Best of Dispatches: Top News Posts This Week

Seeking pressure to end the use of cluster munitions by both sides in Ukraine; Dialogue on North Korea's abuses is increasing - and so is talk of action; and a rare victory in Afghanistan, but problems persist - these were among the most popular posts to Dispatches, our daily forum for breaking human rights news and commentary. You can find all our Dispatches here.

Dispatches: Memo to Russia on Ukraine Cluster Munitions

Ole Solvang
On October 23, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Alexander Lukashevich, said on the ministry’s Twitter account that the Ukrainian government’s use of cluster munitions showed the “barbaric nature of Kiev’s punitive operation,” the Kremlin’s term for the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine....

Dispatches: The Moment of Truth in North Korea

Param-Preet Singh
“Rule #1 in the camp: you should never ask why you were there. Many of those who asked were publicly executed.”...

Dispatches: Afghan Child Rape Case Brings Hope, Call for Action

Ahmad Shuja
On Saturday, something rare occurred in Afghanistan: a Kabul court convicted a man of raping a 10-year-old girl...

Dispatches: Beware the Share Button in Russia

Tanya Cooper
These days in Russia anti-government critics would do well to know that the authorities scrutinize their every word and action waiting for a chance to pick from an array of vague laws to pursue charges that can silence the criticism...

Dispatches: Nobel Laureates Press Obama on CIA Torture

Laura Pitter
Twelve Nobel Peace Prize winners last night joined their voices to growing calls for US President Barack Obama to release the nearly 500-page summary of a report detailing the Central Intelligence Agency’s use of torture and other abuse as part of its post 9/11 detention and interrogation program...