Iraqi Human Rights, One Year Later

"A year after US-led forces launched war on Iraq, the promise of improved human rights for Iraqis remains far from realized," warns Amnesty International in a detailed new report. "Most Iraqis still feel unsafe in a country ravaged by violence," the report states. Moreover, "Coalition Forces appear in many cases to be using the climate of violence to justify violating the very human rights standards they are supposed to be upholding. They have shot Iraqis dead during demonstrations. They have tortured and ill-treated prisoners and detainees. They have arrested people arbitrarily and held them indefinitely without charge and without access to a lawyer. They have demolished houses and other property in acts of revenge and collective punishment. And they are operating in a legal framework that offers no mechanism in Iraq for bringing members of the Coalition Forces to justice for such acts."