Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 29 January 2015

The 2015 World Report from Human Rights Watch is out. Spanning over 90 countries, this 644-page document examines the state of human rights in the world today - from violent war in Syria, Ukraine, Iraq, Gaza, the Central African Republic, Libya, and South Sudan, to the continued trampling of rights by governments in Russia, Egypt, Burma, China, Saudi Arabia, and a host of other countries. Far from rights being a constraint, human rights can bring the world back from crisis and chaos. The world has not seen this much tumult for a generation. Between Islamist extremists in the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia and Cold-War like tensions in Ukraine, it can feel like the world is unraveling. Particularly in periods of challenges and difficult choices, human rights are an essential compass for political action. Many governments have responded to the turmoil by downplaying or abandoning human rights. Governments directly affected by the ferment are often eager for an excuse to suppress popular pressure for democratic change. That subordination of human rights is not only wrong, but also shortsighted and counterproductive. Human rights violations played a major role in spawning or aggravating most of today’s crises. World Report 2015 also reviews human rights practices in more than 90 countries. What's your country's rights record?