Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 3 November 2014

The US, along with 17 other member countries, has abstained from voting on a Mine Ban Treaty resolution in the UN General Assembly. In doing so, it joins Egypt, Iran,Syria, Lebanon, and North Korea, among others. If the US is serious about banning mines, it should vote ‘yes’ on the resolution.
Witnesses to a massacre in an Iraqi mosque by pro-government militias and security forces can identify the attackers by name, but despite this, no one has been brought to justice. The attack left 34 worshippers – mostly Sunni – dead. The Iraqi government should take up a full and transparent investigation and bringthe gunmen to account.
A court ruling in London on October 30 marked a rare victory in the search for justice for torture and other abuses by the UK, US, and their allies in the years after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Abdul Hakim Belhadj, a former political opponent to Muammar Gaddafi, and his wife, brought claim against the UK for rendering them to Libya, where they say they were tortured. But an appeals court ruled this case should be heard in court.
People with HIV and AIDS are routinely denied care within Yemen’s healthcare system. HIV-positive individuals in Yemen said that they had been repeatedly refused treatment once medical staff found out their HIV status. Yemeni authorities should end such discrimination by health workers and ensure patients’ equal access to healthcare.
Concern over Hungary’s backslide on human rights is rising, despite the government’s decision to hold off on introducing a controversial internet tax following mass public protests over the legislation. Restrictions on media and civil society have caused many to question where the country is headed in respect to upholding rights. From earlier today: Victims of a massacre in a mosque in Diyala province by Iraqi pro-government militias and security forces recognized the attackers and knew them by name, yet no one has been held to account. "Iraqi authorities and Iraq’s allies alike have ignored this horrific attack and then they wonder why the militant group Islamic State has had such appeal among Sunni communities," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.