The Nobel Peace laureate and Northern Ireland's Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble called human rights organizations a "great curse" on Wednesday and accused them of complicity in terrorist killings.
"One of the great curses of this world is the human rights industry," he told reporters at an international conference of terrorism victims in Madrid.
"They justify terrorist acts and end up being complicit in the murder of innocent victims," Trimble said.
His words drew an angry reaction from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, two of the world's biggest human rights groups, with more than a million members worldwide.
Steve Crawshaw, director of the London office of Human Rights Watch, said:"It is extraordinarily regrettable and disappointing that, above all, a man like that says something like this.
"His own emphasis, together with other politicians in Northern Ireland, on the fact that violence against civilians on all sides of any conflict cannot be justified, has been so important in recent years," Crawshaw said.
Kate Allen, Amnesty International's UK Director, said: "The threat of terrorism must never be used as an excuse for abusing people's human rights.
"David Trimble should remember that human rights organizations have condemned killings and other abuses by terrorist groups all over the world, while at the same time criticizing governments who use the `war on terror' as a pretext to abuse their citizens."
A spokeswoman for the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo, which awarded Trimble his prize in 1988, declined to say whether it considered itself a member of the "human rights industry."
"We don't comment on what former laureates say. We have no reaction to that," she said.
Trimble was joint winner of with the former leader of Northern Ireland's Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), John Hume, for their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland.
He made his comment as one of the keynote speakers at the first international congress of terrorism victims.
The conference ended in Madrid on Tuesday night.
He backed another politician at the conference, the Colombian vice-president Francisco Santos, who said that human rights groups were hindering progress towards peace in his country.
"For human rights organizations to call (the Colombian rebel group) FARC `armed opposition groups' undermines the struggle of those who have decided to side with democracy," Santos said. "That is not right. It is unacceptable."
After hearing of Trimble's comments, Robin Kirk, a researcher on Colombia for Human Rights Watch, said: "Human rights defenders are under attack in Colombia, so these are dangerous comments to make."
Human Rights Watch has criticized Colombia's anti-terrorist legislation and calls groups such as FARC either "illegal armed groups" or "leftist guerrillas."
The conference in Madrid ended with a declaration that partly supported Trimble's position.
MONEY GRAB: People were rushing to collect bills scattered on the ground after the plane transporting money crashed, which an official said hindered rescue efforts A cargo plane carrying money on Friday crashed near Bolivia’s capital, damaging about a dozen vehicles on highway, scattering bills on the ground and leaving at least 15 people dead and others injured, an official said. Bolivian Minister of Defense Marcelo Salinas said the Hercules C-130 plane was transporting newly printed Bolivian currency when it “landed and veered off the runway” at an airport in El Alto, a city adjacent to La Paz, before ending up in a nearby field. Firefighters managed to put out the flames that engulfed the aircraft. Fire chief Pavel Tovar said at least 15 people died, but
LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER: By showing Ju-ae’s ability to handle a weapon, the photos ‘suggest she is indeed receiving training as a successor,’ an academic said North Korea on Saturday released a rare image of leader Kim Jong-un’s teenage daughter firing a rifle at a shooting range, adding to speculation that she is being groomed as his successor. Kim’s daughter, Ju-ae, has long been seen as the next in line to rule the secretive, nuclear-armed state, and took part in a string of recent high-profile outings, including last week’s military parade marking the closing stages of North Korea’s key party congress. Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a photo of Ju-ae shooting a rifle at an outdoor shooting range, peering through a rifle scope
India and Canada yesterday reached a string of agreements, including on critical mineral cooperation and a “landmark” uranium supply deal for nuclear power, the countries’ leaders said in New Delhi. The pacts, which also covered technology and promoting the use of renewable energy, were announced after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed a fresh start in the relationship between their nations. “Our ties have seen a new energy, mutual trust and positivity,” Modi said. Carney’s visit is a key step forward in ties that effectively collapsed in 2023 after Ottawa accused New Delhi
Gaza is rapidly running out of its limited fuel supply and stocks of food staples might become tight, officials said, after Israel blocked the entry of fuel and goods into the war-shattered territory, citing fighting with Iran. The Israeli military closed all Gaza border crossings on Saturday after announcing airstrikes on Iran carried out jointly with the US. Israeli authorities late on Monday night said that they would reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel to Gaza yesterday, for “gradual entry of humanitarian aid” into the strip, without saying how much. Israeli authorities previously said the crossings could not be operated safely during
RSS