Myanmar's Military Orchestrated Rohingya Attacks; Facing stigma and discrimination in Iran; Lots of US news -- US "travel ban" upheld; alternative to migrant detention in US scrapped; US court orders separated migrant families to be reunited; Europe divided over migration policy; holding those using chemical weapons in Syria and elsewhere to account; China & Russia seeking to gut UN human rights programs; LGBT poverty in Ghana; and death sentence against Sudanese teenager quashed.

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A new Amnesty International report, launched today, provides extensive evidence that the violence perpetrated by Myanmar’s security forces against the Rohingya population in northern Rakhine State was “part of a highly orchestrated, systematic attack on the Rohingya population”. The report calls for Myanmar’s top military brass to face justice for crimes against humanity and for the situation to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

People with disabilities in Iran face stigma and discrimination, a new Human Rights Watch report found. Many remain trapped in their homes, unable to live independently and participate in society on an equal basis with others.

In a 5-4 decision, the US Supreme Court has upheld President Trump’s “travel ban” disregarding Trump’s repeated discriminatory statements and crediting his supposed national security concerns.

In spite of its great promise as a humane and cost-effective alternative to detaining migrants, the Trump administration last year yanked a pilot program which provided migrants with help to navigate the immigration court system, get housing and health care, and enroll their kids in school. One reason why: The relatively low rates of deportation.

Meanwhile, a US district court judge has granted the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) a nationwide injunction blocking the Trump administration from separating immigrant children from their parents at the US-Mexico border and ordering US border authorities to reunite separated families within 30 days.

An European Union summit starting in Brussels tomorrow is likely to be a critical moment for the development of EU migration policy. The bloc is deeply divided over the issue, with some member states advocating the processing of asylum seekers in closed centers outside EU territory.

Countries gathered at an emergency meeting of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague will today decide whether to give the body the power to identify those guilty of using chemical weapons in Syria and anywhere else – a motion tabled by the UK.

Motivated by disdain for human rights and emboldened by the Trump administration’s drive to cut spending at the United Nations, China and Russia quietly seek to gut programs in U.N. peacekeeping missions around the world that protect civilians from violence and sexual exploitation.

Concerns expressed by the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights about how stigma and discrimination against LGBT people in Ghana undermines their ability to find meaningful work emphasize the urgency of legalizing adult consensual same-sex conduct.

And finally some good news: After an international outcry, an appeal court in Khartoum, Sudan, has squashed the death sentence against 19 year-old Noura Hussein. The teenager was facing execution for killing her rapist husband. The court turned down the initial verdict of premeditated murder and found her guilty of manslaughter instead. Advocates are campaigning for her release and for the case to lead to legal reform. 

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