War on Terror; Undermining Human Rights�

War on Terror �Undermining Human Rights�: "

Governments and international institutions have turned a blind eye to massive human rights violations and �sacrificed principles in the name of the war on terror, Amnesty International said on Tuesday.

In its annual report, the London-based human rights watchdog said the security agenda of the powerful and privileged had diverted the world's attention from serious human rights crises elsewhere.

Criticising western governments, Irene Khan, Amnesty's secretary general, said: 'When the UK remains muted on arbitrary detention and ill-treatment in Guantnamo, when the US ignores prohibition on torture, when European governments are mute about their record on renditions, racism or refugees, they undermine their own moral authority to champion human rights elsewhere in the world.'

While the report covers the past twelve months, the British government has recently called on the US to close the Guantnamo Bay detention centre, which prime minister Tony Blair branded an 'anomaly'.

The United Nations also came in for censure. According to the report the UN had failed to monitor the human rights performance of China and Russia, allowing their political and economic interests to prevail over human rights concerns domestically or internationally.'