The following are quotes taken from Human Rights Watch World Report 2003:
- Over the past year the United States witnessed a persistent erosion of basic rights, including the right to liberty.
- Anybody [in the US] could be picked up and detained forever as an enemy combatant upon the unverified claim of the Bush administration.
- Washington in fighting terrorism has refused to be bound by human rights standards.
- Washington's tendency to ignore human rights is dangerously counter-productive: the smouldering resentment it breeds risks generating terrorist recruits.
- In too many places Washington sees human rights mainly as an obstacle to its goals.
- Washington has waged war on terrorism as if human rights were not a constraint.
- The US Government opposed efforts to strengthen the prohibition against torture
- An anti-terrorism policy that ignores human rights is a gift to the terrorists.
- Europe's leadership [on human rights\] was hampered by . . . undue deference to Washington and the premium it put on consensus at any cost.
- The Iraqi government continued to commit widespread and gross human rights violations.
- Saddam Hussein . . . if he sees the end of his rule is near is perfectly capable of . . . using chemical or biological weapons.
- The IDF [Israeli army\] killed Palestinian civilians willfully and unlawfully.
- The Palestinian Authority failed to move decisively against [suicide bombers\] when it still had the capacity to do so.
- More than at any time since the depths of the Cold War, human rights were marginalised in Asia.