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A year ago, gunmen attacked Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow during a concert. They killed at least 144 people and injured many hundreds more.  

In the wake of this horrific attack, Russian authorities detained four main suspects, all citizens of Tajikistan. Some 23 others were also arrested, mostly of Central Asian origin. 

Millions of Central Asians across Russia are, of course, completely innocent of this crime. Yet they are paying the price anyway. The innocent are essentially being blamed for their ethnicity, as the law and parts of society turn against them in vicious ways.  

Russia’s economy is heavily dependent on migrant labor. There are nearly 3.3 million migrant workers from Central Asia in Russia. 

Given long-standing xenophobia in Russian society, migrants from Central Asia and other people of non-Slavic appearance have never had an easy time of things. However, the past year has been particularly difficult. 

Authorities have been changing the legal landscape for migrants in nasty ways. New regulations give police broader authority to expel migrants without specific court orders. Other changes have prevented hundreds of migrants who were in the country legally from accessing their Russian bank accounts. It’s also now much harder for migrants to send their kids to school in Russia. 

With Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian authorities have been increasingly targetting Central Asian migrants for military recruitment. Russian authorities often use arbitrary detention and threats of deportation to force them to enlist.  

In the streets, things are getting uglier. Migrants have been facing ethnic profiling and arbitrary arrests by police. They’re subject to harassment not only by police but by others, including ultranationalist groups.  

There have been coordinated physical assaults by young Slavic-looking men on Central Asian workers. Videos taken by the assailants and shared on social media show beatings and pepper-spray attacks accompanied by ethnic slurs. 

As one migrant from Tajikistan living in Moscow told Human Rights Watch for a new report, “the life of migrants here today is mired in constant fear and humiliation to put it mildly.” 

Of course, Russia has obligations under international human rights law to protect the rights of everyone within their territory without discrimination, including on grounds of national or ethnic origin.  

Those rights include the rights to life and to security, freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment and arbitrary detention, freedom of movement, privacy, education, and equality before the law.  

But Central Asians in Russia aren’t seeing any of it.  

Thailand/China: A high-ranking Thai delegation begins a visit to Xinjiang, China, today. Thai authorities said they intend to check the condition of the 40 Uyghur men whose forced repatriation to China last month triggered worldwide condemnation. Will the delegation seek unfettered access to the men and report on their treatment? Or will they simply take part in Chinese government image laundering? 

Malaysia: A draft National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights describes proposed reforms to address corruption, labor, and environmental issues. The country should now move swiftly to ensure its key provisions are enforceable. Priorities should include meeting domestic and international commitments to halt and reverse deforestation, and to mitigate climate change while respecting rights.  

Los Angeles, US: Tens of thousands of people in Los Angeles lost their homes to the devastating fires that raged in early January. Many people displaced by the fires will become unhoused, worsening a housing shortage that has been building in the region for years.  

Please send us your suggested links via email, Instagram, Mastodon, LinkedIn, or Bluesky. 

Today, we have a mix of your recommendations along with a couple of ours, compiled by Ines Mhand:  

• At least 326 killed as Israel unleashes attacks on Gaza, breaking ceasefire (Al Jazeera)  
• Between lifeline and frontline at the Egypt–Gaza border (Le Monde Diplomatique, English)  
• Belarus forces accused of raping women fleeing to Poland (EU Observer)  
• Hungary’s government submits bill to ban Budapest Pride Event (The Guardian)  
• M23 rebels pull out of peace talks with Congo after EU sanctions (Reuters)  
• Peru declares an emergency and deploys the army as violence surges in the capital (AP)  
• Tensions Rising in the Philippines After Former President Duterte’s ICC Arrest (The Diplomat)  
• Gold at any cost: Rising metal prices multiply environmental crimes (El País, English)  
• At Trump’s insistence, pro-democracy media outlets suddenly go silent (MSNBC) 

Recently, an armed group backed by Rwanda took control of two cities in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, injuring and killing civilians, and displacing hundreds of thousands of residents.  

To better understand what’s going on, we asked Lewis Mudge, HRW’s Central Africa Director, three questions… 

Why has fighting broken out in the region? 

The most recent fighting stems from a 2022 offensive by a Rwandan backed armed group, the M23. Over the last couple of years, the group has taken more territory and finally made its move on Goma in January, followed by Bukavu – the capital of South Kivu – in February, accompanied by serious abuses. This is not the first time we have seen abuses by the M23.  

In 2012 and 2013, we documented widespread abuses by M23 fighters against civilians, including numerous killings and rapes.  

We are where we are today in part because of the failure of the Congolese and Rwandan authorities to hold the group and their own forces accountable for past crimes.  

Who is involved in this conflict? 

M23 is made up of Congolese rebels, but Rwanda is pulling the strings. They support the M23, but more importantly, they provided troops on the ground in North Kivu who coordinated the offensive on Goma, for example. Burundi, to the south, came in on the side of Congo and is now pulling its troops closer to its own borders. Uganda, to the north, continues to play a role in supporting the M23 but also has its own soldiers currently stationed in Ituri province working alongside Congolese soldiers.  

South African, Malawian, and Tanzanian forces were in Goma as a part of a Southern African force sent in to support the Congolese government. They failed to hold Goma. There were also European mercenaries, primarily from Romania, who were working for the Congolese government and who were in Goma when it fell.  

A UN peacekeeping force maintains its presence in Goma, despite the city now in the hands of the M23.  

Finally, Congo’s army, the FARDC, is a major force on the ground, one that has committed its own share of abuse against civilians.  

Regional peace initiatives and cease fires are being brokered by Angola, Kenya and the African Union.  

Why do you think this conflict isn’t getting much media attention? 

The world has so many crises on right now: Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, the Sahel, the Trump administration… There is just a lack of bandwidth to pay attention to what appears from the outside to a long running civil war.  

There is also Congo fatigue. Congo has been a huge recipient of international aid. While much have that aid has provided life-saving support, conflict has continued, particularly in the east of the country, and with the resurgence of the M23, worsened. Also, Rwanda is a main protagonist here, but Rwanda also has an active PR strategy that make sure they are cast as a savior on the continent, not as the abuser. 

To learn more, listen to our new podcast episode: “Congo: The Real-Life ‘Vibranium’ Wars” on Apple, Spotify, or the HRW website.