Taliban Pledges Lack Credibility: Daily Brief
Taliban leadership’s vague pledges to respect human rights heighten concerns; more than 1,000 civilians killed in Myanmar since junta seized power; prominent labor rights activist sent to prison in Cambodia; Iran’s mismanagement of the Covid-19 pandemic has dire consequences; Brazil’s president blocks critics; government officials in Ecuador commit to eradicating sexual violence at schools; and use of highly toxic pesticide on food crops finally banned in the US.
Afghanistan’s new Taliban leaders' use of vague qualifications while pledging to respect human rights heightens concerns about the Taliban's credibility. Already, alarming reports are emerging of school closures, movement restrictions, and women forced to leave their jobs. Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi is pushing for an extraordinary G20 summit on Afghanistan.
More than 1,000 civilians have been killed by Myanmar’s security forces since the military seized power on February 1, according to Assistance Association for Political Prisoners – an activist group that verifies the deaths and mass arrests under the junta.
Amid a continuing crackdown on critical voices, a Cambodian court has sentenced prominent labour rights activist Rong Chhun to two years in prison.
Incompetence and lack of transparency in controlling the Covid-19 pandemic is costing a life every few minutes in Iran.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is trying to rid his social media accounts of people and institutions that disagree with him by blocking them.
Senior government officials in Ecuador have committed to adopt a national strategy to eradicate school-related sexual violence in under 180 days on the country’s first national day against sexual violence in schools.
And lastly: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finally banned use of the toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos on food crops - 14 years after public interest groups first filed a petition calling on the agency to do exactly that. The delay exposed a generation of American children to unsafe levels of the dangerous pesticide.