Afghans Face Uncertain Future: Daily Brief
As last US flight leaves Kabul with many at-risk Afghans left behind human rights groups call on social media platforms to preserve evidence of abuses; deadly counterinsurgency strategy adopted in northern Philippines; Malaysia’s new prime minister should commit to freedom of expression; another blow to independent media in Belarus; stand-up comedian banned for life in Russia over joke; assault on LGBT community in Chechnya; and European Court of Human Rights rules Russia failed to properly investigate 2009 murder of prominent rights activist.
The last US military flight has left Kabul airport, marking the end of a 20-year presence in Afghanistan after a massive last-minute evacuation effort. With the UN Security Council passing a watered down resolution on Monday, saying merely it “expects” the Taliban to adhere to commitments it made, Afghans, especially those at risk who were left behind, face an uncertain future.
Given the significant risk of serious human rights abuses in Afghanistan, a number of international human rights groups have called on social media platforms to preserve and archive content that may provide evidence of past or ongoing abuses in support of future efforts to provide justice and accountability.
Authorities in northern Philippines have adopted a counterinsurgency strategy drawn from methods used in President Rodrigo Duterte’s murderous “war on drugs" which activists fear may lead to killings justified on the basis of false claims.
Malaysia’s new prime minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, should commit to respect the rights to free speech and peaceful assembly, which have long been suppressed in the country.
The formal “liquidation” of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, which has worked tirelessly for 25 years to protect the rights of journalists, is a heavy blow to independent press in Belarus.
The Russian Interior Ministry has banned a stand-up comedian from Russia for life over a joke.
The abduction of a Chechen-speaking men in Moscow and forcible return to Chechnya, where authorities interrogated him about gay people in the region is the latest chapter in Chechnya’s relentless assault on sexual and gender minorities.
And lastly: The European Court of Human Rights today ruled that Russian authorities failed to properly investigate the 2009 murder of prominent rights activist Natalia Estemirova in Chechnya.