Shining a Spotlight on People With Disabilities: Daily Brief
Shining a spotlight on people with disabilities; ICC facing US threats; Israeli software company accused of helping Saudis to spy on Jamal Khashoggi; "confidence-building" measures in Yemen ahead of peace conference; parliament in Australia to vote on emergency healthcare for refugees; pro-democracy lawmaker in Hong Kong barred from local elections; and Philippines editor arrested in latest assault on press freedom.
For the first time ever the United Nations Security Council will shine a spotlight on how war affects people with disabilities today, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Although among the people most at risk during conflicts, people with disabilities have been invisible on peace and security agendas.
In the face of United States threats to weaken the essential role of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in international justice, member countries should demonstrate their resolve to oppose any effort to undermine the court’s investigations and prosecutions at their annual meeting this week.
A Saudi dissident close to murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi has filed a lawsuit against an Israeli software company whose software helped Saudi Arabia to spy on his communications with Khashoggi. Meanwhile, at the G20 summit in Argentina, world leaders lined up for photo-ops with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, while Argentina’s judiciary took steps to investigate his responsibility for war crimes in Yemen and the alleged torture of Saudi citizens.
A group of wounded Houthi militants will be evacuated from Yemen today for medical treatment in Oman, in what the Saudi-led military coalition called a “confidence-building” measure ahead of planned peace talks in Sweden.
Australia’s parliament will today vote on a bill that would make it easier for refugees on the islands of Manus and Nauru to access emergency medical care. Up until now the Australian government has delayed or denied medical transfers of refugees and asylum seekers, sometimes for months or years, ignoring the recommendations of Australian doctors.
Hong Kong authorities have barred pro-democracy lawmaker Eddie Chu from running in a local elections on the grounds that Chu had previously expressed support for “independence as an option for Hong Kong people to self-determine their future”.
And Maria Ressa, editor of the Philippines online news website Rappler, has turned herself in upon return to the Philippines. Philippine authorities had issued an arrest warrant against Ressa for allegedly supplying incorrect tax information. The move is the latest attempt by the regime to muzzle prominent critics of President Rodrigo Duterte and his “war on drugs”.