The Russia-Ukraine war revealed “double standards” in human rights
Amnesty International’s 2022 report reveals a “double standard” in the international community’s approach to human rights, with the West responding harshly to Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine while staying silent on other rights abuses. The report examines human rights in 156 countries and highlights the lack of support and solidarity for Palestinians, Ethiopians, Myanmar’s people, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Amnesty’s secretary-general, Agnes Callamard, commented on this discrepancy .
According to Callamard, the response of the international community to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “robust and welcomed,” marked by public condemnation and strong calls against the many war crimes committed. She also noted a commitment to support international investigations into these crimes, with the International Criminal Court intervening unusually quickly. In March 2022, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced an investigation into alleged war crimes in Ukraine dating back to the 2013 Maidan protests, which saw demonstrations against the country’s pro-Russian government until the fall of President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration in 2014.Earlier this month, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin for allegedly committing war crimes in Ukraine.
Callamard said because the reaction to Ukraine had been so “multifaceted”, covering many dimensions including the issue of Ukrainian refugees, it made the “silence, the indifference and the neglect very glaring” when compared with other instances of human rights violations.
Israeli occupation, refugees
The Amnesty secretary-general said that while the report had many examples of double standards regarding human rights, the occupation of the Palestinians was a “particularly important one”.
“Without making any comparison between Russia’s aggression and Israel … it is clear the Palestinian people are under a regime of oppression.