One of the major issues affecting relations in the Middle East is the abuses of human rights throughout the region. Several countries have been perrenial members of worst offender lists as put out by Amnesty International including Iraq, Iran and Syria. Several other countries, including Saudi Arabia and Israel, are also offenders of various human rights including detaining individuals without trial for extended periods of time and taking property without just compensation.
Israel is a special case as it has been the focus of numerous United Nations resolutions that call upon Israel to solve the Palestinian refugee problem and resolve all disputes flowing from the disruption of the lives of the Palestinians as a result of the numerous wars between Israel and its neighbors.
Iraq has also been cited for numerous human rights abuses including the use of chemical and/or biological weapons on the Kurdish and Shi'ite populations that oppose President Saddam Hussein's regime. In addition to the damage done to his own population, the crushing sanctions imposed on Iraq are taking their toll on the Iraqi public. Many in the international community view this as an abuse of human rights as well. It is made all the worse by the fact that the body imposing these abuses is supposed to be the protector of human rights: the United Nations itself.
I hope that you take a look at the links I have provided on the topic. If you find any other links that might be useful to other readers, be sure to post them here. If you'd like to leave a comment or just say hi, by all means leave some comments or start a discussion.
List of Human Rights Websites on the Net:
Iraq and Human Rights This article is found at MERIP and is a good site for background information on the human rights abuses resulting from sanctions and the Iraqi government treatment of the population.
Human Rights Abuses is another article about the human rights abuses in Iraq.
The Iraq Foundation Home Page is a comprehensive web site with information regarding the current situation in Iraq and the latest developments with the UNSCOP attempts to track down the weapons of mass destruction that Iraq denies having.
Commission on Human Rights 1997/60 - UNHCHR is the international organization that categorizes and tracks human rights abuses around the world. This web site is chock full of information on the situation in Iraq as well as other human rights abuses around the world.
