Human Rights Watch "World Report" 2012 published calls for Arab Spring report

Human Rights Watch said that the best way to ensure regional stability is to give unfettered support to peaceful protesters and government critics as they continue to struggle against their long-entrenched regimes.

“A principled insistence on respect for rights is also the best way to help popular movements steer clear of the intolerance, lawlessness, and revenge that can threaten a revolution from within,” said the group in a press statement on Sunday.

The group has also called upon Western leaders to acknowledge that the rise of political Islam does indeed represent the majority preference of many in the Middle East.

“However, the international community should insist that Islamist governments abide by international human rights obligations, particularly with respect to women’s rights and religious freedom, as with any government,” said the group.

In Bahrain, for instance, where democratic uprisings were brutally oppressed, the United States showed little support, fearing that Iranian influences would have overtaken a power vacuum in the small island nation.

“The people driving the Arab Spring deserve strong international support to realize their rights and to build genuine democracies,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “Loyalty to autocratic friends shouldn’t stand in the way of siding with democratic reformers. International influence is also needed to ensure that the new governments extend human rights and the rule of law to all, especially women and minorities.”

“Rights-respecting governments should support international justice regardless of political considerations.  It’s misguided to believe that allowing countries to sweep past abuses under the rug will somehow avoid encouraging future atrocities,” Roth said.