Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 17 June 2016

Murder of Jo Cox; MSF & EU’s "dangerous approach to migration"; arbitrary arrests in Bangladesh; killer robots; trials against human rights lawyers in China and dispatch on a broken phone in Italy.

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Tributes have been paid around the world to Jo Cox, an MP in the United Kingdom and a brilliant advocate for human rights and humanitarian causes who died after being shot and stabbed on Thursday. Jo Cox' husband Brendan said in a statement: “She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now. One, that our precious children are bathed in love, and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her. Hate doesn’t have a creed, race or religion – it is poisonous."
Big news from Brussels, where Doctors Without Borders announced they will no longer accept funds from EU member states and institutions. The "dangerous approach to migration" of the EU "places asylum in jeopardy worldwide", according to MSF. Three months into the EU-Turkey deal, which European governments are claiming as a success, people in need of protection are left counting its true human cost, says MSF. More than 8,000 people, including hundreds of unaccompanied minors, have been stranded on islands in Greece as a direct consequence of the deal.
In the past days security forces in Bangladesh have reportedly arrested more than 11,000 people in connection with a spate of murders of bloggers with secular or atheist leanings, non-Muslims, members of the LGBT community, and other progressive or liberal thinkers.
Fully autonomous weapons, also known as “killer robots,” are quickly moving from the realm of science fiction toward reality. Removing humans from the targeting decision would create a dangerous world. Machines would make life-and-death determinations outside of human control.
The authorities in China should immediately drop politically motivated cases and release Xia Lin, Zhou Shifeng, and other detained human rights lawyers. Both Xia Lin, whose case is scheduled for trial today, and Zhou Shifeng, whose case the police has recommended for prosecution, face charges that appear linked to their human rights legal work.
And lone children who survived the Mediterranean crossing need to call home. But they can't because the phone in the Pozzallo registration center in Sicily, Italy, is broken...