Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 1 February 2016
Syria blast as peace talks begin; #CompassionCrisis in Europe; Iraq war crimes; mass graves of Yezidis being compromised; EU troops & child sex abuse in Central African Republic; abuses on both sides in Yemen conflict; #HRWeekend in Amsterdam.
Get the Daily Brief by email.
Every year, Cambodian women expecting good jobs are trafficked to China only to be sold as brides. You can be sure that for every woman who escapes her captivity in China, there are dozens more that never make it out.
Staying with China, a Chinese journalist, last heard from in Thailand, has gone missing in the midst of a severe crackdown in China on human rights advocates, lawyers and the media.
In April, the United Nations General Assembly will review the international response to drugs for the first time in 18 years. This is a big deal because the 'war on drugs' has left behind millions of people with legitimate pain relief needs as collateral damage.
From this morning: At least 71 people were killed in blasts near the Shia shrine of Sayyida Zeinab near Damascus, the capital of war-torn Syria. The attack was claimed by the extremist group Islamic State, and was aimed at disrupting peace talks in Geneva, according to the European Union.
As London prepares to host an international conference on Supporting Syria, Human Rights Watch has urged donors to do more than just promise extra financial aid.
Europe's compassion crisis hit new lows over the weekend, with reports that hundreds of masked men reportedly attacked refugees and anyone who didn't appear to be ethnically Swedish during a rampage in Stockholm's main train station.
In Iraq, civilians are paying the price for the government's failure to rein in out-of-control Shia militias. Members of these groups are responsible for a recent wave of killings and other abuses, that may amount to war crimes.