US Official Calls Family Detention "Summer Camp": Daily Brief

A new proposal by the Trump Administration for the 2020 US census would introduce a question asking about citizenship in the US. This unnecessary question would cause greater fear in immigrants to the US already living in terror of the Trump administration's harsh immigration policies. And, it would likely reduce response rates to the Census, driving down responses of legal immigrants, and harming already-marginalized communities across the country.

Saudi authorities have arrested the internationally recognized women’s rights activist Samar Badawi and another women's rights activist in the past two days. They are the latest victims of an unprecedented government crackdown on the women’s rights movement that began in May and has resulted in the arrest of more than a dozen activists.

Violent protests broke out in Harare today after Zimbabwe as officials have yet to release results from the July 30 national election. Human Rights Watch witnessed the chaos on the streets as hundreds of soldiers and anti-riot police were deployed across the city. Follow rolling updates in anew blog on Zimbabwe's contentious elections process. 

From earlier today: At summer camp you can swim in a lake every day, run scavenger hunts and other fun activities, and tell stories over campfires – this is definitely not the same as immigration detention centers where families are assigned numbers, locked in and answer to roll calls through the day.

Thousands of Hondurans brave tough conditions crossing into the US fleeing gang violence back home. But now more than ever, their efforts to seek asylum are difficult facing prolonged detention as they await their asylum hearings. 

Authorities in northeast Syria are restricting movement for people fleeing ISIS.The authorities who operate displacement camps have confiscated residents’ identification documents and arbitrarily prevented them from leaving the camps.

Torture is rampant in Iraq’s judicial system, but judges keep failing to investigate security forces alleged to have tortured terrorism suspects. Iraq is a party to the United Nations Convention against Torture, it has no laws or guidelines directing judicial action when defendants allege torture or mistreatment. 

As the #MeToo movement gains momentum, nearly 40 percent of women in China said they have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. The absence of court cases indicates the difficulties women face seeking legal redress for abuse.

Burundi's education ministry has reversed a month-old policy under which pregnant teens and young mothers, as well as the boys who made them pregnant were banned from school. This is a positive step, but Burundi should now develop a policy that fully supports teenage mothers to return to school.

Three Russian journalists have been killed in an ambush in the Central African Republic. Central African Republic authorities should ensure an investigation is conducted immediately in order to identify the perpetrators of this horrific act and ensure they are brought to justice in a fair, credible trial.

Virginity tests are used in several countries despite condemnation from the World Health Organization.

And some good news! The Malaysian government has dropped charges against cartoonist Zulkifli Anwar Ulhaque 'Zunar'. Malaysia should now do away with the sedition law.