Rape as a Weapon of War in #CARCrisis: Daily Brief

Armed groups in the Central African Republic are using rape and sexual slavery as a tactic of war, HRW said in a new report today. Every day, survivors live with the devastating aftermath of rape and, worse still, the knowledge that their attackers are walking free and have faced no consequences whatsoever. European governments have put thousands of Afghans in harm’s way by forcibly returning them to a country where they are at serious risk of torture, kidnapping, death and other human rights abuses, Amnesty International said today. France’s parliament adopted an anti-terrorism bill this week that will bolster police surveillance powers and make it easier to close mosques suspected of preaching hatred, but rights groups warn it will lead to civil freedoms being infringed. Staying with France, with the Turkish foreign minister due to visit Paris, it's critical that the French government raises Turkey's crackdown on independent voices in the country. Children in Iraq who were forced to live under the rule of so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, face severe long-term trauma. Gay men in Chechnya still face terrible anti-LGBT violence, and they and their families are sometimes still not safe even after they have fled. Bahrain is continuing to strip citizenship from people based on vague and baseless accusations. Migrants workers in Qatar are still being subjected to terrible abuses including non-payment of wages, seizing of passports, and being made to work under a sponsorship system. Rohingya refugees are continuing to flee Burma - where they face crimes against humanity - for safety in neighboring Bangladesh, but many arrive exhausted, sick and starving.