The annual report on human rights released by the State Department on Monday said that Iraqi government topped the list for human rights abuses last year that included torture, rape and illegal detentions after interim administration took charge in June.
It cited reports of arbitrary deprivation of life, torture, impunity, poor prison conditions and arbitrary arrest and detention. The report, however, said the Iraqis respected human rights, but serious problems remained as the government and US-led forces fought a violent insurgency.
The State Department also criticized countries like North Korea, Syria and Iran, and US allies, including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan for poor showings on human rights issues.
Among the worst abuses cited in the report were torture in Syria, serious abuses in China and the crisis in Sudan, where a government-backed militia is killing civilians. North Korea was criticized as one of the world's most brutal regimes, while Egypt and Iran were also condemned for their record on human rights.
“What it shows is that we don't look the other way,” a State Department official said. “There are countries we support and that are friends, and when they have practices that don't meet international standards, we don't hesitate to call a spade a spade,” he said.
The report bypassed the abuse at Abu Ghraib detention camp, which came to light in 2004.
The report gave detailed information on the violation of human rights law which was put in place by the US and the Iraqi Governing Council. This included police officers in Basra killing 10 Baath Party members; killing 12 kidnappers, including three policemen in Baghdad; and that corruption was rampant at each level of government.
The only saving grace for Iraq in the report was that it got thumbs up for its prison conditions which had shown significant improvement after the fall of Saddam Hussein, but it said still many prisons were short of international standards.
