What's happened
Amnesty International has issued a stark warning about the near breakdown of international law, citing flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, escalating armed conflicts, and rising authoritarianism globally.
Why it matters
The report by Amnesty International underscores the unprecedented level of violation of international order, highlighting the dire consequences for civilians in conflict zones. The breakdown of international law could have far-reaching implications for global peace and security, necessitating urgent action to uphold human rights and prevent further atrocities.
What the papers say
The Guardian and The Independent both report on Amnesty International's annual global report warning of a near breakdown of international law. The Guardian emphasizes the UK's role in destabilizing human rights protections, while The Independent focuses on the failures of powerful governments like the US, Russia, and China in upholding international rules and values.
How we got here
The world is witnessing a troubling trend of increasing violations of international law, with conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, authoritarianism on the rise, and widespread human rights abuses in countries like Sudan, Ethiopia, and Myanmar. Amnesty International's report sheds light on the erosion of the post-World War II system of law and the failure of powerful nations to uphold human rights standards.
More on these topics
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Agnès Callamard is a French human rights expert and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council.
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Amnesty International is a non-governmental organization with its headquarters in the United Kingdom focused on human rights. The organization says it has more than eight million members and supporters around the world.
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China, officially the People's Republic of China, is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.4 billion in 2019.
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The Gaza Strip, or simply Gaza, is a self-governing Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, that borders Egypt on the southwest for 11 kilometers and Israel on the east and north along a 51 km border.
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The United Nations Security Council is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and approving any changes to the UN
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Israel, formally known as the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia, located on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea.
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Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which borders it to the east and northeast.
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Hamas is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist militant organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.