BRUSSELS, Feb 21 (AFP) - Amnesty International on Monday urged the European Union to use a summit with US President George W. Bush to warn him that human rights must be respected whatever the demands of Washington's "war on terror."
The rights group reiterated criticism of US policy, notably in the scandalous mistreatment of prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison.
"The US policy and practice has not only embarrassed its friends, it has also set a singularly bad example for those governments looking for justification of their own repressive government," it said in an open letter to the European Union's current Luxembourg presidency.
"And yet the EU has remained painfully silent," Amnesty added, reiterating its condemnation of the Abu Ghraib abuse as "contrary to professed shared values."
"The forthcoming meeting with President Bush should mark a critical moment for you to consider whether the EU can continue to ignore its responsibility with regard to the failure of the international community to stake out the limits to what is permissible in the 'war on terror'."
The open letter was sent ahead of a summit between Bush and leaders of the 25-member EU on Tuesday in Brussels, the US president's first stop in a five-day Europe trip designed to mend fences two years after the US-led invasion of Iraq.
02/21/2005 13:52 GMT - AFP