HRW Launches World Report 2017: The Daily Brief

Human Rights Watch is launching its World Report 2017 in Washington DC later today. The 687-page report, now in its 27th edition, reviews the global state of human rights and warns that the rise of populist leaders in the US and Europe are threatening basic rights protections around the world. Meanwhile, US President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, has raised eyebrows after he failed to acknowledge human rights abuses being committed by the likes of Russia, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines at his confirmation hearing yesterday. Staying with the US, will Senator Sessions, who President-elect Donald Trump has picked for the post of Attorney General, really protect women's rights? Because there are troubling signs that he may not. In other news, the families of Islamic State (ISIS) fighters in Iraq may be punished despite having committed no crime themselves, HRW has warned. Azerbaijan’s police showed one of the country’s most popular journalists and bloggers, Mehman Huseynov, the cost of being a tenacious journalist these days. Migrants and asylum seekers across Europe continue to suffer in appalling winter conditions. But not only have authorities failed to provide humane conditions, but in some cases they've also actively tried to prevent aid groups from helping those in need. The actor Meryl Streep's speech at the Golden Globes awards ceremony did more than just rile US President-elect Donald Trump, it also shed much-needed light on the stigma of disability.