Promoting China’s Propaganda: Daily Brief

The Chinese government has gone to great lengths to silence critics, forcibly disappear individuals whose views or conduct it sees as problematic, and to coerce confessions by employing extralegal forms of detention and torture. It has committed crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, and escalated repression in Hong Kong. Yet still, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has neither challenged Chinese authorities over their poor human rights record nor carried out any human rights due diligence for the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Games. On the contrary, by claiming, after a 30-minute video call, that three-time Olympian Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, who disappeared after having accused China’s former vice premier, Zhang Gaoli, 75, of sexual assault, was “doing fine”, the IOC seems to be promoting Chinese state propaganda rather than pushing for an investigation. In view of all this, a Human Rights Watch press briefing today looks at the IOC’s role and responsibilities in protecting athletes’ rights and the leverage of major corporate sponsors of the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games to address human rights abuses in China tied to the Olympics. 

Prior to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) new prosecutor Karim Khan's report to the UN Security Council about the situation in Libya today, three leading human rights organizations have demanded an ICC investigation into grave crimes committed against migrants and refugees in the country.  In a joint report, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL) document how thousands of migrants and refugees travelling through Libya are subjected to a continuous cycle of abuse that is both widespread and systematic. EU policies designed to prevent people from reaching Europe through Libya have significantly contributed to this grave situation, the report finds. Despite strong calls by the former ICC Prosecutor to finally address the impunity in Libya the ICC has not opened a case so far. Meanwhile, Libyan state and non-state actors continue to exploit the vulnerable situation of those seeking safety or better opportunities, with detention, enslavement, extortion and torture. It is high time, the three organizations argue, to finally take the necessary steps to bring the perpetrators to justice. 

In a joint letter addressed to EU High Representative Josep Borrell, 45 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have raised concerns over the potential appointment of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) candidate for the presidency of the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL). As current Inspector General of the UAE’s Ministry of Interior, General Major Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi has oversight over the very troops which are “responsible for the arbitrary arrests of peaceful dissidents, often using violence” and the UAE police, which has been “denounced multiple times for practicing torture as a mean to extract false confessions”, the letter says. Al Raisi, the MEPs argue, should be investigated over these allegations of torture rather than be nominated to head up a powerful international police force, and thus putting the lives of exiled activists even more in danger. 

Journalists in Afghanistan are increasingly living in fear of a knock on the door or a summons from security agents, as Taliban authorities crack down on independent voices in a wide-ranging effort to silence criticism. Death threats, requests to submit all reports for approval prior to publication, and ominous visits of media offices by heavily armed Taliban intelligence officials have severely impacted the flow of information and curbed any space for dissent. Many media outlets have closed their offices and are publishing only online to protect their staff. Journalists of a women-led media office, who the Taliban accuse “of promoting Western values”, use pseudonyms to hide their identities. As a result, Taliban abuses increasingly happen in secret and without accountability. 

At least 41 people, among them 5 children, have been killed in Sudan since protests began against the October 25 military coup. Sixteen protesters died during demonstrations on November 17 alone. Many were shot in the head. While police and security forces deny having used live ammunition, witness accounts, video footage and forensic reports clearly point to the contrary, new Human Rights Watch research finds. Sudan’s security forces seem bent on silencing Sudanese voices. Despite an agreement with the military that sees Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok back in power, more demonstrations are planned for this coming Thursday. It remains to be seen if Sudan’s security forces will exercise restraint this time. Sudan’s backers should make it clear: those responsible for these killings will not get away with them. 

And lastly: Authorities in Bangladesh have identified hundreds of Rohingya families in mainland refugee camps to be relocated to the remote, flood-prone island of Bhasan Char. The 20,000 refugees already on Bhasan Char have faced severe movement restrictions, food shortages, abuses by security forces, and  inadequate education, health care, and livelihood opportunities. Hundreds have attempted escape. Some even drowned in the process. Those caught have been detained and beaten. The island effectively remains a prison, and new relocations would contravene an agreement with the UN.