Human Rights watch is calling on the new Obama administration to put human rights issues at the focus of its foreign, domestic, and security policies. According to the human rights organisation, this is needed to counterbalance the years of human rights violations perpetrated by the Bush administration.

The current crisis in Gaza emphasises the need for international attention to be focused on the human rights abuses that are an increasingly common part of modern conflict. According to Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, the incoming Obama administration has a chance to build the ‘global credibility’ of the United States.

The recently published 564-page World Report 2009 highlights that human rights abuses are still prevalent in many countries, including: Afghanistan, North Korea, China, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Western states have also not escaped criticism. The Report mentions how attempts to fight terrorism in France and the United Kingdom have led to infringements of fundamental rights.

Several repressive governments receive diplomatic protection from the United States, China and Russia. According to Roth, greater protection of human rights can be achieved if the United States changes its own strategy and leads by example for the protection of fundamental rights. Human Rights Watch suggests that the Obama administration could ‘subject itself to the rule of law by resigning the International Criminal Court (ICC) treaty’ and becoming a member of the UN Human Rights Council.