Daily Brief Audio Series
The crisis in Rakhine State, in the west of Myanmar, rages on. Recent months have seen yet more atrocities against civilians.
Both the forces of the military junta and the opposition Arakan Army are to blame. They are both attacking civilians and using massive, widespread arson to drive people from their homes and villages, raising the specter of ethnic cleansing.
Rakhine State has suffered conflict and deep crisis for years. This is where, in 2017, Myanmar’s military committed crimes against humanity and acts of genocide against the ethnic Rohingya community, forcing more than 750,000 to flee, mostly to neighboring Bangladesh.
The 630,000 Rohingya who remain in Rakhine State live under a system of apartheid. Since the 2021 military coup in Myanmar, the junta has imposed severe movement restrictions on them and blocked aid to their villages and detention camps, where some 150,000 are held.
The junta also sometimes coerces Rohnigya to join the army: they are forced to fight for their oppressors. The military’s unlawful recruitment of Rohingya men and boys has stoked communal tensions between the Rohingya Muslim and Rakhine Buddhist communities.
On the other side of the conflict, fighting against Myanmar’s military, the Arakan Army is an ethnic Rakhine armed group. They’ve engaged in periods of heavy fighting with the military for control of Rakhine State since late 2018, and hostilities have surged since mid-November last year. So have atrocities.
The military has carried out indiscriminate attacks using helicopter gunships, artillery, and ground assaults.
A new report also documents how, in April and May, as the Arakan Army was advancing, both sides committed atrocities against civilians.
In mid-April, the Myanmar military and Rohingya armed groups looted and set on fire ethnic Rakhine areas in Buthidaung town and villages to the south. In turn, from late April, the Arakan Army burned more than 40 Rohingya villages and hamlets east of the town of Buthidaung, partially or completely destroying them by fire.
People from the villages fled to Buthidaung, finding shelter in schools, homes, and the hospital. But on May 17, the Arakan Army shelled, looted, and set fire to buildings across the town, especially Rohingya neighborhoods. The capture of Buthidaung displaced an estimated 70,000 people, mostly Rohingya.
Clashes between the warring parties have since moved west to Maungdaw, where fighting has surged over the past week. There are more reports of killings and other abuses against Rohingya civilians there.
Since November, more than 300,000 people have been displaced. The junta has stepped up its blocking of humanitarian aid to civilians across Rakhine State, a form of collective punishment that violates international humanitarian law.
The conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine State rages on, atrocities continue, and civilians are paying the price.
Racist Riots and Resistance, Daily Brief August 12, 2024
Daily Brief, August 12, 2024.
The last two weeks in the UK have seen a whiplash mood swing from horror to hope.
In response to racist and Islamophobic misinformation shared online, far-right riots sprung up in multiple cities. Racist mobs targeted mosques and asylum seeker accommodation, they attacked Muslims and people of color, and police were injured.
The scenes were truly appalling: packs of thugs in the streets, spreading violence, smashing windows, and setting fires. At some points, police seemed overwhelmed, it was getting out of control, more riots were threatened.
And then, the mood in the streets flipped 180 degrees. Thousands of people joined peaceful counterprotests across the UK in support of tolerance, unity, and inclusion. The majority had spoken, and the message was straightforward: the violent thugs do not represent us. We reject their hate, and we deplore its consequences. It was great to see.
While the immediate threat needs to continue to be addressed, the government should start thinking about the lessons: what have we learned to help keep hateful violence at bay in the future?
First, politicians’ words matter. For far too long, prominent politicians like former UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman and media magnet and now member of Parliament Nigel Farage have been driving dangerous anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric. They are hardly the only ones, of course.
In recent years, far-right language has flooded mainstream politics. The political scapegoating of vulnerable groups unfortunately “works” to a degree, particularly when people see rising inequality and want someone to blame. Some folks oddly believe unscrupulous politicians who tell them all their problems are the fault of some (usually powerless) people cast as “outsiders.”
The mainstream media has also been willing, even eager, to demonize certain communities and groups. All this only emboldens extremists, opening the door to violence.
Second, online disinformation is a serious problem. It played a significant role in the riots. Policymakers need to focus on how easily social media platforms can be harnessed to promote hate.
It wasn’t just unknown individuals spreading lies and rumors on social media, either. The owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, Elon Musk chimed in with misguided and ignorant interventions.
It all raises serious questions about how these platforms are managed.
Third, people power matters. It’s true there’s a significant group of individuals who can be fueled by hatred so much they are willing to commit violence. However, they are dramatically outnumbered by those who are rightly appalled by the idea.
For years, this tolerant majority has too often been overshadowed by attention-seeking politicians and media outlets pushing hatred. The pushback we’ve seen from the public in this instance is encouraging. Going forward, we need to see it more often and sooner. And the louder, the better.
Confirming a Criminal Policy, Daily Brief August 8, 2024
Daily Brief, August 8, 2024.
Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has said that starving people in Gaza might be “justified and moral.”
No, and no.
The laws of war are clear here. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court says that intentionally starving civilians by “depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully impeding relief supplies” is a war crime.
Smotrich’s comments this week have sparked international condemnation – rightly so – but it’s hardly the first time an Israeli government official has said such things. Similar statements have come from other top-ranking leaders since the beginning of Israel’s assault on Gaza after the October 7 attacks.
Early on, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Energy Minister Israel Katz all made public statements expressing their aim to deprive civilians in Gaza of food, water, fuel, and electricity.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as early as October 19 said Israel would not allow humanitarian assistance “in the form of food and medicines” into Gaza through its crossings “as long as our hostages are not returned.”
So, when Finance Minister Smotrich said this week that “no one in the world will allow us to starve two million people, even though it might be justified and moral in order to free the hostages,” it was hardly a surprise. In fact, it was more a like a reminder of the government’s ongoing policy.
We’ve discussed here before the Israeli government’s use of starvation as a weapon of war and collective punishment in Gaza since October. We’ve highlighted the legally binding orders of the International Court of Justice, requiring Israel to enable the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance. We’ve also looked at Israeli military strikes on aid workers.
Throughout, we have emphasized again and again the fallacy of Israel’s attempt to justify mass starvation as a legitimate response to the Hamas-led attacks on October 7. Yes, taking civilians hostage is a war crime (as are other atrocities committed in those attacks), but so is deliberately starving civilians. Two wrongs do not make a right.
The devastating impact of Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian aid to Gaza continues. In its latest briefing on Monday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports acute malnutrition cases among children in northern Gaza have increased by more than 300 per cent from May to July.
No one needed Smotrich’s reminder. Everyone knows Israel’s policy. And the humanitarian catastrophe it’s causing is clear.
The only question is: when will Israel’s allies apply serious pressure on the Israeli government to end this policy?
Repression and Resistance in Russia, Daily Brief August 7, 2024
Daily Brief, August 7, 2024.
Repression in Russia under Vladimir Putin… Where to even start?
One thing’s for sure, it didn’t begin with Russia’s full-scale, atrocity-ridden invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Respect for fundamental freedoms in Russia had been deteriorating for at least a decade before that. The war certainly accelerated it, however.
A new, 205-page report details wave after wave of repressive legislation and policies the government under Putin has adopted since 2020. The list of measures is long and multi-faceted, but they all essentially have the same purpose: to empower the Kremlin to suppress internal dissent and try to immobilize and eliminate activist groups.
Pick a fundamental freedom, and you can bet the authorities have attacked it, restricted it, or erased it altogether: freedom of expression, freedom of association, the right to peaceful assembly, on and on.
The Kremlin has also imposed on the public a tight set of social, historical, and political ideas. No public variations, no questions allowed. There is one accepted way to think and talk about LGBT people, for example: the Kremlin’s hateful way.
There is one accepted way to discuss World War Two, the Kremlin’s, a vision that excludes criticism of the conduct of the Soviet Red Army, among other things, in their fight against Nazi Germany.
There’s only one way to discuss the invasion of Ukraine: the Kremlin’s way. Don’t call it a war, or an invasion. Don’t call occupied areas occupied. And, of course, don’t mention Russian forces’ atrocities in Ukraine.
Independently minded discussion about a vast range of issues simply cannot take place openly. You have the freedom to repeat the propaganda and obey the authorities – which is, of course, no freedom at all.
We’re not talking here about some kind of “political correctness” in which a person might be socially marginalized or “cancelled” if they say the wrong thing. Criminal and administrative penalties have become ever more severe, and hundreds of people have been imprisoned in Russia under these laws. Many dissenters, journalists, and activists have gone into exile.
If there’s a ray of light in this dark story it comes from the independent groups and media outlets that are persisting, even if in exile. As my colleague and expert Rachel Denber says, “They provide hope for the eventual transformation of Russia into a country committed to protecting fundamental rights.”
Welcome back, everyone! We’re returning from our three-week, northern-summer break with renewed energy to bring you your daily human-rights update.
Like many of you, I’ve spent recent days watching the Olympics on TV – first the spectacular, if sadly soaked, opening ceremony in Paris, and then the events, excitedly trying to figure out the rules to sports like judo and dressage. I’m not usually much interested in sports, nor am I a flag-waver, but the Olympics has a peculiar way of making fans of us all.
Getting back to work, however, means seeing the Olympics and Paralympics as an opportunity to focus the spotlight on the government of the host nation and their human rights record, in this case France.
While we don’t rank countries from bad to worse, it’s fair to say some recent hosts of mega-sporting events – say, China, Russia, or Saudi Arabia – present more severe human rights concerns than France. Still, that hardly excuses the French government’s record, and in fact, France has some serious problems. Indeed, France’s human rights record has been deteriorating.
Rule of law is being eroded in France, and the country is facing increasing restrictions on fundamental freedoms, including limitations on freedom of expression, the right to peaceful protest, and freedom of association. For example…
In December 2023, French lawmakers adopted an immigration law widely criticized by French civil society organizations as the most repressive immigration legislation ever enacted.
France’s new “Olympics” mass-surveillance law is the first of its kind in the European Union to explicitly legalize the use of controversial, algorithm-driven video surveillance that risks discrimination against racialized minorities at the Games.
And then there’s France’s hijab ban in sports. Many French sporting authorities restrict women and girl players from wearing head coverings. As a result, thousands of women and girls in France are prevented from playing many sports, including football, basketball, judo, boxing, volleyball, and badminton.
These recent steps and others have arisen from political efforts to stoke intolerance in France and then capitalize on it. This is sadly ironic, given the slogan for Paris 2024 is “Ouvrons grand les Jeux” or “Games Wide Open,” meant to show these Olympic Games would be more inclusive, open, and equal.
One bit of positive news is a majority of French voters decisively refused to be governed by the far right in recent parliamentary elections, thus pushing back the threat of even deeper intolerance driving even more rapid deterioration of human rights.
But it’s hardly comforting to say the situation in France isn’t as bad as it could be, when it really should be much better than it is.