Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 21 October 2014

Ukrainian government forces used cluster munitions in populated areas of the city of Donetsk earlier this month, new research by Human Rights Watch has shown. The group said it is "shocking to see a weapon that most countries have banned being used so extensively in eastern Ukraine.” Human Rights Watch has previously documented the use of unguided Grad rockets by both government forces and pro-Russian rebels in and around Donetsk. More than 2,500 migrants and asylum seekers have died or are missing feared dead this year after trying to reach Europe in rickety boats across the waters of the Mediterranean. War, instability and economic hardship on the edges of Europe mean more people than ever are attempting the perilous journey. It's also time the EU did more to save lives. Three years after members of Bangladesh's elite counter-terror unit shot a 16-year-old boy his attackers have still not faced justice, Human Rights Watch said today. Limon Hossain was gunned down at point blank range in fields near his village by forces from the country's Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and had to have his leg amputated in order to save his life. Fears are growing for the plight of an unknown number of Yazidi people still stranded on or near Mount Sinjar, in northern Iraq. There are reports that Islamic State (ISIS) militants are closing in on the area, despite recent US airstrikes in the region. The human rights situation in Indonesia has deteriorated over the past decade, with an alarming rise in religious intolerance and related violence. But now that Indonesia has sworn in a new leader, Australia has a fresh opportunity to engage the government of Joko Widodo and encourage it to act to end increasing abuses. Staying with Australia, its government has spent huge sums of money to house just over 2,000 asylum seekers in offshore holding centres in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. But despite the massive financial outlay, there are still serious shortcomings in the system. More generally, Australia's policy on asylum seekers has proved hugely controversial. Amnesty International is calling for Uzbekistan to immediately and unconditionally release Dilorom Abdukadirova, who's been imprisoned since 2010 for taking part in a public protest. She's serving an 18-year sentence on "spurious" charges, said Amnesty, which has organised protests outside Uzbek embassies in several countries today. Last month Human Rights Watch documented terrible torture and abysmal conditions inside Uzbekistan's prisons. The security situation in Iraq is growing worse by the day, with suicide attacks once again returning to haunt its capital city Baghdad. The UN has also expressed alarm about the growing number of executions Iraq is carrying out. Last year, Iraqi courts hanged 177 Iraqi citizens - only China and Iran executed more of their own people.