ner accused of having links with a terrorist organization and spreading false news. al jazeera rejects the charged to take part. i only tony harris, inside story is next. hello, i'm ray swarez. every year the u.s. is state department gathering intelligence and news from around the

world. and gathering it into a report on human rights in all their various forms. today the report was released and criticized friend and foe alike. the state department deplores the killing of civilians in conflict zones like syria. the suppression, of dissent and abusive protestors in places like cuba, turkey, and vietnam. and restrictions on press freedoms. so in this edition, we will take a look at the worldwide report card on human rights and later take a closer look at the continues jailing of four of our colleagues by the jinx government secretary of state john kerri introduced his department annual human rights report with an urgent message globally 2013 was a bad year for human rights.

>> the struggle for rights and dignity couldn't be more relevant to what we are seeing transpire across the globe. are also places where government deny basic rights. topping the report, the government use of chemical weapons on it's own people. hundreds were murdered in the dead of night, when a disaster occurred at the hands of a dictator. to effect the air with poisonous gas. >> also pointed to new details on the extent of

north korea's abuses. reports of people have been executed, summarily, and fired at by artillery. fired out by anti-aaron craft weapons. tens of thousands took to the streets to demonstrate against the power -- to demonstrate, again, the power of people to be able to demand a more democratic and accountable governance and to stand up even against those who would sniper from rooms and take their lives in

the effort to have their voices heard. so there are plenty of examples of places that choose a different road. he ended the remarks with a warning. >> we have to ask otherses if we don't stand with these brave men and women, then what do we stand for? if way don't give voice to those that are voice less, then who do we speak for. assistant secretary of state spoke at length of gay rights by governments like uganda and russia. >> inch when these laws are not in force, their mere existence creates a

message of fear, that it is permissible to discriminate against housing and in employment, and education. and that it is permissible to be or kill orator churr someone simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. and more than 400 shiite were killed in targeted attacks throughout the year. the iranian government continues to imprison many of the high faith leaders as well as chris chan pastor and so many others for the similar act of practicing their faith. >> poor working conditions came to the floor after a factory collapsed and kills've 1,000 garment workers last april. >> and we continue to see the impact, where migrant workers are subject to abuse, and denied recourse.

who were responsible for what the state department called the most violent disruptions of protests in 2013. egypt's heavy handed tactics against dissent and an active campaign against journalists was also noted for al jazeera journalists are on trial in egypt right now. despite the ouster of an elected leader in july at the hands of the military. the u.s.' working with egypt toward a return to democracy. i think that the report documents objectively, and in detail, persistence concerns over the year. and the current government with respect to freedom of association, freedom of assembly, security force the abuses. protection of religious minorities. >> countries like china,

turkey, and saudi arabia were mentioned in the report for renewing restrictions of press freedoms. >> throughout the year, many individuals were silenced as well. the saudi blogger, was sentenced to prison and 600 lashes for esspouses liberal thought. >> the report went on to say that more nan a third of the world's application lives under rule, and daily realities for many do no compliment international laws. in recent decades have lifted hundreds of millions of people out of repression the world is a better place than it has been for many people in more places than ever. but beatings, jails, discrimination, over bearing state power, and in some cases state instability, still threaten the lives and well being of millions.

joining us now from new york, freedom houses freedom of the press index, which evaluates press freedom in every country of the world. amnesty international advocacy director. and also from new york, michael posener. professor of business and society at new york university, he was the obama administration assistant secretary of state for the bureau of human rights and labor where 2009-2013. and professor, if you had to make your own report, would it be pretty consistent with what the state department found? what kind of year did you see it being for the world? >> i think the report they released today is excellent. a lot of time and energy goes into it. i think the trends are right. in a number of countries

you have growing activism. and they are taking to the streets or the blogs or trying to communicate through the press. and governments are cracking down. so i think the attack on civil society, is one of the trends that they rightly highlighted in the state department report. >> did you see areas that they either missed or you disagreed with their interpretation on? >> which is something they led when he was assistant secretary. therefore, however, some gaps. housing rights is not included and very recently, hundreds of egyptians has been kicked

out, and this pattern happens in many countries around the world. another example is the broader issue of how this report informs u.s. foreign policy. once it has criticized them in the report. >> catlin in many places it's become dangerous, complicated to be a reporter. was 23 a bad year? >> i think it follows on the trends we have seen. the freedom has seen decline in the level of global and freedom more broadly. so i think went 13 definitely followed on, and we saw the continuation of several problematic areas with have seen. very regressive laws against the press, and also this increased crack on online dissent. >> do we have to broaden

our definition of what it means to have a free press? yes, definitely, when we have seen declines in press freedom, people may say how is that possible able too produce information over mobile phones. what we have seen is as these channels have increased we have seen a crack down on these forms of communication by governments. and this is happening in very reprezzive settings but also in more open governments as well. definitely negative trends in terms of the backlash. >> we will take a short break, and when we come back, there's a couple of things we have to take a closer look at, is the united states in the right position to be looking across the world, and naming and shaming. and whether this does any good does it change the

practices of those governments named in this record, this is inside story, stay with us.

welcome back to inside story. we are talking about the hue moon rights report card. secretary of state this is not some high minded exercise, this is about accountability. when it comes to accountability, as you open up the tabs and look through the various reports naturally one country that's not reported on is the united states itself. are there things that happen in 2013 that others around the world might profitably report on? and does it undermine the united states own authority in this regard. >> well that's an important question. i think technical level the state department is probably not empowered to do inside reporting because it is like a min industry of foreign affairs.

but there are significant questions at home in the united states, and some of the big headlines have to do with surveillance, for example the nsa, the crack down on edward snowden is another example, when it comes to freedom at home, and the birth of whistle blowers. and then there are broader questions. police brutality, solitary confinement, the use of the death penalty. so certainly there are a lot of important issues at home that deserving a spotlight as well. >> and if some other country took it upon itself to write a report, would bit heard? would bit hear in fog by bottom at the state department. >> that's an interest c. penny question too. i would say the more countries that are speaking out in the international context about human rights the healthier it is, and it would force whatever country is asking those questions to also face a similar spotlight. amnesty international wants to see a bigger and bigger culture of global accountability for all of the governments that are players when it comes to how they treat their

citizens including the united states. >> fair comment? >> please do. >> one thick -- >> i have much agree that there is a healthy thing to have a look inward. the u.s. is reporting in the next couple of weeks. i led that process in 2010, and we consulted with about 1,000 ngos around the country, on a whole range of issues. to hear what american citizens were saying. so i think that's a healthy process, but that's going on in a variety of ways. not only in fog by bottom, but by the various agencies. >> many of the countries named in this report are

friends and allies of the united states. does getting named help anything? or a country that has until recently had growing press freedom, and now is backsliding. point fingers in a way that makes a difference then if someone else does? >> i think if his adult raise those concerns. and in many cases likely to be heard. i do agree there are problems at home that mace our voice less -- have less impact. and some of the issues in the u.s. in terms of this revelations about surveillance. is of a major concern, i think around the world, and in terms of the u.s. setting a good example. one area where i point to, where i think the criticism may be having an impact is in terms of this issue of whistle blowers and prosecuting

whistle plowers and the journalists that go after these stories and cover stories. about national security leaks. there have been a number of cases and i think it is having an impact, and it looks like this year there may be a renewed push to pass at the federal level, which i think would be a very positive outcome, and i think is now supportive of the obama administration. this request have ask impact. >> is there a variety of responses? are there governments that aspire that may hurt to be in a report like this, where are there others that don't care. they will bomb areas of residents, they will do whatever they want, if they need to. >> yeah, it runs the gamut.

one thing i was responsible for these, and one thing that is striking to me is how closely governments around the world, friends and foes, pay attention to it. a lot of drama about how the report is handed to a government. there are certainly some that similar imprevious, but a lot pay a lot of attention to this report. by anybody in the world. >> is one of the things that contributing to that gamut of responses whether or not you have an elected government?

saudi arraign has gotten a lot of criticism, but in march, president obama is going to saudi arabia on a "fence mending trim." ten the the criticism in the report, where we heard the current acting hundreds of lashes being given to someone in saudi arabia. will president obama say this should not happen. we aren't going to stand by your side, if you whip someone repeatedly for speaking out on human rights. >> when someone like this

comes out, is it a subject of conversation when leaders meet. >> sometimes it is. and i would say it always should be. my job, and others in the state department are always putting the human rights points on the agenda, for the president, for the secretary, for other leaders. sometimes it makes it in, and sometimes it doesn't. a range of plays where we out to be seeing more. >> another short break, and when we come back, we will focus on al jazeera's global day of action, in h support of our four degrees still being detained in egypt, this is inside story. i must begin my journey,

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suppressing politicalws

opposition, minorities and journalists. and before begin a look at my jail colleagues, you had one more comment on this report? one particular area is the longest recipient of u.s. aid israel is treated with kid gloves when it comes to the israeli occupation. how dominant the power of the military occupation is. the over recipient of major aid in the area is egypt, and right now, al jazeera journalists are being held by the interim government there. what are these arrests and the determination do go ahead tell you about the state of play for press freedom in egypt. >> this is a vermont case, because we have known -- they have had

them for a number of years. but this is the first case we have seen where they detained four journalists. and it's a very serious case, and it really signals that the commitment by press freedom is nil, there's no commitment right now. and unformingly much of that has been erased. >> own societies without press freedom, international agency correspondents are not usually arrested and jailed? >> no, we have seen it in very restrictive environments so the central asian stands in china for example, there's been a crack down in foreign reporters. so this is really a worrying signal they are

also going to go after foreign reporters. and it is one of the ways of giving out news -. >> egypt is a country that has been very close to the united states in the recent past. no amount of jake carney today at the white house brief and talking about these reporters will make egypt it seems simply say okay, go and sin no more. >> i think egypt is a critically important country. your four are among four that have been -- it's really almost impossible to be the critical of the government now. egypt is the most

important country. it is critical to pay more attention, egypt hasn't gotten the attention it deserves. i think in the last seven or eight months and it is at a critical juncture right now. for more open debate about a range of issues. >> from freedom house, and from amnesty international, thank you very much for being with us today. >> thank you so much. >> before we go, we want to tell you about what here at al jazeera are calling a global day of action. wayshow of solidarity and support for four of our journalist whose are jailed in the egypt. al jazeera, and mohammed 1/2ny have been detained since desks abdullah al shammy has been held since august. the work called for their release today at the white house and on the floor on the house of representatives. >> they are allowed out

of their cell one hour a day, and they have been detained. abdullah, the al jazeera arabic correspondent has been held since august of 2013, and has been on a hunger strike protesting his detention since january. we understand that the defends pleaded not guilty, and that the trial was adjourned until march 5th. we strongly urge the government to allow these and all journalists to allow them to do their jobs and it is impossible to see how they can do that. ifner faced with questionable charges. >> this is the scene at our headquarters in doha, the entire newsroom stopped for a moment of silence, balloons bearing

the # free a.j. staff were released in london. in paris, there was a demonstration. >> journalists and friends where our reporter was based and there was a show of support in sidney australia. in beirut. badgers and posters say journalism is not a crime. you can follow developments and across social media, the #is free a.j. staff. that brings us to the end of this edition, thank you for being with us, in washington, i'm ray swarez. . (footballnames.ecl)

day, benghazi, the city the size of charlotte,. >> two years ago, fault lines traveled to libya, as forces fought to overthrow moammar gadhafi, in the unrest that was sweeping the arab world. now, benghazi is a by-word for political scandal, after the murder of an american ambassador in 2012. >> i cannot imagine sending folks out to benghazi, after what we saw, from the security cameras and the drones. >> mistakes were made. >> and i said that what benghazi