Russian Attacks on Civilian Cars in Ukraine: Daily Brief

New Human Rights Watch research has documented how Russian forces have fired on civilian vehicles in Ukraine’s Kyiv and Chernihiv regions. In three incidents we investigated, Russian forces killed six civilians and wounding three. In one case, they pulled a man from a van and summarily executed him. Under the laws of war, the obligation to distinguish between civilians and combatants is a constant, as is the prohibition on targeting civilians, whether in their homes, on the streets, or in their cars.

Russian forces have also threatened older people with summary execution, and arbitrarily detained them. The impact of war on older people has never been more visible than in the conflict in Ukraine. Images of older people unable to reach the safety of basements, being carried over makeshift bridges or walking through body-strewn streets haunt our screens. Some have been unable to flee. Others have decided not to leave their lifelong homes. As fighting intensifies in Donbas, evacuation from there becomes more difficult and living under Russian occupation more dangerous.

The UN World Food Programme has highlighted how nearly 4.5 million tons of grain are currently blocked in Ukraine's ports because sea routes are closed due to Russia's latest invasion. There are far-reaching impacts around the globe, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, where scarcer supplies mean higher prices, thus exacerbating hunger among the most vulnerable.

Last week was a disaster for human rights in the United Kingdom, as the government pushed through parliament four separate pieces of legislation that will do real harm to people’s rights.

The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report states that existing fossil fuel projects are already more than the climate can withstand if we want to limit global warming to a 1.5º Celsius increase and prevent the very worst outcomes of climate breakdown. The IPCC called for “rapid and deep” emissions cuts across all sectors. But in the few weeks since that major IPCC report was released, over half a dozen new major oil and gas projects have been approved.

Today, Human Rights Watch will join experts on illegal gold mining in Venezuela for a virtual discussion on the grave human and environmental rights impact that illegal mining has in the country. At the event, open to the public, people will discuss how companies should enhance human rights and environmental due diligence in their supply chains for gold, including by mapping these supply chains down to the mine of origin and making the results public.