Killing in the Name of Cows: Daily Brief
Killing in the name of cows; #MetooUyghur campaign demands answers from China; Australia promises to investigate abuse of people with disabilities; Sudan protests enter third month; stifling progress for children's rights at the Holy Sea and online freedom in Russia; need for independent probe of sniper killings in Brazil; and New York bans discrimination based on hairstyles.
A political campaign to protect cows has whipped up hate against minorities in India and led to vigilante attacks against those who eat beef or engage in trading cattle. At least 44 people have been killed between May 2015 and December 2018, a new Human Rights Watch report found.
A social media campaign initiated by Uyghurs living abroad is putting pressure on China and demanding answers about the fate of up to one million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims presently detained in “political education” camps.
Australia’s parliament has voted for a Royal Commission to look into violence, abuse, and neglect experienced by people with disabilities in Australia. While this is good news, the government failed, however, to give a clear commitment or timeline for setting up the inquiry.
As anti-austerity protests in Sudan enter their third month today, demonstrators are pressing on with rallies despite the regime’s brutal crackdown.
Vatican authorities have not only failed to report back to the UN’s Child Right’s Committee, but in some cases actively undermined progress for children’s rights, a review by Child Rights International Network (CRIN) found.
A new draft law on Russia’s internet “sovereignty” raises concerns over the government’s increased control of online speech. If adopted the law would require all online services operating in Russia to install equipment to monitor web traffic and block banned content.
At least two people in Rio de Janeiro died from a sniper attack carried out from a tower within the city’s main police complex. As Brazil’s civil police have a poor track record of investigating police killings, the attack calls for an independent probe.
And finally some good news: The New York City Commission on Human Rights is the first to ban discrimination based on hairstyles associated with Afro-Americans. Why, one wonders, did this not happen decades ago?