Prosecute Myanmar Generals for Genocide, Say UN Experts: Daily Brief
Prosecute Myanmar generals for genocide, say UN experts; how (not) to rebuild Syria ; ISIS extremists hold children hostage; countries discuss ban on killer robots; In Memoriam, John McCain; hope for revision of Ethiopia’s draconian laws?; and Trump's disinformation over South African land reform.
The army in Myanmar has committed mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya Muslims with "genocidal intent" in the past year. Commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing and five other generals should be prosecuted, investigators of the United Nations said on Monday, as they released a report in Geneva. The report calls for the case to be referred to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, something Human Rights Watch is also advocating.
Before countries spend $250 billion to ‘rebuild Syria’, they should force President Vladimir Putin of Russia, a key backer of the Assad regime, to stop the endless death and destruction, says HRW's Executive Director Ken Roth in an op-ed published by The Independent. The call comes before the battle for Idlib begins. This region, where 2.3 million people currently live, is the last big rebel-held enclave in Syria.
'Islamic State' fighters are holding at least 27 people hostage, including at least 16 children, in southern Syria. Local residents told HRW that the extremists are holding the hostages in the eastern region of the Sweida desert, and are hoping to use them as leverage in negotiations with the Syrian government and Russia.
How many countries will join the list of states that back a preemptive ban on the development and use of fully autonomous weapons also known as 'killer robots', this week at a United Nations meeting in Geneva?
Known for his strong support of human rights in many parts of the world, United States Senator John McCain has died, age 81.
Ethiopia, like all countries, needs laws that protect free speech and free association, and needs to remove unreasonable and punitive barriers to the legitimate work of human rights groups and the rest of civil society.
And United States President Donald Trump was spreading misinformation in a tweet that echoes white supremacist propaganda about South Africa’s much-needed land reform agenda...