Amnesty: UN Security Council ‘unfit for purpose’

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International, in its annual State of the World Human Rights report,lambasted the UN Security Council for being “tired, out of step and increasingly unfit for purpose.”

It highlighted the failure to take stronger action in Syria as evidence that a “sclerotic” council was hamstrung by vested interests.

It said the Assad regime may have committed crimes against humanity by the use of lethal force and torture.

“The dictators have gone in many of these countries in transition, but not the dictatorships. So we have to keep our eyes very carefully on these places. We hope that in respect of who becomes the president, there are some absolute urgent things to do,” said Amnesty boss Salil Shetty, in reference to the ongoing Egyptian elections.

Amnesty expresses its concern over the unfolding events in Egypt, but also salutes 2011 as a “tumultuous” year during which millions took to the streets worldwide in pursuit of human rights.

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