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CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK

Wake-Up Call: Human Rights Report

Aired May 28, 2003 - 06:08   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: In its annual report released this hour, Amnesty International says people are more insecure that at any time since the Cold War.
While the world focused on the war in Iraq, Amnesty International says many lives have been lost in a number of forgotten conflicts. It's been more than a year-and-a-half since the Afghan war ended. Still, Amnesty International says millions of Afghans face an uncertain and insecure future, and the London-based group says the war on terror has made the world a more dangerous place by limiting human rights.

So, has the war on terror put human rights concerns on the back burner? We've placed a "Wake-Up Call" to our State Department producer, Elise Labott.

Elise – good morning.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: What do you suppose the United States is going to say about this report?

LABOTT: Well, the U.S. always maintains, Carol, that the protection of human rights is an important part of its policy, obviously very continued and public concern about countries like China.

And Amnesty International mentions Columbia is one of the forgotten conflicts in the report, but Secretary Powell went to Columbia a few months ago and highlighted attention to that problem. But, Carol, Amnesty makes that case about the war on terrorism. And there have been crackdowns on freedoms of expression, intimidation and human rights activists across the world in the name of security.

And in the U.S., we've seen a lot of arrests, detentions by U.S. authorities, and other countries of suspected terrorists, and these suspects, as we see, are not always afforded civil liberties, such as a lawyer or a fair trial. And this is not only true in the United States, but around the world -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Understand. You know, the report specifically cited Afghanistan. What are the concerns -- the specific concerns it has about Afghanistan?

LABOTT: Well, Carol, in Afghanistan, even though the military action is finished and the Taliban is gone, there are grave human rights abuses continuing. Millions of Afghans, including the refugees, are living in a dire situation.

There is widespread concern about the treatment of prisoners arrested during the military action, suspected al Qaeda members and Taliban members being held both in Guantanamo and at Bagram Air Base, where there have been reports of overcrowding, lack of food and medicine and inadequate shelter.

And there is concern about the treatment of women. Even though the Taliban are out of power, there are still very religious figures who are denying women basic rights. And warlords are still in power in a lot of those areas, many of them armed. Security isn't all that strong, and the country isn't secure.

And, Carol, Amnesty is warning here that the same thing will happen in Iraq if no real genuine effort is made to enforce law and order and push the issue of human rights in that country – Carol.

COSTELLO: Elise Labott, thanks very much for waking up early with DAYBREAK.

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