Governments "must stop pretending the protection of civilians is beyond their power," Amnesty International says in its human rights report for 2014. The group faults the U.S. on a range of issues, from the use of excessive force by police to rights abuses in the name of fighting terrorism.
"Governments pay lip service to the importance of protecting civilians," Amnesty says. "And yet the world's politicians have miserably failed to protect those in greatest need."
The group is calling for members of the U.N. Security Council to lose their veto power over issues of genocide and other mass atrocities, saying that vetoes by the U.S., China, Russia, France, and Great Britain have been "based on vested interests or political expediency."
Amnesty listed Syria, Iraq, Gaza, Israel and Ukraine as places where the Security Council "has failed to deal with crises and conflict, even in situations where horrific crimes are being committed against civilians by states or by armed groups."
Two women reported to be relatives of assassinated Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani who were arrested...
The annual March of Return, which typically draws tens of thousands of Palestinians inside Israel, was...
A display of 20,000 teddy bears appeared on the National Mall in Washington, DC, on Thursday...
Israeli forces dispersed a student protest in the village of Umm al-Khair on Sunday, after barring...
