End Child Marriage in Pakistan: Daily Brief
Pakistan is about to end child marriage; dramatic drop in rates of female genital mutilation among girls in Africa; cruel European migration policies leave refugees trapped in Libya; torture & rape before elections in DR Congo; worries about 2019 elections in Thailand; UN chief endorses killer robot ban; and will France stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia?
Good news from Pakistan, where a proposed bill to end child marriage has been sent to the Senate. Some 21 percent of Pakistani girls are married by the age of 18, and 3 percent before 15. But if the government supports the proposed amendments, it will take an important first step towards ending child marriage in the country.
There is also positive news from Africa, where rates of female genital mutilation (FGM) among girls younger than 14 have dropped dramatically, according to new research.
A new report by Amnesty International exposes how cruel European migration policies leave refugees trapped in Libya with no way out.
The security services in the Democratic Republic of Congo have routinely tortured political and rights activists, including by gang rape, choking and electric shock, according to an exhaustive new report. DR Congo is preparing for presidential elections scheduled for December 23.
The authorities in Thailand are also planning elections, early next year. But will the elections be free and fair?
Welcome news from the campaign to ban killer robots: UN Secretary-General António Guterres spoke out in support of such a ban, during the Paris Peace Forum (November 11-13).
Will President Emmanuel Macron of France announce a ban on selling more weapons to Saudi Arabia during the summit in Paris, after a weekend of World War I armistice commemorations with dozens of world leaders?