Turkey Marches for Justice: HRW Daily Brief

Plus: Nuclear weapons treaty; access to contraception; Trump meets Putin; collective punishment of Yezidis in Iraq; Cambodian elections; alleged police abuse in Armenia; and the International Criminal Court turns 15.

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After twenty-five days and 450 miles, Turkey's 'March for Justice' has reached Istanbul. The massive pro-democracy rally was started last month to call for unity and reform as Turkey's President Erdogan continues a brutal crackdown on opposition and civil society.
History was made at the United Nations on Friday, as 122 countries adopted the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The treaty prohibits the use, production, stockpiling, transfer, and other activities involving nuclear weapons. Although no countries that possess nuclear weapons participated in the process or adopted the convention, this occasion provides an important step toward ending the human suffering caused by such weapons.
Tomorrow, the Family Planning Summit will take place in London. There, governments, donors, and civil society will meet to review progress and recommit to enabling 120 million more women worldwide to access a modern form of contraception by 2020. But efforts to protect women and girls from serious health risks still face significant hurdles from US policy under President Trump.
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin finally had their much-anticipated first meeting on Friday. Many have compared Trump to Russia’s authoritarian leader, whom Trump has said he admires. But luckily, Trump is not likely to become Putin, no matter how badly he might want to.
Kurdistan Regional Government forces in Iraq have expelled at least four Yezidi families and threatened others since June 2017 because of their relatives’ participation in Iraqi government forces. The displaced Yezidi population has already faced significant hardships, and collectively punishing people by sending them home to destroyed villages is wrong.
The Cambodian government has restricted independent election monitoring groups ahead of the scheduled 2018 national elections. It's a signal that the government appears intent on quashing any challenges to its political control – and doesn’t want any witnesses.