The past year has been terrible for those who strive to defend human rights, as well as for the men, women, and children living in war-torn regions.
However, worldwide, political leaders have proven incapable of protecting those who need it most.
International humanitarian law, which applies to situations of armed conflict, is
perfectly clear. Attacks should never target civilians.
The principle of distinction between civilians and combatants is a fundamental guarantee for those caught in the turmoil of wars.
Human Rights Advances Noted
The year 2014 was marked by the entry into force, after more than 20 years of mobilization, of the Arms Trade Treaty, signed by 130 countries and ratified by 62. This instrument provides a framework to limit international transfers of arms and ammunition. If implemented, it will save thousands of lives.
In December, 117 countries voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution to establish a moratorium on executions, with a view to the complete abolition of the death penalty worldwide. Since the last resolution of this kind, in December 2012, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Fiji, Niger, and Suriname have changed their stance and decided to vote in favor of the moratorium, while Bahrain, Myanmar, Tonga, and Uganda moved from opposing to abstaining.
The report released in December by the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on the detention program established by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) not only detailed the scandalous abuses that were committed, but also the extent of the complicity of some European countries that hosted secret detention sites or more generally assisted the U.S. government in the illegal transfer, enforced disappearance, and torture and other ill-treatment of dozens of detainees.
The Situation in Europe
In September, the European Union (EU) initiated a procedure against the Czech Republic for violating EU anti-discrimination legislation (so-called “racial equality” directive), concerning the treatment of Roma in the field of education.
In Spain, a proposed law that would have significantly complicated access to legal and safe abortion, and endangered the health and lives of many women and girls, was ultimately abandoned.
In April, the European Court of Justice determined that the EU directive on data retention, which required member states to store citizens’ telecommunications data, was illegal and that such retention constituted a violation of the fundamental right to privacy.
Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatski was released in June after three years of imprisonment.
An increasing number of countries have granted equal rights to same-sex couples, and for the first time since 2010, the Belgrade Pride Parade was able to take place in September, which was a major victory for the entire LGBT community in Serbia.
In June, the United Kingdom was forced to reveal a secret government policy of monitoring all Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google accounts in the country. These admissions were made in the context of a lawsuit brought by several human rights groups to determine the extent of the Internet surveillance measures put in place by British authorities.
In July, two years after being imprisoned for his role in the mainly peaceful Bolotnaya Square protests in Moscow, Mikhail Kosenko was released from the closed psychiatric facility where he was interned. However, his conviction was not annulled.
