French President Francois Hollande flew into Central African Republic today, shortly after it was announced that two French soldiers were killed in the conflict that is spreading through the country. Today, fighting continued with crowds looting and torching Muslim areas of the capital, Bangui.
This week a bill will be introduced in the US Congress to establish a national paid family leave insurance program. The bill, known as the FAMILY Act, would help workers manage their own health crises or care for new babies or seriously ill family members – without going broke.
A roll-back on women’s rights in Afghanistan is taking place just in time for international troops to pull out. Only last November, government officials proposed bringing back the Taliban-era punishment of stoning for women accused of adultery, although the government has since backed away for that.
Bangladesh stayed the expected execution today of Abdul Kader Mullah, a leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party convicted of war crimes committed during Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence. Human Rights Watch had concerns about the fairness of his trial.
Today Russia’s Supreme Court ordered the Pussy Riot verdict to be re-examined by the Moscow City Court – potentially the first step towards correcting that terrible miscarriage of justice. But there was also bad news: Yesterday President Putin closed the respected state-owned wire service RIA Novosti, and is replacing it with a news station headed by Dmitri Kiselyov, known for being pro-Kremlin and virulently anti-LGBT.
Happy Human Rights Day! But what we really want is for people to care about, and stay informed about, human rights every day of the year.
