More than 100 Bodies Found in Afghan Canal: Daily Brief

More than 100 bodies were discovered, dumped in canals and other locations in eastern Afghanistan, many showing evidence of torture and brutal execution. Since August 2021, often during night raids, Taliban security forces have summarily executed – shot, hanged, or beheaded – or forcibly disappeared, alleged members and supporters of the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State (ISKP). It is not the first time Human Rights Watch has documented Taliban violence against opponents, like former Afghan government officials and security forces. These cases demonstrate that such atrocities have now extended to those they accuse of links to ISKP.

In Indonesia, the minister in charge of the new criminal code negotiations refused to release the draft, contending that it might create “unrest.” Considering that a 2019 version of the draft law raised grave concerns of violation of the rights of women, religious minorities, LGBT people, as well as rights to freedom of speech and association, its release is crucial to ensure a full and informed public discussion around the proposed code.

Alarming news from Lebanon: the Minister of the Displaced claimed Syria is now safe for returnees, and announced a plan to return 15,000 Syrian refugees to their country each month. However, refugees who returned between 2017 and 2021 from Lebanon and Jordan faced grave human rights abuses and persecution at the hands of the Syrian government and affiliated militias, including kidnapping, torture and even death. Any forced returns to Syria would amount to a breach of Lebanon’s refoulement obligations not to forcibly return people to countries where they face a clear risk of torture or other persecution.

The legal challenge against the UK’s decision to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, set to be heard in the UK courts this month, presents yet another opportunity to shine a spotlight on Rwanda’s human rights record. Time and time again people’s lives have been destroyed for speaking out about injustice in the country. Between 2019 and 2022, Human Rights Watch documented over 30 cases of opposition members, journalists, critics, and activists who have died, disappeared, or ended up in jail. In 2013, Transparency International Rwanda employee Gustave Makonene’s body was found twisted around a large tree with a rope around his neck. In February 2020, singer and activist Kizito Mihigo was reportedly “found dead” in his police cell after releasing a song in which he expressed compassion for victims of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front’s crimes. No one – not the UK Home Office nor Human Rights Watch – can claim to know the true depth and severity of the abuse in Rwanda. Failing to recognize this will put lives at risk.

It might be the end of the “Remain in Mexico” program which allowed US border officers to send non-Mexican asylum seekers to Mexico while their claims were adjudicated in US immigration courts, exposing them to harsh conditions and abusive treatment. The Biden administration committed to end the program as soon as possible, and the Supreme Court just ruled it can do so. Let’s now hope Biden turns away from deadly anti-asylum and deterrence policies and invest in humane and rights-respecting border programs.

After last week's unrest in Uzbekistan, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called for a prompt, independent and transparent investigation into the deaths of at least 18 people during clashes at protests.  The protests started in response to government plans to change the constitution of Uzbekistan and remove the right of the region to seek independence, should its citizens choose to do so in a referendum. Human Rights Watch urged the Uzbek government to properly account for those killed and injured in Karakalpakstan protests, it's vital that those responsible are held to account including the governments' security forces.

A powerful piece in the New York Times looks back at events from June 24, when at least 23 African men died at the Melilla-Morocco border, underlining EU immigration policies "make a mockery of the human rights that Europe claims to cherish and uphold, including the right to asylum." For Human Rights Watch, this horrific event requires an independent, impartial investigation capable of determining what occurred and who bears responsibility for such loss of life.