Protests in defiance of
a repressive new law in
Ukraine turned
violent yesterday, with water cannons, tear gas and noise grenades used by police against demonstrators, some of whom turned on security forces with clubs and Molotov cocktails, leaving scores injured. President Viktor Yanukovych has said he will
negotiate with protesters and opposition leaders, though clashes continued into the morning.
More reports of intercommunal violence emerged from the
Central African Republic over the weekend, including a
lynching in the capital, Bangui, and a brutal
ambush on a convoy of people attempting to flee. Eight people have now been
shortlisted to become the next interim president. The
UN Human Rights Council is holding a special session on the crisis. And the
EU will decide today on sending a force to the beleaguered country, which could help, though what's ultimately needed is a
UN mission.
In
South Sudan, fresh reports from Bor tell of a town devastated by fighting.
With the
Geneva 2 peace talks for
Syria set to begin later this week, the sides remain as far apart as possible. From a human rights perspective, the
five key issues that need to be addressed are: justice, humanitarian aid access, rights-respecting treatment of detainees, security sector reform, and an end to the unlawful use of weapons.
President Barack Obama's Friday speech on reforms to the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programs fell short on core human rights concerns: the collection of data in bulk on people worldwide, including in the US, and acknowledging foreigners' rights against unwarranted US surveillance.
In
Russia, a gay-rights activist was
arrested after unfurling a rainbow flag at the Olympic torch rally, as President Vladimir Putin
compared gays to pedophiles at the weekend and thus again failed to reassure the world that rights will be respected at the
2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.
