US pledges help in Laos; Schools Not Battlegrounds; Burma sanctions: HRW Daily Brief

US pledges help in Laos; Schools Not Battlegrounds; Burma sanctions; Media freedom in Afghanistan; UN rights chief condemns bigotry; UK hate crimes after referendum; Abusive in actions and words - Philippines' President Duterte; rise of a new independent-minded political force in Hong Kong; universal education not likely by 2030 says UNESCO; more...

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Today in Laos, US President Obama pledged $90 million in funding to help remove unexploded US bombs dropped on the country in the 1960s-70s, calling it a "moral obligation." Millions of bombs lie buried in Laos, in what President Obama called the most heavily bombed nation in history. If the US government feels an obligation to help civilians in Laos from past bombings, then it should turn the same attention toward cluster bombs being dropped on towns in Syria and US-made weapons hitting civilian targets in Yemen, today.
Schools should not be battlegrounds, yet armed conflict has left hundreds of thousands of children without a classroom. Attacks on schools and the occupation of school buildings by armed forces have put children in harm's way. Sometimes lives are lost, but in each case, education is a casualty. The impact of armed conflict on education is an urgent challenge, and all countries should sign the Safe Schools Declaration to meet it. Help us achieve this goal by calling on Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau to sign it today.
The United States should not lift key sanctions on Burma when Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi visits Washington next week. The sanctions were put in place to ensure democratic reforms, and while Burma has made some positive steps, the US should help the government continue toward genuine economic development.
A leaked recording from Afghanistan reveals abuse of journalists by security forces. The recording seems to coincide with allegations that security forces used threats and physical abuse against journalists covering protests that turned violent last month. The Afghan government praises its hard-won media freedom, but it should back that up by protecting the media.
From earlier today: The UN Human Rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein has delivered a scathing rebuke against populist bigots in a letter addressed to Dutch politician and leader of the Party for Freedom, Geert Wilders. In his passionate plea against racial and religious prejudice, Zeid compared Wilders to the likes of US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and French National Front leader Marine Le Pen. The lambast came in response to Wilder’s release of an 11-point plan, which pledges to fight Islam and ban all mosques.
Following the Brexit referendum to leave the European Union, the UK has seen a spate of hate crimes, culminating in the killing of a 40-year old Polish man last week. Meanwhile a UN report published last week found the referendum “created and entrenched prejudices, thereby emboldening individuals to carry out acts of intimidation and hate”. Yet the UK government is still refusing to guarantee the future of EU nationals already resident in the UK.

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