ROMA – The world faces dire consequences from escalating conflicts and the near-collapse of international law, he writes Amnesty International in the annual report on the state of human rights in the world. The organization denounces that the rule of law is at risk due to the rapid progress of Artificial Intelligence which, combined with the dominance of Big Tech and without specific regulation at a global level, threatens to fuel human rights violations in a context of strong global inequality, superpowers competing for supremacy and an increasingly serious climate crisis.
The end of international law. Faced with the multiplication of conflicts – denounce Amnesty – the actions of many countries have damaged the credibility of multilateralism and undermined the global order based on rules established for the first time in 1945. In the main conflict that has outlined and bloodied 2023 and which currently shows no signs of abating, the evidence of war crimes increases day by day and the principles of international law are constantly betrayed. Following the terrible Hamas attacks on October 7, Israeli authorities responded with continuous air assaults on areas densely populated by civilians, killing entire families, forcibly displacing nearly 1.9 million Palestinians and limiting access to humanitarian aid. which would be necessary given the severe famine that the war has caused in Gaza. The report highlights the brazen use of the veto by the United States, which has paralyzed the United Nations Security Council for months on a resolution needed for a ceasefire, while continuing to arm Israel with munitions used to commit probable crimes of war. “The failure of the international community to protect thousands of civilians – a shockingly high proportion of whom are children – from being killed in the Gaza Strip demonstrates that the very institutions created to protect civilians and uphold human rights are no longer fit for purpose . What we have seen in 2023 confirms that many powerful countries are abandoning the founding values of humanity and universality enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, comments Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty Internationallyl.
Russia and Myanmar. The report also documents a flagrant violation of international rules and laws by Russian forces during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It highlights indiscriminate attacks on densely populated civilian areas as well as crucial energy and grain export infrastructure, and denounces the use of torture and other ill-treatment against prisoners of war. All this in addition to the severe environmental contamination caused by the war through a series of actions such as the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, probably committed by the Russians. Myanmar’s military junta has also conducted attacks against civilians, resulting in more than 1,000 deaths in 2023 alone. Neither the Burmese military nor Russian authorities have committed to investigating the violations. Both received financial and military support from China.
He Sudan. Both sides in the war, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, have shown little attention to international humanitarian law: they have carried out targeted and indiscriminate attacks with explosive weapons in densely populated neighborhoods, killing 12,000 people in 2023 alone. This triggered the world’s largest displacement crisis, with more than 8 million people forced to flee. Meanwhile, the end of the conflict is far away while the food crisis is now close to turning into famine.
Technology. That used to fuel hatred, division and discrimination represents a global threat, he writes Amnesty. The organization reports that politicians in many parts of the world are escalating attacks against women, LGBTI people and marginalized communities. Technologies are increasingly used as weapons to fuel repression, spread disinformation, pit communities against each other and attack minorities. Argentina, Brazil, India and the United Kingdom have increasingly turned to facial recognition technologies to surveil public protests and sporting events and discriminate against the most vulnerable communities, particularly those made up of migrants and refugees. For example, the New York Police Department revealed in 2023 how it used technology to surveil Black Lives Matter protests in the city. Equally worrying was the use of facial recognition in the West Bank, used by Israel to enforce restrictions on freedom of movement and entrench apartheid.
Inequalities against Roma and disabled people. In Serbia, the introduction of a semi-automated social assistance system has meant that thousands of people have lost access to vital social assistance. This has particularly affected Roma communities and people with disabilities, demonstrating that unchecked automation can only exacerbate inequalities. With millions of people fleeing conflict around the world, the report finds abusive technologies have come to be relied upon for migration and border governance, through the use of data software and algorithmic decision-making systems.
The role of spyware. Meanwhile, spyware has remained largely unregulated, despite mounting evidence of the human rights abuses it causes, with exiled activists, journalists and human rights defenders constantly targeted. In 2023 Amnesty International denounced the use of Pegasus spyware against journalists and civil society activists in countries such as Armenia, the Dominican Republic, India and Serbia.
Artificial Intelligence (AI). Its regulation has remained largely stagnant. However, in a sign that European Union policymakers are starting to act, a landmark EU-wide law on digital services came into force in February 2024. Although imperfect and incomplete, it has nevertheless triggered a global debate on the regulation of digital services. ‘TO THE.
Facebook algorithms. Amnesty International denounced how the algorithms used by Facebook have contributed to ethnic violence in Ethiopia in the context of an armed conflict. And this is a great example of how technology is used as a weapon to pit communities against each other, especially in times of crisis.
Problems that will increase. These problems – he writes Amnesty – will increase in a crucial election year, given that the business model based on surveillance and whose algorithms aim almost exclusively at maximizing engagement, are the basis of the main social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok e YouTube.
The elections. The US presidential election in November will take place against a backdrop of growing discrimination, harassment and abuse on social media platforms against marginalized communities, including LGBTI people. Even intimidating anti-abortion content is now increasingly widespread.
That billion Indians who will vote. Around a billion people will vote in India, where attacks against protesters and religious minorities are increasingly frequent. In 2023 Amnesty International revealed that one spyware invasive had been used to target a number of Indian journalists and, more generally, tech platforms have become a battleground where politicians use the “us versus them” narrative to gain votes and evade legitimate citizen questions on economic and security concerns.
A year of mobilizations. The Israel-Hamas conflict has sparked hundreds of protests around the world. People called for a ceasefire to end the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, as well as the release of all hostages taken by Hamas and other armed groups, long before governments did. Citizens took to the streets of the United States, El Salvador and Poland to demand the right to abortion. Around the world, thousands of people have joined the youth-led movement Fridays For Future to call for the elimination of fossil fuels. It was also a year of victories. Following the commitment of the movement #MeToo of Taiwan and other civil society organizations, active in calling for an end to online sexual violence, the government approved an amendment to the “Law on the Prevention of Sexual Violence Crimes”. There COP28 has defined, for the first time, a transition plan from fossil fuels.
Exhortations to governments. Afghan education activist Matiullah Wesa was released last October after seven months in prison for criticizing the Taliban’s policy of banning women from secondary education. “Urgent measures are needed to renew international institutions designed to safeguard humanity. Steps must be taken to reform the UN Security Council so that permanent members cannot exercise, unchecked, their veto power to impede the protection of civilians and strengthen geopolitical alliances. Governments must also adopt robust legislative and regulatory measures to address the risks and harms caused by AI technologies and dominate Big Tech,” concludes Agnès Callamard.
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– 2024-04-24 22:42:55
