Report: Western nations accept elections, but neglect human rights

Posted : Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:48:04 GMT

New York - Western democracies increasingly have accepted elections conducted in countries that have no respect for human rights for the sake of political expediency, Human Rights Watch said Thursday. States that claim the mantle of democracy, include Kenya and Pakistan, while others like Bahrain, Jordan, Nigeria, Russia and Thailand have taken on the belief that elections are equal to democracy, the New York-based rights group said in an annual report.

It said Washington, Brussels and European capitals "play along" with the notion that a country can have democracy simply by holding elections.

"It's now easy for autocrats to get away with mounting a sham democracy," said Kenneth Roth, the group's executive director. "That's because too many Western governments insist on elections and leave it at that."

"They don't press governments on the key human rights issues that make democracy function - a free press, peaceful assembly, and a functioning civil society that can really challenge power," Roth said.

The report said grave human rights abuses have fueled humanitarian crises in Somalia and the Ogaden region in Eastern Ethiopia, where millions of people are suffering.