“2014 was a catastrophic year” for human rights.
That’s what Amnesty International said in its recent report.
It was a record year for human rights abuse, and for sheer numbers of refugees.
Let’s a look at just how bad 2014 was around the world.
1) Middle East
In Syria and Iraq, ISIS attacked, kidnapped, and executed scores of people who were perceived
as disobeyers of Sharia (sha-REE-ah) law.
Many of the executions were videotaped and displayed online.
In Iraq, Shi’a (SHE-ah) militias continued to slaughter Sunni civilians with indirect
support from the Iraqi government.
In July, Israel launched an assault on Gaza which killed about 2,000 Palestinians.
In January 2015, the International Criminal Court announced a preliminary investigation
into these deaths as war crimes.
Egypt’s new government imprisoned thousands of activists throughout the year, and sentenced
hundreds of them to death.
More than 800 reportedly died from violence during protests.
In December, in Pakistan, the Taliban attacked a public school resulting in the deaths of
132 children.
It was the deadliest Taliban attack in Pakistan’s history.
2) Africa
In Nigeria, around eight thousand people died last year, many from attacks by the terrorist
group, Boko Haram.
Almost 300 schoolgirls were abducted by the Islamic militant group in April, and many
are still in captivity.
In the Central African Republic, during conflicts between Muslims and Christians, more than
5,000 people perished.
Most were civilians.
In South Sudan, fighting between government and opposition forces left thousands dead
and forced more than 800,000 to flee their homes.
3) The Americas
In Venezuela in February, mass anti-government protests resulted in 43 deaths and 870 injuries.
In Mexico, in September, 43 students enroute to a protest were detained by police and later
disappeared.
They are thought to have been killed by the local mafia, working with law enforcement.
In the United States, the officer-involved shooting of Michael Brown ignited racial tensions
in Ferguson, Missouri, and prompted months of rioting across the nation.
In December, the US released the “Torture Report”, which detailed many offenses committed
by the CIA against prisoners, supposedly in pursuit of information on terrorists.
4) Asia
A UN report released in February detailed the North Korean government’s “systematic,
widespread and gross” human rights violations.
Hundreds of thousands of people remained in detention facilities in North Korea throughout
2014.
In Hong Kong during September, thousands of protesters took to the streets to demand universal
suffrage.
More than a hundred were detained, and some are still incarcerated.
5) Europe
In Kiev, Ukraine, anti-government protests concluded, with more than 100 dead in 2014.
Since April 2014, the UN reports that more than 6,000 people have died from the conflict
in eastern Ukraine with pro-Russian separatists.
CONCLUSION: In an effort to improve conditions in 2015, Amnesty International is urging UN
members to not veto any Security Council measures which take action against genocide, war crimes
or crimes against humanity.
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