> Re****ts: 'Disastrous' Iraqi humanitarian crisis
> a.. Amnesty International and The Red Cross released re****ts Monday
>
> b.. Amnesty re****t: "A climate of impunity has prevailed; the economy
is
> in tatters"
>
> c.. Amnesty says conditions for women have worsened with rise of
> religious groups
>
> d.. Vice President Dick Cheney describes war as success with challenges
>
> (CNN) -- As the war in Iraq reaches its five-year anniversary this week,
> two of the world's leading humanitarian groups issued extensive re****ts
> Monday describing a crisis of huge pro****tions with little reason for
> hope.
>
> "Despite claims that the security situation has improved in recent
months,
> the human rights situation is disastrous," Amnesty International says in
> its re****t, titled "Carnage and Despair: Iraq Five Years On."
>
> In a summary of the re****t, Amnesty writes that "a climate of impunity
has
> prevailed, the economy is in tatters and the refugee crisis" keeps
> escalating.
>
> The International Committee of the Red Cross, in a re****t titled "Iraq:
No
> Let-up in the Humanitarian Crisis," writes, "Despite limited
improvements
> in security in some areas, armed violence is still having a disastrous
> impact. Civilians continue to be killed in the hostilities.
>
> "The injured often do not receive adequate medical care. Millions of
> people have been forced to rely on insufficient supplies of poor-quality
> water as water and sewage systems suffer from a lack of maintenance and
a
> shortage of engineers."
>
> The Bush administration and many Republican lawmakers, including
> presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, have frequently praised
successes
> in Iraq in recent months, noting improvements in security in key areas.
> They attribute that in part to the buildup of U.S. troops in Iraq
ordered
> by President Bush last year.
>
> Vice President Dick Cheney described the five year U.S.-led invasion of
> Iraq in a news conference Monday during a visit to Baghdad.
>
> "This week marks the fifth anniversary," said Cheney. "It has been a
> difficult, challenging, but none the less successful endeavor."
>
> Democrats, including presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack
> Obama, have said the government failed to use the downturn in violence
to
> achieve the steps it was supposed to make possible.
>
> Sen. John McCain met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Monday
> where he stressed the United States' commitment to Iraq. "We recognize
> that al Qaeda is on the run, but they are not defeated. Al Qaeda
continues
> to pose a great threat to the security and very existence of Iraq as a
> democracy. So we know there's still a lot more work that needs to be
> done," he said.
>
> Amnesty writes, "Key political benchmarks have yet to be realized."
>
> Both Amnesty and the Red Cross slam the Iraqi government for failing to
> grapple with the critical needs of their populations.
>
> Amnesty also says the Iraqi government and the U.S.-led Multi-National
> Forces are responsible for some nightmarish cir***stances.
>
> "Civilians are also at risk from Multi-National Forces and Iraqi
security
> forces, with many killed by excessive force and tens of thousands
detained
> without charge or trial," Amnesty writes in its summary. "The death
> penalty was reintroduced in 2004 and hundreds of people have been
> sentenced to death. At least 33 people were executed in 2007, many after
> unfair trials."
>
> In its re****t, Amnesty says the Iraqi government "has failed to
introduce
> practical measures to deal with the gross and serious human rights
> violations perpetrated by its security forces. There appears to be no
> serious willingness to investigate properly the many incidents of
abuses,
> including killings of civilians, torture and rape, and to bring those
> responsible to justice.
>
> "The government has also been unable to reign in ****ite militia groups,
> such as the Mehdi Army, or to rid the Interior Ministry of death squads.
> The fact that the government is divided along sectarian lines has
serious
> repercussions on its effectiveness and bodes ill for the future."
>
> The two re****ts cite a litany of concerns, including severe widespread
> poverty, a lack of food and water, and broken families left to scrounge
> for whatever they can find to get by. Both re****ts describe a situation
> that shows no sign of clear improvement.
>
> Amnesty also says conditions for women have worsened with the rise of
> fundamentalist religious groups. Many women "have been forced to wear
> Islamic dress or targeted for abduction, rape or killing." The group
notes
> a study by the World Health Organization in 2006/2007 that found 21
> percent of Iraqi women had experienced physical violence.
>
> Amnesty adds that the "predominantly Kurdish region of northern Iraq has
> been more stable with fewer acts of violence, and has seen growing
> economic prosperity and foreign investment. However, here too there
> continue to be serious human rights violations, including arrests for
> peaceful political dissent, torture, ill-treatment, the death penalty
and
> the killing of women in so-called honor crimes."
>
> The Red Cross says that despite the struggles in Iraq, the organization
> "has been able to help hundreds of thousands of the neediest Iraqis."
The
> group called for a "renewed effort" to "address the needs of everyday
> Iraqis."
>
>
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