* News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International AI INDEX: AMR 51/52/98
21 AUGUST 1998
Amnesty International expresses concern at US air strikes

Amnesty International today expressed its alarm at yesterday's United
States air strikes on targets in Afghanistan and Sudan. The organization is
writing to the US government seeking clarification on measures taken to
protect civilian lives.

     Amnesty International is concerned that the human rights of civilians
remain paramount, and that this has to be a key factor in decision-making.
The organization expressed its concern at the possible indiscriminate nature
of these attacks which would violate international humanitarian law. According
to Articles 48 and 51 of Additional Protocol 1 to the Geneva
Convention which have now become customary international law, armed forces
are obliged not to target civilians, either directly or through indiscriminate
or
disproportionate attacks. They are also required to protect the civilian
population from the dangers arising from military operations.

     Amnesty International  acknowledges the rights of governments to
protect the safety of their citizens and condemns deliberate attacks by armed
groups which lead to civilian casualties. The organization condemns
unequivocally the callous slaughter of civilians in the bomb attacks
on the US Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.  However, these attacks
can never be used as a justification for actions which could cause further
human rights violations and loss of civilian life. Experience has shown that
such attacks frequently lead to reprisals and escalation of conflict in which
civilians bear the brunt of the violence.

     This situation should remind the international community of the
ongoing human rights crises in Afghanistan and Sudan, and the dangers arising
from transfers of weaponry to states or armed groups without adequate
guarantees that they will not be used to commit human rights violations.

     For more than 20 years, the US government, along with several others,
has offered material and political support to armed groups in Afghanistan both
following the Soviet invasion and for periods during the current civil war.
These arms have been used to commit widespread human rights abuses against the
civilian population.

     For years Amnesty International has been urging the international
community to bring the human rights catastrophe in Afghanistan to an end. The
US has a direct responsibility to use its influence to promote international
efforts to secure peace and human rights in Afghanistan, rather than
selectively pursuing its interests. It also has a responsibility to use its
influence to
promote the protection of human rights in the Sudan, a country where the gross
abuse of human rights has become the norm particularly during deliberate
attacks on civilians by government forces which have caused famine in the war
zones.        .../ENDS


****************************************************************
You may repost this message onto other sources provided the main
text is not altered in any way and both the header crediting
Amnesty International and this footer remain intact. Only the
list subscription message may be removed.