Amnesty protests US rights violations

A large number of Amnesty International activists have held a demonstration in Brussels to protest against the United States’ human rights violations.

The demonstration was held on Tuesday, hours before US President Barack Obama was scheduled to land in the capital of Belgium.

The protesters criticized Obama for failing to make good on his campaign promise of shutting down America’s notorious Guantanamo prison in Cuba.

The demonstrators, who were wearing orange jumpsuits, also condemned US assassination drone strikes against other nations.

Philippe Hensmans, the director of Amnesty International, Belgium said, “Even if Mr. Obama has promised once again to be more transparent in the use of drones, unfortunately it is still going on, they are still killing civilians.”

Earlier this month, a UN human rights investigator said that the death toll of civilians in US drone strikes in Afghanistan and Yemen continues to rise.

Ben Emmerson made the remarks during a press conference in Geneva on March 12 after he presented a report on dozens of US drone strikes where civilians allegedly perished to the UN Human Rights Council.

He stated that there was a threefold increase in drone-related civilian deaths between 2012 and 2013 in Afghanistan.

Emmerson also warned that the escalation in drone strikes and civilian casualties in Yemen is a cause for concern.

“And the picture in Yemen remains cause for serious concern. The frequency of armed drone strikes appears to have intensified, particularly during the closing months of 2013, with a sharp escalation in the number of reported civilian casualties,” he stated.

Emmerson said the US has de-escalated the use of drone strikes in Pakistan as a result of growing criticism in Pakistan and abroad.

Washington claims that its airstrikes target militants, but local sources say civilians have been the main victims of the attacks. The UN has called the US drone attacks targeted killings that flout international law.