Famine fears in Nigeria; Brazil's dirty police: HRW Daily Brief
Plus: Violence in Greece's refugee "hotpots"; hazardous child labor in Afghanistan; Syrian refugees in Lebanese schools; downgraded anti-corruption law in Tunisia; preparing for executions in Indonesia; in jail for free speech in Saudi Arabia; Angela Merkel in Kyrgyzstan; more...
Get the Daily Brief by email.
A food crisis in Nigeria is killing hundreds of people a day and is set to become the worst in decades. Nigeria's northern Borno state was ravaged by Boko Haram, destroying once-vital food production and hurting local economy. The United Nations did not react quickly enough to warning signs, and the Nigerian government has been slow to let aid through. Now with a famine threatening, the international community should act immediately to deliver humanitarian relief.
Police in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil have killed more than 8,000 people in the past decade. While many of the killings were in self defense, many others were extrajudicial executions. In a rare interview, one policeman involved in systematic torture and execution tells his shocking story.
Refugees and asylum seekers are in danger in Greece as reports indicate that local residents living near some of the country's so-called refugee "hotspots" have been attacking and intimidating them and aid workers at the camps. Already at risk from the dirty and overcrowded conditions of the camps themselves, rising racism and xenophobia in Greece is making the situation for migrants much worse.
As governments increasingly criminalize activities by land, environment, and human rights activists while adopting restrictions on NGOs, they shrink the space for safe and effective participation in development processes that many could benefit from. But global development banks and their member states can help end this cycle of abuse by refusing to contribute to governments that use or allow intimidation and violence against activists who speak out.
From earlier today: In Afghanistan, the government is failing to protect tens of thousands of children, some as young as five, from hazardous conditions in the workplace. Child workers hold dangerous jobs in Afghanistan’s carpet industry; as bonded labor in brick kilns; and as metal workers.
The large number of refugee children still out of school in Lebanon is an immediate crisis that the European Union and its member states need to address. Lebanon has taken on an enormous burden, hosting an estimated total of 1.5 million Syrians.