New Hope for Tackling the Pandemic: Daily Brief
The US and Australia change policy on the TRIPS waiver; the COVAX vaccine facility needs greater transparency; a terrifying moment for Afghanistan's women; Myanmar junta bans satellite TV; Greece’s civil code disregards risks for domestic violence victims; a new batch of oppressive laws in Russia; it's time for action to protect Australia’s older people; and a UAE bid to run Interpol poses serious dangers.
Huge news - and it's good! People around the world facing the devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic have reason to feel more hopeful today. After seven months of vigorous advocacy by health experts and human rights activists, the Biden administration in the US has announced support for India and South Africa’s proposal to waive intellectual property rules on Covid-19 vaccines until widespread vaccination is in place globally. Australia and New Zealand quickly followed suit. The EU, unfortunately, is still hedging...
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Public Citizen are calling on the COVAX vaccine initiative to publish its contracts with vaccine developers and facilitate sharing of intellectual property to make vaccines swiftly available and affordable for all.
In a major new report, Human Rights Watch is warning that falling donor support for essential services in Afghanistan is reducing women’s access to essential health care. More cuts are likely in coming months following the US announcement of a troop withdrawal by September 11, 2021.
The Myanmar junta has added a ban on satellite television to existing restrictions on the internet and media, tightening its grip over information in the country. Yesterday, some 200 groups from around the world called on the UN Security Council to place an arms embargo on the country.
Uganda’s Sexual Offenses Bill, 2019 both criminalizes consensual sex acts and would allow some nonconsensual acts to go unpunished, Human Rights Watch highlighted today.
A bill to amend child custody provisions in Greece’s civil code disregards risks for domestic violence victims that would put women and children in jeopardy.
A group of Russian lawmakers have introduced three bills that would add new dangerous tools to the already significant arsenal of legislative weapons for the country’s crackdown on dissenting voices.
The Australian government has the chance to make a lasting impact on the lives of older Australians next week...
The candidacy of a United Arab Emirates (UAE) Interior Ministry official for president of Interpol may jeopardize the global police organization’s commitment to its human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch and the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) said today.