Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 8 December 2014

Good news from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today! The IOC added "sexual orientation" to its Charter's anti-discrimination language. The move comes after the widely criticized 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, which took place amid Russia's anti-LGBT violence and legislation, as the international community looks ahead to the 2020 Olympics. New policies regarding labor rights were also added. Authorities in Jordan have deported nine Syrian doctors back to Syria. The men were in Jordan to provide medical treatment to war-wounded Syrians. Instead of deporting medical workers, the Jordanian government should provide expanded medical services to the escalating number of wounded refugees escaping Syria's conflict. Meanwhile, conditions are getting worse for those Syrians living as refugees in Lebanon, as their food aid has now been drastically cut. Member states of the International Criminal Court met for the annual session of the Assembly of States Parties to discuss the progress of the Court and assess its needs. In doing so, participating governments should pledge their full support in ensuring the Courts' ability to provide fair justice for the worst international crimes. A landmark judgment at the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights ruled that Burkina Faso violated the right to freedom of expression of a journalist who was sentenced to 12 months in prison and had his newspaper shut down in 2012 for articles he had written. Similar laws are used frequently by governments looking to silence critics. African governments end the use of criminal defamation laws to jail journalists. New anti-LGBT legislation in Gambia is the latest manifestation of President Yahya Jammeh's draconian rule. The criminal code carries a sentence of up to life-imprisonment for "aggravated homosexuality" and has sparked a witch-hunt in Gambia, resulting in at least 14 arrests so far.