Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 9. The China Human Rights Research Association released a research report on "The United States Has Committed Serious Human Rights Violations in the Middle East and Other Places" on the 9th.
The full text is as follows:
U.S. commits serious human rights violations in the Middle East and beyond
China Human Rights Research Association
August 2022
The United States has committed a series of crimes that seriously violate international law, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, arbitrary detention, abuse of torture, torture of prisoners, and indiscriminate unilateral sanctions in the Middle East and its surrounding regions, which constitute a systematic violation of human rights and endanger lasting And far-reaching.
The crimes of the United States have not only led to repeated wars in the Middle East and other places, frequent wars, deep conflicts and security dilemmas, but also caused serious damage to the rights of life, health, personal dignity, freedom of religious belief, survival and development of the local people.
1. Waging wars, killing civilians, undermining the rights to life and existence
American historian Paul Atwood pointed out in his 2010 book "War and Empire: The American Way of Life": "War is the American way of life." The United States has not participated in a war since its founding. Less than 20 years ago, it is a veritable "war empire".
After the end of the Cold War, almost all major conflicts and wars in the Middle East and its surrounding areas have the United States in the shadows, and they have become the hardest hit area of the United States' foreign wars.
According to the US "Smithsonian Institution Magazine" statistics, since 2001, the United States has launched wars and military operations in the name of "anti-terrorism", covering "about 40% of the countries on the planet."
The United States not only gathered its allies to launch the Gulf War (1990-1991), the Afghanistan War (2001-2021), the Iraq War (2003-2011), etc., but also deeply participated in the Libya War and the Syrian War, creating a humanitarianism rarely seen in the world. disaster.
The U.S. has caused direct, serious and lasting damage to the right to life and survival of the people in the region.
First, wantonly wage war in violation of international law.
The Afghanistan war and the Iraq war are the two largest wars the United States has launched in the Middle East and its surrounding areas, which have caused serious disasters to the lives and living conditions of the people of the two countries.
According to a study by Brown University's "Cost of War" project, more than 174,000 people died directly in the war in Afghanistan, of which more than 47,000 were civilians.
The nearly 20-year war in Afghanistan has left 2.6 million Afghans fleeing abroad and 3.5 million displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.
In 2003, the United States bypassed the United Nations, violated the basic principles of international law prohibiting the use of force, and launched the Iraq War on grounds fabricated out of thin air, which constituted an aggression against Iraq.
According to the Global Statistical Database, between 2003 and 2021, about 209,000 Iraqi civilians died in wars and violent conflicts, and about 9.2 million Iraqis became refugees or were forced to leave their homeland.
The United States launched wars in the Middle East and other places, which seriously damaged the people's right to life and survival in the region.
Second, trampling on international law and killing innocent civilians indiscriminately.
In order to achieve its own military goals, the United States regards the lives of civilians in other countries as nothing.
First, the United States has repeatedly and indiscriminately attacked civilians in the Middle East and other places.
On August 12, 2005, a U.S. armored patrol vehicle shot at people coming out of a mosque in the suburban town of Ramadi, Iraq, killing 15 Iraqis, including eight children, and injuring 17 others.
On November 21 of the same year, US troops stationed in Iraq opened fire on a civilian vehicle in northern Baghdad, killing a family of five, including three children.
The U.N. Commission of Inquiry accused the U.S. military of "indiscriminately launching indiscriminate attacks in Syria, causing civilian casualties and reckless consequences, constituting war crimes".
A United Nations report released in September 2019 noted that many of the airstrikes carried out by the U.S.-led coalition in places such as Syria "did not take the necessary precautions to distinguish between military targets and civilians."
Second, the United States has widely used air strikes to carry out so-called "anti-terrorism" operations, often "manslaughtering" civilians, injuring innocent people, and arbitrarily depriving them of the right to life.
The New York Times reported that, based on an investigation of classified Pentagon documents, frequent U.S. airstrikes in Syria have resulted in a large number of civilian casualties due to “serious intelligence deficiencies” and “mistargeting,” which the Pentagon usually chooses to cover up or not be guilty of. penalty.
In 2017, the U.S. military launched what it called "the most precise airstrike" on the Syrian city of Raqqa.
The RAND Corporation, a U.S. think-tank, released a report that the U.S. military operation resulted in 38 civilian casualties, killing 178 civilians and wounding dozens of others.
Some human rights groups have estimated the number of civilian casualties could be as high as 1,600.
On March 18, 2019, U.S. drones killed at least 64 civilian women and children as they searched for "extremist groups" in the town of Baghouz on the Syrian-Iraqi border.
In February 2022, the US military launched a raid in Syria's Idlib province, killing at least 13 people, including six children and three women.
On August 29, 2021, a drone attack by the US military in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, killed 10 local civilians, including seven children.
The third is the unprovoked killing of civilians by U.S. military contractors.
The United States is accustomed to using military contractors to exercise hegemonic repression in the Middle East, and they often escape accountability for their illegal and criminal acts there.
In 2007, employees of the American Blackwater Company carried out a massacre in Nisour Square in Baghdad, killing 14 civilians, including two children, and injuring at least 17 others.
In 2020, then-President Trump even pardoned Blackwater employees who committed war crimes in Iraq.
Statement by the UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Mercenaries
It is pointed out that this action of the US government has impacted international humanitarian law and human rights, and is an affront to justice and the victims and their families, and called on all States parties to the Geneva Conventions to jointly condemn this action.
There is no doubt that the US military's wanton massacre of civilians abroad constitutes a crime against humanity.
Third, indirect participation in the war resulted in a large number of civilian casualties.
The United States has extensively cultivated proxies in the Middle East and other places, and sold weapons in large quantities, causing large-scale humanitarian disasters.
The United States has deeply participated in the Syrian war and the civil conflict in Libya by fostering multiple proxies, causing the local wars and conflicts to continue to this day. The situation has become increasingly complex, and political reconciliation and social stability are still far away.
Jalil, the former chairman of the Libyan National Transitional Council, said that the ongoing civil unrest has led to the deaths of many Libyans, "and the United States does not care about the consequences of military operations and wars."
According to data released by the United Nations, the US military intervention has caused at least 350,000 lives in Syria, more than 12 million people have been displaced, and 14 million civilians are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
The Syrian refugee issue has been called by the United Nations "the biggest refugee crisis of our time".
Facing the quagmire of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US government, which recklessly launched wars, has repeatedly chosen irresponsible evacuation for its own selfish interests, disregarding the most basic humanitarianism, and has led to the deterioration of the long-term conflict and chaos in the countries concerned.
The United States has destroyed Iraq's original state machinery by force, which has led to the decline of the Iraqi government's ability to control and provided space and conditions for the expansion of terrorism.
In 2011, the United States irresponsibly withdrew its troops from Iraq, resulting in the "Islamic State" and other extremist organizations taking advantage of the situation and frequent violent terrorist attacks, which has become the biggest challenge endangering the security of Iraq and the region.
In August 2021, the United States also irresponsibly withdrew its troops from Afghanistan, and again ignored the safety of the lives of the Afghan people in the process of withdrawal, resulting in many shocking casualties.
2. Coercive transformation, unilateral sanctions, violation of the right to development and the right to health
The United States recklessly suppresses countries and organizations that do not obey its own in the Middle East and other places, enforces American values, and ensures the global political and economic order and security order led by the United States. It is to change the path of independent development of countries in the region, and seriously damage the sovereignty of relevant countries in the Middle East and the rights to development and health of the local people.
First, subvert the regime, interfere in internal affairs, and violate the sovereignty and human rights of other countries.
On the one hand, after the end of the Cold War, in order to fully dominate the Middle East and other places, the United States directly promoted regime change by launching wars and other sovereign countries that did not obey the will and interests of the United States, and then forced the transplant of "American-style democracy" and transformed the country's political system. system and development path.
The most typical example is that the United States overthrew the regime it did not like through the armed invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq in 2001 and 2003.
On the other hand, the United States has long supported the infiltration of NGOs and agents into the Middle East society, and has repeatedly used "color revolutions" to change the development path of Middle Eastern countries.
As the "pawn" and "white glove" of the U.S. government interfering in other countries' internal affairs and instigating separatist confrontation, the National Endowment for Democracy has served the strategic interests of the United States, and has carried out long-term infiltration and subversion activities against Middle Eastern countries, leaving behind a patchwork of bad marks.
Relying on continued funding from the White House and the U.S. Congress, the organization followed the orders of the U.S. government and incited color revolutions in Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, Algeria, Syria, Libya and other countries by providing funding to pro-U.S. individuals and groups. It was the "Arab Spring" "The important man behind the scenes.
The United States is trying to transform regional countries and establish fragile and dependent regimes to serve its global hegemony.
The forced "system export" by the United States not only has a profound hegemonic color, but also undermines the efforts of regional countries to independently explore development paths, resulting in a series of catastrophic consequences.
The "forced transformation" carried out by the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya and other countries has led to the disruption of the political order and social stability of these countries, and the destruction of social unity and national cohesion.
Such acts of overthrowing the regimes of other countries by force, interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, and forcibly exporting the so-called "democracy" not only violate the basic norms of international relations such as prohibiting the use of force and non-interference in internal affairs, but also seriously violate the rights of the people of the relevant countries to choose their own development paths and basic human rights.
Second, the indiscriminate imposition of unilateral sanctions has caused serious economic losses to relevant countries and a decline in the quality of life of the people.
The United States is the only "sanctioning superpower" in the world.
According to the U.S. Treasury Department's 2021 Sanctions Assessment Report, as of fiscal year 2021, the U.S. had more than 9,400 sanctions in effect.
Since 1979, the United States has imposed various unilateral sanctions on Iran and other countries for a long time.
In 1996, the so-called "D'Amato Act" was thrown out, prohibiting foreign companies from investing in the energy industries of Iran and Libya, and implementing a "long-arm jurisdiction" that was extremely harmful and far-reaching.
Since then, the U.S. sanctions on Iran have increased and escalated step by step.
During the Trump administration, the United States imposed sanctions and "maximum pressure" on Iran in an attempt to promote change and subvert the Iranian regime.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said during his administration that the U.S. Trump administration's sanctions caused at least $200 billion in economic losses to Iran. "U.S. sanctions against Iran are inhumane, criminal and terrorist acts."
From 1980 to 1992, the United States imposed unilateral sanctions on Libya; from 1992 to 2003, the United States coerced and wooed allies to expand unilateral sanctions on Libya.
The World Bank points out that Libya has suffered as much as $18 billion in economic losses from sanctions, while Libyan officials believe the sanctions cost it $33 billion.
After the first Gulf War, the United States imposed brutal unilateral sanctions on Iraq, with serious consequences.
Between August 1990 and May 2003, sanctions cost Iraq $150 billion in lost oil revenue.
To this day, Iraq's per capita annual income has not reached its 1990 level ($7,050).
In addition, sanctions have caused a severe humanitarian disaster in Iraq, where the infant mortality rate has doubled and the under-five mortality rate has increased sixfold.
At the same time, Iraq's education, health care, and social security systems were destroyed, and the literacy rate dropped from 89 percent in 1987 to 57 percent in 1997.
After the U.S. withdrew its troops from Afghanistan in 2021, it not only imposed economic sanctions on Afghanistan, but also froze billions of dollars in foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank of Afghanistan, bringing the Afghan economy to the brink of collapse and making people's lives even worse.
A World Food Program official pointed out that the US economic sanctions on Afghanistan have exacerbated the local food crisis. "98% of Afghans do not have enough to eat, and nearly half of children under the age of 5 will be severely malnourished."
However, on February 11, 2022, U.S. President Biden signed an executive order requiring the Central Bank of Afghanistan’s assets of about $7 billion in the U.S. to be equally divided, half as a source of funds to compensate the victims of the “9.11” incident, and the other half It was transferred to an account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to help the "people of Afghanistan," while making it clear that the assets would not be returned to the Taliban regime.
The US government's hegemonic act of openly looting the property of the Afghan people has been widely condemned by the international community.
Drezner, a professor at Tufts University, criticized in an article published in the journal Foreign Affairs that successive U.S. administrations have abused economic coercion and economic violence to take sanctions as their preferred solution to diplomatic problems. humanitarian disaster.
The unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States against the governments of relevant countries in the Middle East and other places ultimately harm the ordinary people of these countries and seriously damage the development rights of the sanctioned countries and people.
Third, it creates a humanitarian crisis and seriously undermines the right to life and health of the people in the countries concerned.
The Gulf War and the Iraq War launched by the United States and the subsequent violent conflicts destroyed a large amount of Iraqi infrastructure, greatly reduced the national public service capacity, and the people faced problems such as lack of water, electricity, and medicine. The first victims were the poor, The most vulnerable groups such as children, widows, and the elderly.
Take the health sector as an example. After the Gulf War, the level of medical care in Iraq has dropped significantly.
In 1990, 97% of Iraq's urban population and 71% of its rural population had access to public health services.
After the Iraq war in 2003, about 20,000 local doctors fled, and a large number of medical facilities were destroyed in the fighting.
As a result of the damage to power plants and water treatment facilities caused by U.S. bombing, the number of people suffering from diarrheal disease was four times as high as before the war.
Nine out of 13 hospitals in Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, were destroyed, leaving a city of 1.8 million with only 1,000 available beds.
In addition, when the United States launched the Iraq War, it used a large number of depleted uranium bombs, which caused huge damage to the health of local residents and seriously violated the health rights of local people.
Ignoring the global spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the US government still stubbornly insists on imposing unilateral sanctions on Iran, Syria and other countries, making it difficult for the sanctioned countries to obtain medical supplies needed to fight the epidemic in a timely manner.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, pointed out in 2020 that sanctions will hinder medical cooperation in the fight against the epidemic and increase risks for everyone; whether it is to safeguard global public safety or to safeguard the safety of millions of people in sanctioned countries. Right and life, sanctions in special areas should be relaxed or suspended.
Due to sanctions, Iran is unable to import essential medicines and medical equipment, severely affecting the health of millions of Iranians.
The Iranian government applied to the International Monetary Fund for a special loan of US$5 billion to fight the epidemic in order to raise funds to fight the epidemic, but was blocked by the United States.
The United States has blocked Iran's import of new crown vaccines by freezing Iran's overseas funds and threatening vaccine suppliers.
In 2020, Iran said it had tried three times to pay for vaccines under the WHO's COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Plan (COVAX), but was unable to pay due to U.S. sanctions and restrictions.
An analysis by the Brookings Institution estimated that at the height of the outbreak in Iran, the impact of continued U.S. sanctions was further exacerbated, possibly leading to as many as 13,000 deaths.
3. Create a "clash of civilizations", abuse imprisonment and torture, and violate freedom of religious belief and human dignity
The United States does not respect the diversity of civilizations, is hostile to Islamic civilization, destroys the historical and cultural heritage of the Middle East, arbitrarily imprisons Muslims and indiscriminately tortures them, and seriously violates the basic human rights of people in the Middle East and other places.
First, spread the "Islamic threat theory" around the world.
The United States advocates the supremacy of Western civilization and Christian civilization, despises non-Western civilization from its core, stigmatizes Islamic civilization, and labels Islamic civilization as "backward," "terrorist," and "violent." The "Islamic threat theory" is exaggerated worldwide, deliberately misleading and even inciting people to be hostile to Islam, discriminating against Muslims, provoking a "clash of civilizations", and preparing and defending public opinion for launching a global war on terrorism.
The "Islamophobia" created by the United States was once widespread in the United States and other Western countries, which seriously damaged the national dignity and international image of Islamic countries, and violated the personal freedom and freedom of religious belief of the majority of Muslims.
Under the obstruction of the United States, the legitimate national rights and reasonable demands of the Palestinian people have not been resolved for a long time, and peace, development and human rights have become impossible to talk about.
Second, destroy the cultural heritage of ancient civilizations in the Middle East.
The United States pursues Western-centrism and advocates "the theory of democratic peace" and "the theory of democratic transformation", ignoring the long and splendid history of the Middle East civilization.
After the US military launched the Iraq War, its military operations directly caused regime change, social unrest and long-term war.
More seriously, during the US invasion and occupation, the Iraqi capital Baghdad fell into anarchy for a time. The Iraqi Museum, listed by UNESCO as one of the 11 largest museums in the world, includes Sumer, Babylon, Assyria and other museums in the region. During the historical period, 170,000 treasured cultural relics, which were the essence of ancient art and civilization, were looted, and human civilization was devastated.
According to international law such as the Hague Convention on the Laws and Customs of War on Land and the Geneva Convention, the occupying power should maintain social order in the occupied area.
After the U.S. occupation of Baghdad, the U.S. military failed to take timely measures and avoided the obligation of international law to maintain social order under the pretext of not being the police. This led to the largest cultural destruction case in human history.
The deputy director of the Iraqi Museum bluntly complained in 2003 that the U.S. military should be responsible for everything that happened.
In addition, the United States suppresses, insults and bullies Middle Eastern countries, destroying the cultural self-confidence of Middle Eastern countries and people, and destroying the national pride and self-confidence of the people in the Middle East.
Third, the torture and torture of prisoners seriously undermine Muslims' right to human dignity.
Since the United States launched the global war on terrorism, there have been endless scandals of prisoner abuse against Muslims.
A study by Brown University's "War Cost" project pointed out that after the "9.11" incident, the United States set up "black prisons" overseas under the guise of "anti-terrorism", involving at least 54 countries and regions, detaining Muslims, women and minors. Hundreds of thousands of people, including people.
As early as 2003, the US military brutally abused detainees in Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq, many of whom were innocently detained and even caused a large number of deaths, a serious violation of international human rights law.
The United States also created the Guantanamo Prison to detain "terrorists" from the Middle East and other places. A total of about 780 people have been detained, many of whom have never been criminally charged.
At present, there are still more than 30 detainees in the prison, who are in their old age, physically weak, deprived of their liberty for a long time, and subjected to endless mental and physical torture.
In Guantanamo Prison, in addition to extensive abuse and torture, American personnel tortured prisoners by desecrating the Koran and violating Islamic beliefs, including throwing the Koran into the toilet, tearing up and burning the Koran under the guise of a search weapon , allowing female guards to monitor naked prisoners in the bathroom, etc., triggering collective protests and even collective suicides of detained prisoners.
In September 2021, the US prison and detainee abuse practices at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan were exposed by the media.
Evidence investigated by the International Criminal Court shows that the US military in Afghanistan disregarded international justice and trampled on international norms, and for a long time inflicted "torture, abuse, violation of personal dignity, rape and sexual violence" on detainees, including placing at least 30 prisoners in a cage and placing them in a cage. Tortured prisoners hid in hidden areas and left to fend for themselves, blindfolded prisoners and paraded them naked, etc.
The humiliation and cruel treatment of prisoners by the U.S. military seriously violated their basic personality rights and violated the U.S. obligation under international human rights law to prohibit torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Facts have shown that the United States has seriously violated the basic human rights of the local people in the Middle East and other places, causing permanent damage and irreparable losses to the countries and people in the region.
The hegemonic nature of the United States and the brutality, cruelty, and harmfulness of power politics have been exposed, and the people of the world have become more aware of the hypocrisy and deceit of "American-style democracy" and "American-style human rights."