Syrian Military "at the Highest Level" Responsible for Chemical Attacks: Daily Brief

An investigation by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has identified the perpetrators of attacks in Syria's ongoing nine-year-long civil war. On Wednesday, the watchdog group explicitly blamed the Syrian government for toxic attacks, saying President Bashar al-Assad's air force used the nerve gas sarin and chlorine three times in 2017.

The coronavirus crisis has a potentially long-term negative impact on children around the world, and governments need to act urgently to protect children during the pandemic and uphold their rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

Meanwhile, children in overcrowded refugee camps in Greece live in terrible conditions. As part of the EU relocation plan, next week Luxembourg will welcome 12 children from the Greek islands, becoming the first country to do so while most European countries remain silent.

The scale of the coronavirus crisis raises the risks and dangers of the theft of public money that should be used to save lives and rebuild livelihoods. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) should include transparency and anti-corruption measures in coronavirus-related emergency relief programs.

There are still no answers on the disappearance of Michael Chakma, an indigenous rights activist who campaigned against military abuses in Bangladesh and who suddenly banished. 

The humiliation of LGBT people and others in the Philippines demonstrates the need for oversight and accountability to ensure that officials across the country respect people’s rights and dignity during the current crisis.

Check out our new series of one-on-one Instagram interviews on how the coronavirus is affecting different groups of people around the world. 

Finally, let this be a lesson we all learn from the current crisis: a pandemic is not “a great leveller”, affecting rich and poor alike.