Russian Attack Hits Theater-Shelter in Mariupol: Daily Brief

A theater hit by a Russian attack on Mariupol, Ukraine, on 16 March was known to have been sheltering hundreds of civilians. Satellite imagery of the theater from two days before clearly shows the Russian word for “children” written on the ground both in front of and behind the theater. Petro Andryushchenko, an assistant to Mariupol’s mayor, last night told Human Rights Watch that his office did not yet know how many civilians had been injured or killed in the incident. Reports from this morning say many, perhaps even most, survived by hiding deep in the basement, but overall casualty figures from the incident remain unclear as this Daily Brief went to press. What is known for sure, of course, is that the children of Mariupol have suffered too much already.

Russia officially withdrew from the Council of Europe after it became clear that it would soon be expelled - which it then was - over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The council is Europe’s leading human rights body, and the move has led the European Court of Human Rights to suspended its review of all complaints filed against the Russian government “pending consideration of the legal consequences”.

The International Court of Justice - the principal judicial organ of the United Nations that settles disputes between states, sometimes called the “World Court” - yesterday delivered a provisional order demanding that Russia halt its invasion of Ukraine. In a 13-to-2 ruling, judges said they had seen no evidence to support the Kremlin’s justification for the war. ICJ rulings are binding, but there is no enforcement mechanism.

Judicial authorities in Rwanda are prosecuting opposition members, journalists, and commentators on the basis of their speech and opinions. Throughout 2020 and 2021, Human Rights Watch monitored trials in which authorities pursued politically motivated prosecutions and perpetuated a culture of intolerance of dissent. All this, as Rwanda prepares to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in June.

Iranian authorities have allowed Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual citizen, to leave the country. It’s good news that she’s now home, of course, but they should never have imprisoned Nazanin in the first place.

On March 17 and 18, oral updates by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, and the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela (FFM), will provide an opportunity for UN Human Rights Council (HRC) member states to shed light on the three ongoing human rights crises in Venezuela: the crackdown on dissent, the humanitarian emergency, and the migration crisis.

There’s a bit of good news in efforts to curb Greece's border abuses. The European Court of Human Rights has ordered a halt to the summary return of asylum seekers from Greek islands. Previous injunctions in similar cases focused only on humanitarian access.

Join us today at 10am EST (15h00 CET) as experts discuss a long-fought battle and victory for human rights activism: the campaign to end forced labor in Uzbekistan’s cotton fields.