Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 19 March 2015

The United States is one of the only countries in the world that doesn’t offer its workers paid family leave, harming new mothers and those caring for sick relatives.The US Senate should pass the FAMILY Act introduced this week and change this.
New research shows that both Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces are using widely-banned cluster munitions in war-torn eastern Ukraine. The weapons are putting the civilian populations at risk, and at least 13 civilians, including two children, were killed by clusters in January and February this year. Attacks by armed rebel group Islamic State (also known as ISIS) against Iraqi minority groups may amount to crimes against humanity and genocide, a United Nations report says. The crimes include killings, torture, rape and sexual slavery. The report urges the UN Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court. President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan has pardoned more than 100 prisoners, including two activists jailed after politically motivated trials. But many activists and journalists remain behind bars. A mob in Afghanistan’s capital reportedly killed and set fire to a woman, allegedly because she burned a copy of the Koran. Where were the police while the attack was occurring? Chilling footage that depicts African migrants attempting to find passage to Europe on perilously overcrowded boats has been released by Libyan security forces. The videos also show the terrible conditions of jails in which migrants are detained after being intercepted by Libyan police.