Airbnb Stops Rentals on Stolen Land: Daily Brief
Good news from Israel & Palestine as Airbnb stops listing properties in unlawful Israeli settlements; total ban on abortion threatens women in Dominican Republic; LGBT conference in Russia attacked; Macron should press UAE crown prince on abuses in Yemen; ensure justice for victims of Syria chemical weapons attacks; HRW's new Uzbekistan human rights diary; and the UK government is inflicting “unnecessary misery” on people living in poverty.
Good human rights news from Israel & Palestine, as Airbnb has decided to stop listing properties in unlawful Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, a day before the launch of a new Human Rights Watch report on topic. This is a positive step that other global tourism companies, such as Booking.com should follow.
The Dominican Republic’s total ban on abortion threatens womens' health and lives and violates their rights, HRW says in a new report. Abortion is illegal in the Dominican Republic in all circumstances, even when a pregnancy is life-threatening, unviable, or the result of rape.
A prominent Russian lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) support group had to cancel an annual conference in Moscow after homophobic threats and an attack with pepper spray.
France's President Emmanuel Macron should raise serious concerns with Abu Dhabi’s crown prince regarding laws-of-war violations in Yemen, when they meet in Paris on Wednesday.
Governments supporting an effort to identify those responsible for deadly chemical attacks in Syria need to back their commitment to justice with cash. They will get the chance this week when member states of an international treaty banning chemical weapons vote on the 2019 budget for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
With much of the world sadly heading in the wrong direction on human rights these days, Uzbekistan seems to be – and we say this cautiously – a rare good news story. Senior HRW staffers are visiting the country now to continue our investigations and our push for further positive changes, including the release and rehabilitation of more political prisoners, and they will be sharing their observations in a new blog.
And the United Nations expert on poverty and human rights has warned that the UK government is inflicting “unnecessary misery” on people living in poverty. Professor Philip Alston’s preliminary findings of his 11-day visit to the country found the government’s approach to welfare support over the last decade “punitive, mean-spirited and often callous.”