Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 25 September 2015

Following the deaths of over 700 pilgrims in a stampede at the Hajj, many are demanding to know who is responsible, with some pointing to Saudi crowd control and security efforts, which they say may have prioritized VIP visits over general public safety. Saudi officials have thus far blamed the pilgrims themselves, accusing them of not following instructions. The Saudi king has called for an investigation. The Netherlands has called on the UN human rights chief to send a mission to investigate alleged war crimes in Yemen. Given the vicious conflict there between Shiite Houthi rebels and the Western-backed, Saudi-led coalition - in which over 2000 civilians have reportedly died - it is high time for accountability for abuses. Pope Francis has delivered a pressing message on dignity to the United States Congress. Legislators were applauding, but were they really listening? A year after Hong Kong's people staged an unprecedented protest for democracy, the government continues to deny this fundamental right, while pressing charges against student leaders for organizing the peaceful movement. In Uzbekistan, police have detained two human rights activists as they documented forced labor in the country’s cotton fields. Russian president Vladimir Putin will meet with US president Barack Obama on Monday as part of Moscow's initiative to ramp up support for Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, whose barrel bombs are very likely the biggest single killer of civilians in the country's civil war and a leading driver of refugees out of Syria, as people flee to find safety... ...and although so many of those refugees are now heading to the EU - or being sent back and forth ping-pong style between EU member states - European leaders continue to duck responsibility for the crisis. Another topic likely to come up in the Obama-Putin meeting is the conflict in Ukraine, where Moscow-backed rebels have just ordered UN agencies and humanitarian groups to leave the eastern region of Luhansk. And finally, Obama is not the only one one Putin's schedule: despite some earlier confusion over a hoax phone call, it seems that Putin has indeed agreed to meet singer Elton John to discuss the dismal state of LGBT rights in Russia. Between the state's legal crackdown on the LGBT community - including Russia's notorious "anti-gay propaganda" law - and police tolerance of attacks by vigilante groups and individuals against LGBT people, there is much to discuss...