In its 2014 Annual Report released today, Amnesty details a catastrophic year for millions caught up in the violence, and documents the global response to global conflict and abuses. It says the “world has failed to find workable solutions to the most pressing needs of our time” including the rise of Islamic State and Boko Haram, as well as atrocities committed by other armed groups. Amnesty warns more and more people “will be forced to live under the quasi-state control of brutal armed groups” and will be subject to attacks, persecution, and discrimination” unless world leaders act immediately to confront the changing nature of conflict. In Syria, Iraq, Gaza, Israel and Ukraine, the UN Security Council (UNSC) has failed to deal with crises and conflict, even in situations where horrific crimes are being committed against civilians by states or armed groups, based on vested interests or political expediency, Amnesty said.
Though US has time and again vowed to take stern action against ISIS but it has failed to stop its advancement. US led bombings that were supposed to halt the militia’s advance have hardly dented al Baghdadi. And despite being in a state of fierce war in both Syria and Iraq, Da’ish continues to show a remarkable ability to take its fight to other corners of the world.It has once again reset the equation in Syria just as Bashar al-Assad’s government had finally – with Iranian and Russian help, of course – managed to start winning back territory. It faces no problem holding on to territories captured in Iraq. It has made large recruitments in Afghanistan, where it has even begun a mini civil war with the Taliban. It has openly threatened India with an imminent incursion. In Pakistan, the government has done its best to deny its presence, yet there are growing signs it has been pretty active here too. And more recently, it has turned its attention to Egypt. Already divided since al Sisi overthrew Morsi’s government, IS’s deadly campaign has deepened religious and sectarian cleavages in a suffering society.
Still, a cohesive multi-national effort to counter IS’s rise is yet to emerge. Regional states are not very cooperative. Gulf states have played a large role in the rise of ISIS because of their obsession to bring down the government in Damascus and their rivalry with Iran. The US, too, has not committed itself fully. If it hadn’t been for the few American casualties at the hands of IS, perhaps Washington would have resisted calls for the air campaign even longer. Yet the longer the rest of the world takes to wake up to the real potency of Da’ish, the more of a fight it will have to put up eventually as the enemy’s footprint grows and everybody feels the heat.
pk.shafaqna.com
