Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 10 June 2016
No school for millions of children; Buddhist monastery faces demolition in China; crackdown on criticism in Malaysia; Assad regime pressed to release prisoners; good news from Tanzania on albinos; funeral of boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
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Millions of children and adolescents across the globe are being denied their right to education. Girls are driven out of school by widespread sexual abuse and violence by teachers and peers, abusive 'virginity' testing, mandatory pregnancy testing, and policies excluding pregnant girls. Today Human Rights Watch released a report with recommendations on this topic, just before the start of an international summit in Norway (June 13-16), to adopt measures to improve access to quality education globally.
Authorities in China should suspend plans to demolish residences at a historic Buddhist monastery in Sichuan province, says Human Rights Watch. There are plans to eliminate quarters for all but 5,000 monks, nuns, and laypeople at the Academy of Larung Gar, one of the world’s largest monastic institutions.
The Senate in Malaysia should reject the government's proposed legal changes because they would undermine the rights of criminal suspects and erode the authority of judges.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations has called for the release of thousands of prisoners by the regime in Syria. Tens of thousands of people have been tortured and killed in detention centers since the uprising against President Assad began in March 2011.
Good news from Tanzania, once one of the most dangerous countries in Africa for people with albinism. The country has sharply reduced the number of murders of albinos, banned unlicensed witchdoctors and increased penalties for those caught trading in body parts of albino people.
And today the farewell ceremony and burial of boxing legend and symbol of the civil rights movement Muhammad Ali takes place in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. Ali died last Friday aged 74.