41.   Defense Minister Raul Salazar has denied the security forces committed abuses.

42.   Government officials admit police officers sometimes commit human rights abuses, but say the numbers are exaggerated.

43.   He claimed U.S. officials are using allegations that the Taliban are harboring bin Laden, committing human rights abuses and exploiting women as excuses for an attack.

44.   He said the abuses were mostly committed by local authorities, and that the government always turned a blind eye when asked to investigate cases of intimidation.

45.   Human rights abuses were still committed by both the Tutsi-led armed forces and Hutu rebels, he said.

46.   Human rights activists say the soldiers and the militants both commit human rights abuses.

47.   Human rights groups say that Indonesian troops have committed widespread abuses in East Timor.

48.   Human rights workers charge that the police are resisting the new system because it stops them from torturing, illegally detaining or committing other abuses against citizens.

49.   In addition, the government fail to prosecute or sanction adequately members of the security forces and prison guards who commit abuses.

50.   In Colombia, the report said high-ranking government security forces had committed serious abuses, including extra-judicial killings, but were rarely brought to justice.