Human rights - American hypocrisy

Hypocrites!!

US report criticizes countries for 'human rights violations'

The US government has criticized a number of countries for what it calls violations of human rights, while its own rights record leaves much to be desired.

Press TV,

20 April, 2013

In its annual human rights report released on Friday, the US State Department accused countries such as Iran, Russia and Venezuela of clamping down on human rights activities.

“From Iran to Venezuela, crackdowns on civil society included new laws impeding or preventing freedoms of expression, assembly, association and religion,” the report said.

It also criticized the governments of Egypt, Bangladesh and China for “heightened restrictions on organizations receiving funding from abroad” as well as the “killing, harassment and arrest of political, human rights and labor activists.”

“These reports send a very clear message that all governments have a responsibility to protect universal human rights,” US Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday in releasing the documents to the public.

“They help to blaze a path forward for places where those rights are either threatened or denied,” he added.

The allegations come despite numerous UN Human Rights Council reports that have accused the United States of serious rights violations, including its assassination drone strikes in Muslim countries.

According to the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, in Pakistan alone 366 strikes have killed up to 3,581 people, with 884 being innocent civilians.

The international body has also slammed the US for rights violations in Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib prisons.

See: Former US President Carter: Venezuelan Electoral System “Best in the World”