Why the US Failed in Afghanistan: Daily Brief
US-funded abuses led to failure in Afghanistan; political opposition criminalized by Kazakhstan's authorities; Turkey and Kyrgyzstan apparently colluding to break international law; China's harsh sentences of Tibetan monks; EU moves to block funds to member Hungary over corruption; Cyprus pressuring to shutter local human rights group; a victory for a transgender rights in Russia thanks to European Court of Human Rights; Dutch crime reporter shot and fighting for his life; and demonstrations for equality in Georgia after anti-LGBT attacks.
As the US withdraws from Afghanistan, policymakers should try to understand the true history of the last two decades and recognize that their mistakes were not in matters of troop numbers, rules of engagement, or military strategy or tactics. Instead, the mistakes were rooted in a basic failure to recognize that corruption and widespread human rights abuses – both by US and Afghan government forces – sabotaged the overall enterprise.
Authorities in Kazakhstan have targeted at least 135 people across the country with criminal investigations and prosecutions for alleged participation in banned political opposition groups.
Turkish and Kyrgyz authorities abducted, forcibly disappeared, and extrajudicially transferred a dual Turkish-Kyrgyz national living in Bishkek to Turkey. The actions included egregious violations of international and domestic law.
Chinese authorities in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) have prosecuted four monks who received up to 20 years in prison for dubious offenses, Human Rights Watch said in new report. The sentences reflect the increasing pressure on local officials to restrict online communications and punish peaceful expression as a security threat.
Officials and diplomats told POLITICO that Hungary's request for €7.2 billion in grants under the EU's recovery fund won't be endorsed by the European Commission by a July 12 deadline, "due to the EU executive's dissatisfaction with anti-corruption efforts in the country's spending plan." But corruption is hardly Hungary's only failure...
KISA, a Cypriot nongovernmental organization established in 1998 to fight racism, xenophobia, and discrimination, is under Cypriot government pressure to shut down.
In a victory for a transgender parent’s right to maintain contact with her children, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on July 6 that Russia’s denial of her visitation violated her rights to family life and freedom from discrimination.
Prominent Dutch crime reporter Peter R de Vries was shot in Amsterdam last night and is fighting for his life.
Following horrific anti-LGBT attacks in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, including on journalists, thousands of people have been demonstrating in support of equality and justice.