Moral Collapse: Amnesty International in 2009

NGO Monitor
26 May '10
Posted before Shabbat

Amnesty International’s ideological bias and double standards were exposed by the suspension of senior staff member Gita Saghal, after she condemned Amnesty’s alliance with an alleged Taliban supporter. “Like all tyrants - whether of the right and left, Amnesty International raised the spectre of an assault on human rights to avoid answering questions and to imply that Amnesty International was under attack.”

Longtime Secretary General Irene Khan left Amnesty in December 2009. Her interim replacement, Claudio Cordone, was centrally involved in the Gita Saghal controversy including the response that “jihad in self-defence” is not “antithetical to human rights.”

In the Middle East, while Amnesty’s main focus in 2009 was Iran’s post-election crisis, arrests, and executions, Israel and the January 2009 Gaza war were given disproportionate and distorted attention.

During the war, AI led NGO campaigns accusing Israel of “unlawful,” “disproportionate,” and “indiscriminate” attacks against Palestinian civilians, releasing more than 20 statements criticizing Israel.

After the war, AI called for an arms embargo against Israel, continued to promote “lawfare” against Israeli officials, and labeled Israel’s treatment of Gaza as “collective punishment under international law.”

Analysis of AI’s 2009 Middle East activities reflects a disproportionate and unjustified focus on Israel. AI issued more in-depth reports (seven) on Israel than on any other country in the region.

The data indicate that ideology, rather than universal human rights, continues to propel AI’s resource allocation. With the exception of Iran, AI devotes little coverage to other chronic Mideast human rights abusers.

AI’s October 2009 report “Troubled Waters – Palestinians Denied Fair Access to Water,” coincided with a campaign alleging that “Israel’s Control of Water [is] a Tool of Apartheid and a Means of Ethnic Cleansing.”

The sections in AI’s Annual Report for 2009 on the Palestinians include token mentions of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and condemnation of indiscriminate missile attacks from Gaza, without significant “action items,” in contrast to the targeting of Israel.

This analysis of Amnesty’s 2009 activities demonstrates the continued exploitation of human rights principles, and the degradation of these moral values.

While Amnesty International’s (AI) main Middle East focus in 2009 was Iran’s post-election crisis, arrests, and executions, it also allotted a disproportionate amount of attention and resources to the January 2009 Gaza war.

Israel’s military operation in Gaza was a major and disproportionate focal point for Amnesty International (AI) in 2009. AI virtually erased the context of terrorism in the Gaza war, the continuing violation of Gilad Shalit’s rights, and minimized Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli civilians. Its reports consistently accused Israel of “collective punishment” and promoted international isolation of Israel, including a call for an arms embargo.

NGO Monitor’s analysis shows that AI’s reports alleging Israeli violations and “war crimes” lack credible evidence, distort international legal terms, use data selectively, and function as part of a larger demonization campaign.

(Read full report)

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