A month of ironies, to put it euphemistically. A month of hypocrisy, putting somewhat more pejoratively. We saw George Bush criticise China for her human rights record on the eve of the Olympics, at the same time new reports emerged of America’s torture record. Similarly, one must surely see Bush’s advisers as short-sighted, or perhaps arrogant, in respect of the language used to condemn Russia’s invasion of Georgia, especially as new evidence emerged at the same time about the run up to the invasion of Iraq. (The same would apply to the UK, and perhaps even Georgia herself) Let’s hope that this ‘one rule for us, a different rule for them’ will not continue.

That said, there has been some hope this month. Despite the fact that much of the criticisms of China have been purely political rhetoric, human rights have once again been seen in a positive light – as the protector of individual freedoms from the state. We hope that this will be transposed back into our domestic thinking, and the proposed Bill of Rights is perhaps one way of creating such a culture and helping to dispel the frequently occurring myths.

There even seems to be some hope (finally) in the US, with what looks like it may the beginning of a judicial backlash against Guantanamo Bay indicated by the Hamdan trial. Only time will tell. 

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