Will World Leaders Act on Rights Crises? Daily Brief
World leaders should warn abusive governments that they will be held accountable; opportunity to end Taliban's use of child soldiers; new findings on prison mass rape in DR Congo; as Australia’s climate policy disappoints, hope is found in court; trumped-up charges against critics of the Ortega regime in Nicaragua; officials in South Sudan intimidate sex worker on camera; and we celebrate the life of John Ruggie.
When they meet this week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, world leaders should support actions to address major human rights crises. They should warn abusive governments, including the most powerful, that they will be held accountable. Dozens of national leaders and foreign ministers will be attending in person during the annual meeting that begins on Tuesday.
One of the crises world leaders should address at this week's UN General Assembly is unfolding in Afghanistan. However, Jo Becker, advocacy director in HRW's Children's Rights Division, in an op-ed published by The Hill, spots an opportunity to put a stop to the use of child soldiers there, provided the international community makes ending the exploitation of children on the battlefield a key condition in negotiations with the Taliban
The authorities in Democratic Republic of Congo have made no apparent progress investigating the September 2020 prison riot at Kasapa Central Prison in Lubumbashi. For three days, inmates repeatedly raped several dozen female detainees, including a teenage girl.
For the many Australians deeply concerned about the growing climate emergency, it’s been a tough year. As nations like the US and the UK have pledged to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Australia continues to be a climate pariah – refusing to commit to more ambitious targets despite being one of the world’s biggest carbon per capita emitters and the third largest exporter of fossil fuels. But there is hope...
New evidence indicates that dozens of critics of the Nicaraguan government who have been arbitrarily detained for months, are being held incommunicado and are often subjected to repeated interrogations and abusive conditions, including prolonged solitary confinement or insufficient food. The government has charged many with serious crimes such as "treason" without providing substantiating evidence, strongly suggesting that these are politically motivated persecutions in retaliation for opposing the government.
The criminalization of sex work in South Sudan exposes workers to abuse and exploitation and lays bare the discrimination faced by people living with HIV/AIDs.
And we celebrate the life of John Ruggie, who passed away on 16 September.