G20 countries have a worse record on human rights that country's outside the organization, Amnesty International said in its annual report on human rights abuse published on Thursday.
The document details the state of human rights in 159 countries in 2009, paying attention to discrimination on racial, religious issues, juridical injustice and political persecution worldwide, along with the others issues.
According to the report, 42% of the G20 countries have political prisoners, while in other countries the figure is 30%.
Speaking in London as Amnesty presented its report, acting Secretary General Claudio Cordone said that such a situation was inadmissible for the states staking a "claim to global leadership".
He said seven states out of G20 had not signed up to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the legal body under which crimes can be prosecuted anywhere in the world.
Cordone added that the U.S., China, Russia, India, Turkey, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia had not confirmed their willingness to participate in the international judiciary and had "deliberately undermined international justice efforts."
"All governments, but especially those of the G20, which claim a greater role in global leadership, should be held accountable for whether their policies translate into tangible improvements in the lives of the world's poor," Amnesty's acting chief said.
Cordone touched upon the "global justice gap" in Georgian-Russian conflict in 2008 saying none of the sides was brought to justice. "Neither Russia nor Georgia had brought anyone to account by the end of the year, and 26,000 people were still unable to return home," he said.
According to Cordone, Amnesty's report proves that the "human rights movement is itself becoming more global and diverse, connecting ever better across borders and disciplines in pursuit of a comprehensive human rights project".
LONDON, May 27 (RIA Novosti)
