Skip to main content

Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 7 April 2015

Kenya, Yarmouk, Iraq, Yemen, Azerbaijan, China, France, Libya, Malaysia, Bangladesh

The abominable attack on Kenya’s Garissa University College last week confirms the depth of Kenya’s security crisis. But rather than resorting to knee-jerk retaliation, Kenya should address the abuses, corruption and impunity which has fuelled radicalisation and al-Shabaab recruitment.
Some 18,000 people besieged in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk in Syria are living in conditions that are "beyond inhumane" says the UN, and the UN Security Council has today demanded immediate humanitarian access. Life under siege in Yarmouk was already intolerable, but the situation deteriorated when the extremist group Islamic State (ISIS) launched an offensive there one week ago.
The suspected mass graves of hundreds of Iraqi soldiers killed by ISIS have been found in the city of Tikrit. Forensic teams are examining the graves and DNA testing will begin soon. It's feared the bodies are linked to a massacre documented by Human Rights Watch, which found at least 770 captured soldiers had been murdered. At the time, ISIS claimed to have killed up to 1,700 prisoners.
Fighting continues in Yemen, where an array of national armed forces, tribal groups, Islamic militants and militias have all put countless civilians at unnecessary risk. With so many different groups fighting there, what are the rules of law to the conflict?
The first European Games in Azerbaijan will be tainted by rights abuses if European Olympic Committees continue to remain silent over several unjustly imprisoned journalists and activists in the country, Human Rights Watch has said. Some 6,000 athletes will travel to the capital Baku in June, but Azerbaijan is in the midst of a fierce crackdown on free speech and press freedom.
China's women activists are growing in both number and prowess. But early last month five female activists were detained and are still being held in custody. With no sign of their release despite pleas from rights groups, many are asking what China's so scared of.
A draft law being considered in France would grant the state sweeping powers of digital surveillance that are entirely inconsistent with the country's international human rights commitments.
The chaos and unrest in Libya continues, where fighting in Benghazi has seen parts of the city almost entirely destroyed.

Your tax deductible gift can help stop human rights violations and save lives around the world.

Region / Country