded by the European Commission, this three-year program involves 10 AI sections and structures in West Africa.

With the aim of contributing to the eradication of torture in all its forms, including violence against women, the project emphasizes capacity building, the training of trainers and campaigners and the use of theatre for HRE.

INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Intergovernmental organizations play an important role in the protection and promotion of human rights worldwide. Throughout 2003, AI continued its efforts to further its human rights work by seeking to influence international and regional organizations both in terms of campaigning against ongoing human rights abuses and in promoting international standards for the protection of human rights. Below are some of the highlights of AI's work with these organizations.

UN Headquarters, New York

AI continued to brief the Security Council (SC) about the human rights situation in a number of countries including Afghanistan, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Iraq, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Timor-Leste. AI drew the SC's attention to the human rights abuses in the Ituri region of the DRC, and called for an international force to maintain peace and reinforce the presence of MONUC, the UN peacekeepers already in the region. AI urged the SC to authorize a strong human rights component of the UN Mission in Liberia and made detailed recommendations for mainstreaming human rights to the various UN actors involved. AI briefed an SC delegation visiting Afghanistan and gave informal "Arria style" briefings to SC members on Liberia and Iraq. Calls were made for human rights monitors to be sent to Iraq, for the SC to impress upon the occupying powers their obligations under international humanitarian law, and for a mixed Iraqi/international commission of experts to advise on preservation of evidence, judicial capacity and the best means to bring to justice the perpetrators of crimes under international law. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including AI, pressed for an open SC debate on the renewal of Resolution 1422 – which seeks to restrict the powers of the International Criminal Court (ICC) over peacekeepers in UN authorized operations – on the grounds that it was unlawful. Although the resolution was renewed, the open debate reaffirmed support for the ICC. AI persisted in calling for the SC Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) to ensure that states observe human rights when taking measures to combat "terrorism". The SC continued to refuse to appoint a human rights expert to advise states on their human rights obligations when implementing SC Resolution 1373, which called for sweeping measures to combat "terrorism". Faced with the SC refusal to act, AI urged UN human rights bodies and mechanisms to increase their communications with the CTC, and called on the CTC to incorporate the human rights observations of these bodies when interacting with countries that report on implementing Resolution 1373. October saw the third "anniversary" of SC Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. In advance of the open debate of the SC – which focused on women, peace and security and peacekeeping – AI in collaboration with the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security communicated concerns about implementation of the resolution to all member states. AI and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom also held a training workshop on Resolution 1325, for NGOs active at the UN.

Before the 58th Session of the UN General Assembly (GA), AI called on states to ratify human rights treaties including the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. In October AI and Oxfam met UN missions, departments and agencies to discuss their campaign on arms transfers including a call for an international Arms Trade Treaty which would introduce minimum standards to control the supply of arms. AI highlighted its human rights concerns in Iran and Cambodia. The GA adopted new country resolutions on Cambodia, DRC, Iran, Myanmar and Turkmenistan. In the build up to AI's global campaign to Stop Violence against Women, AI called on states to support an initiative from the Netherlands for a GA resolution on violence against women. After lengthy negotiations the GA adopted two resolutions: the first requested a study by the Secretary-General on all forms of violence against women which will be presented to the 60th session of the GA in 2005. The second called on states to eliminate domestic violence and to make domestic sexual violence a criminal offence, and stated that custom, tradition or religious consideration could not be invoked to avoid states' obligations. AI called for a strong GA resolution on the protection of human rights when taking measures to counter "terrorism", and in particular called for a report from the Secretary- General on states' implementation of specific recommendations by UN treaty-monitoring bodies. The GA adopted a resolution that called for stronger links between the CTC and UN human rights bodies, and requested a study by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on strengthening international human rights mechanisms to address the compatibility of counter-terrorism measures with states' human rights obligations.

UN Geneva
Prior to the 59th session in 2003 of the UN Commission on Human Rights (the Commission), AI urged the Commission to pay particular attention to the human rights situation in six countries – Colombia, DRC, Iraq, Israel/Occupied Territories, Nepal and Russia (Chechnya) – and five priority themes – the death penalty, refugees and asylum-seekers, human rights and "counter-terrorism", an optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and reform of the Commission. The Commission addressed the human rights situation in Colombia, DRC, Iraq and Israel/Occupied Territories, but failed to take action on Nepal and Russia (Chechnya). AI welcomed the increasing number of states sponsoring the resolution to abolish the death penalty and the Commission's first resolution on human rights and "counter-terrorism". However, AI expressed regret that a new initiative on human rights and sexual orientation was postponed to 2004 because of strong opposition from some states. Under the confidential 1503 procedure, AI submitted information on the human rights situation in Laos, Philippines, USA (Guantánamo detainees) and Zimbabwe.

Responding to the Secretary-General's reform proposal for Special Procedures – independent human rights experts – AI made recommendations for strengthening the special procedures system. AI also welcomed the Commission's first interactive debate with the Special Procedures as a step towards making their reports and recommendations more central to its deliberations. Throughout the year AI submitted information and requests for actions on a range of human rights violations including torture, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, "counterterrorism" measures, deportations of refugees, genderbased violations and forced evictions. AI briefed some experts prior to country visits, and provided training to Zimbabwean NGOs on using the special procedures system.

AI observed the 55th session of the Sub- Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. The Sub-Commission adopted Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights. It also discussed human rights and "terrorism", the trade in small arms and light weapons, the administration of justice through military tribunals, and studies on states' reservations to international human rights treaties and globalization.

AI continued to take action to defend the rights of displaced persons, refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants. At the Commission on Human Rights, AI emphasized refugee protection as a human rights issue and lobbied for the inclusion of the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers in resolutions of the Commission.

AI, in collaboration with other NGOs, successfully lobbied for a report on the protection of the human rights of refugees and asylum-seekers to be prepared for the 2005 Commission session. AI participated in the first meeting of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Forum in June, an intergovernmental meeting to discuss special agreements to resolve refugee situations. In approaches to the European Union (EU) and international bodies during the year, AI opposed initiatives that weakened refugee protection. AI also undertook advocacy and lobbying in UNHCR meetings covering issues including the "strategic use of resettlement". In its second year as observer to the Governing Council of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), AI made an oral statement to its 86th Session in November about human rights and the work of IOM. As an observer to the International Steering Committee of the Global Campaign for Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers, on 1 July, AI joined other NGOs and intergovernmental agencies in welcoming the entry into force of the Convention.

During the year considerable attention was given to the UN Secretary-General's proposals for reform of the treaty-monitoring bodies. AI participated in discussions on different models for periodic reports by states, at a meeting organized by the government of Liechtenstein and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and in a debate at the annual meeting of the chairpersons. The OHCHR was drafting guidelines for an expanded core document and a treaty-specific targeted periodic report, a model favoured by the treaty bodies. In United Nations: Proposals to strengthen the human rights treaty bodies (AI Index: IOR 40/018/2003), AI highlighted elements critical to the success of the treaty system, regardless of the model of report. These include the withdrawal of reservations limiting treaty obligations, increased and regular funding, the appointment of independent and expert members, and the systematic integration of gender into the preparation and consideration of reports. AI also recommended measures to improve the reporting process, to facilitate involvement of domestic constituencies in the treaty system. AI continued to update its www.amnesty.org/treatybodies webpage, which includes guidelines and suggestions for NGOs and national human rights institutions on engaging with the treaty system. AI provided treaty bodies with country specific information including: the Committee against Torture (Belgium, Cambodia, Colombia, Morocco, Slovenia and Turkey); the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Canada and Nigeria); and the Human Rights Committee (Belgium, Colombia, Israel, Philippines, Portugal, Russian Federation and Suriname). AI cooperated with the International Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers in submitting information to the Committee on the Rights of the Child prior to consideration of New Zealand's report under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict. AI also contributed to the Human Rights Committee's elaboration of a General Comment on Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

In advance of the 2003 International Labour Conference (ILC), AI issued International Labour Organization: 91st session of the International Labour Conference(AI Index: IOR 42/003/2003). In line with the ILC theme, AI called on member states to ratify the two fundamental International Labour Organization Conventions dealing with discrimination, namely No. 100 (equal remuneration) and No. 111 (employment and occupation), in particular the three permanent members of the Governing Body yet to ratify these treaties – China, Japan and the USA. AI also raised concerns about freedom of association, forced and child labour, and discrimination in Colombia, Iran, Israel/Occupied Territories, Mauritania and Sudan. The ILC failed to establish a commission of inquiry into continuing violations against trade unions and their families in Colombia. However, it requested the Iranian government to report on the practice of gozinesh, a form of discrimination affecting employment, and agreed to send a mission to Mauritania.

Regional intergovernmental organizations

AI wrote to the Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU) proposing a human rights agenda for the new structure of the AU. As part of the lead-up to AI's Stop Violence against Womencampaign, AI called on AU states to ratify without delay the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. At sessions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Commission), AI addressed the human rights situation in the DRC and Zimbabwe, human rights defenders in Africa and ratification of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights establishing an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. During the year AI provided information to the Special Rapporteur on the rights of women prior to her visit to Sudan and to the African Commission before it considered reports from the DRC and Rwanda, and urged the Commission to intervene in an alleged case of torture in Mauritania.

Through its European Union (EU) Office in Brussels and its sections in EU member states, AI continued to press the EU to put human rights into practice more effectively, not only in external relations but also within its own borders. AI maintained a high profile of critical analysis of the EU's restrictive policies on asylum and immigration. Calls were issued for stronger EU action at EU summits with Russia and China, and for support for human rights defenders in Latin America at the EU-Rio meeting. The EU was pressed repeatedly for adequate human rights commitments in connection with the war in Iraq, and cautioned against premature returns of refugees to Afghanistan. Appeals were made to raise human rights concerns in EU dealings with countries such as Algeria, Colombia, DRC, Tunisia, USA, and AI asked the EU to address past "disappearances" through its police mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Against the background of the imminent enlargement of the EU to 25 member states in 2004, AI's persistent call for the EU to stop ignoring human rights problems within EU member states began to find resonance in the European Parliament and the European Commission.

Comments on legislative initiatives on judicial cooperation between EU member states stressed the need for adequate human rights safeguards. AI continued to participate in NGO efforts to influence the debate on the Future of Europe and to press for stronger incorporation of human rights and sustainable development objectives in the draft new constitutional treaty.

During the year AI participated in meetings of the Council of Europe on proposed reforms to the European Court of Human Rights to address the Court's increasing workload and backlog and made joint written submissions with other NGOs on proposals under consideration. AI welcomed some of the proposals aimed at improving the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights at the national level and at ensuring the long-term effectiveness of the Court. The organization, however, expressed concern about proposals to add new admissibility criteria, which will have the effect of curtailing the possibility of individuals, whose applications to the Court meet current admissibility criteria, to obtain a binding judgment on the merits of whether their rights under the European Convention have been violated. AI stated that such proposals do not address the main challenges facing the Court, are wrong in principle and will make determinations of admissibility more complex and time-consuming. At meetings of the Parliamentary Assembly, AI provided information on country situations and themes including Chechnya, the Guantánamo detainees, political prisoners in Europe and the crisis in Iraq. AI welcomed the entry into force of Protocol No. 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which abolishes the death penalty in all circumstances, and campaigned for its ratification by Council of Europe member states.

AI contributed to the discussions at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Supplementary Human Dimension seminars on anti-Semitism and a second seminar on Discrimination, Racism and Xenophobia and made a written statement addressing the seminar on the prevention of torture. AI made oral statements at the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting on torture, the death penalty and the prevention of discrimination, racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism.

AI also participated in the OSCE meeting on Terrorism, organized by the Dutch Chair-in-Office. During the year, AI also lobbied for the re-establishment of an OSCE presence in Chechnya, provided information to the OSCE Rapporteur on Turkmenistan and to the Chairperson's personal envoy on Central Asia and gave an oral statement to the Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on the Prevention of Torture.

In preparation for the General Assembly (GA) of the Organization of American States (OAS), AI called on OAS member states to strengthen the Inter-American human rights system, protect human rights defenders in the Americas, and respect human rights when taking "counter-terrorism" measures. AI welcomed the GA resolution that governments must fully respect human rights in the fight against "terrorism"; the GA's reiteration of its support for the work of human rights defenders and civil society activists; the development of a treaty against racism, discrimination and intolerance; and the GA's support for ratification and national implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. In October AI attended the Special Conference on Hemispheric Security held in Mexico and, with other NGOs in the region, presented common security concerns in the Americas. The final Declaration of the Conference included a call for the constitutional subordination of all state institutions to the legally constituted civilian authority and respect for the rule of law and human rights. AI and other NGOs from the region participated in a hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights concerning The Situation of the Rights of Women in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico: The Right to be Free from Violence and Discrimination.

Impunity: the International Criminal Court
In July AI launched a campaign for universal ratification of the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court, and the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Court essential for the Court to operate effectively outside its headquarters in the Netherlands. By the end of 2003, 92 states had ratified the Rome Statute and only four states had ratified the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities. AI urged states to adopt effective implementing legislation, including provisions giving their courts universal jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture, extrajudicial executions and "disappearances". AI issued commentaries on draft implementing legislation in Brazil, DRC, Ireland, Malta and Portugal. AI criticized the government of Ghana for not arresting Liberian head of state Charles Taylor following his indictment before the Special Court for Sierra Leone charging him with crimes against humanity and war crimes. When Nigeria granted Charles Taylor asylum, AI called on the authorities to ensure that he answered the charges against him by either surrendering him to the Special Court for Sierra Leone or investigating whether there should be criminal proceedings in the Nigerian courts. Governments were urged not to sign impunity agreements with the USA preventing the surrender of accused persons to the ICC, and parliaments not to ratify them. AI supported the effective operation of the ICC, in particular, by making submissions to the Assembly of States Parties, the Judges, Registrar and the Prosecutor on a range of subjects, including participation of victims and reparations.

Selected AI reports

• 2003 UN Commission on Human Rights: A time for deep reflection (AI Index: IOR 41/025/2002)
• International Criminal Court: The unlawful attempt by the Security Council to give US citizens permanent impunity from international justice (AI Index: IOR 40/006/2003)
• United Nations: Proposals to strengthen the human rights treaty bodies (AI Index: IOR 40/018/2003)
• Statements and press releases issued by Amnesty International during the 59th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights (AI Index: IOR 41/016/2003)
• Preventing torture worldwide: The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (AI Index: IOR 51/002/2003)
• Universal jurisdiction: Belgian prosecutors can investigate crimes under international law committed abroad (AI Index: IOR 53/001/2003)
• Time to commit to human rights promotion and protection in Africa: Amnesty International recommendations to the 2nd AU Ministerial Conference on Human Rights (AI Index: IOR 63/001/2003)
• Special Court for Sierra Leone: Denial of right to appeal and prohibition of amnesties for crimes under international law (AI Index: AFR 51/012/2003) AI treaty bodies webpage: www.amnesty.org/treatybodies AI International Criminal Court webpage: www.amnesty.org/icc/ EU Office – www.amnesty-eu.org
• Standing up for human rights in Europe and throughout the world: AI memorandum to the Greek Presidency (EU Office, January 2003)
• EU-Rio Meeting: Human rights defenders in Latin America and Caribbean need urgent support from EU (EU Office, March 2003)
• Strengthening fortress Europe in time of war (EU Office, March 2003)
• Respect for fundamental rights within the EU, presentation to European Parliament Public Hearing (EU Office, April 2003)
• Briefing on EU Return Plan to Afghanistan (EU Office, May 2003)
• Response to the European Commission's Green Paper on procedural safeguards for suspects and defendants in criminal proceedings (EU Office, May 2003)
• Open letter to the EU on the EU-Russia Summit (EU Office, May 2003)
• EU-US extradition agreement still flawed on human rights (EU Office, May 2003)
• Losing direction: The EU's common asylum policy – Open Letter to EU Heads of State and Government at the Thessaloniki Summit (EU Office, June 2003)
• Wanted: A new EU agenda for human rights, benchmarks for the Italian Presidency (EU Office, June 2003)
• Colombia: Briefing to the European Union (EU Office, July 2003)
• Algeria: Steps towards change or empty promises? (EU Office, September 2003)
• Tunisia: New draft "anti-terrorism" law will further undermine human rights (EU Office, September 2003)
• Towards a Constitution for Europe: Justice and Home Affairs (EU Office, October 2003)
• China: Continuing abuses under new leadership (EU Office, October 2003)
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