Good News: Putin’s World Is Shrinking: Daily Brief

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July 20, 2023
By Andrew Stroehlein
Contact me at DailyBriefTeam@hrw.org and Twitter @astroehlein.

In today's Daily Brief:

Fugitive from Justice Restricted in Travel
Football’s World Cup and the Fight for Equal Pay
Getting Aid to Northwest Syria
Take Note: Other Key Stories
Summer Book Recommendations
Quote of the Day: Climate Action

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Good News: Putin’s World Is Shrinking

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When the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin in March, I wrote here that, “he’s not going to be able to travel like he did before.”

Today, I’m happy to say, that prediction is proving true.

South Africa has announced Putin will not be joining other world leaders at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg in August, the top-level meeting bringing together Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Concerns about South Africa’s obligation, as an ICC signatory, to help arrest the ICC fugitive had sparked a “number of consultations,” they explained diplomatically.

Essentially, Putin wanted the South African government to let him avoid justice, and the South African government, under pressure from the opposition to be sure, put rule of law above global politics.

It’s only right and decent for South Africa to take its obligations seriously, given the gravity of the crimes involved.

The first arrest warrants in the ICC’s ongoing Ukraine investigation – for both Putin and Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova – concerned the mass abduction of children from Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. The forced transfer of populations from occupied territory is a war crime.

Of course, Putin being restricted in his travel will not bring any immediate relief to Ukrainians suffering under Russia’s atrocity-ridden invasion. Moscow’s missiles continue to slam into residential apartment buildings across the country day after day.

But still, it’s hopeful to see there’s a cost to being an international fugitive who’s wanted for appalling crimes. At the very least, it sends a signal to other leaders and military commanders out there: if you commit atrocities, your options could become limited, maybe even your days numbered.

It is especially encouraging news when you consider what happened in a similar situation eight years ago.

In 2015, Omar al-Bashir – then president of Sudan and wanted by the ICC on charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur – actually managed to visit South Africa, despite huge pressure for his arrest.

The fact that fugitive Putin today is unable to get away with what fugitive al-Bashir got away with eight years ago looks to me a lot like progress for international justice.

In this July 7, 2019, file photo, the United States players hold the trophy as they celebrate winning the Women’s World Cup final soccer match against The Netherlands at the Stade de Lyon in Decines, outside Lyon, France. The 2023 Women’s World Cup will be spread across nine cities in Australia and New Zealand. © AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File

Football’s World Cup and the Fight for Equal Pay

(written by Jan Kooy)

Once every four years, hundreds of millions of fans around the world celebrate the women and girls who play football as we watch the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which started today in Australia and New Zealand.

But as you cheer for top players and favorite national teams, remember many countries, women and girls have problems even getting out on the field. They’re still facing threats and retaliation, harassment and sexual assault.

They also have to fight for equal pay. The prize money awarded by world football federation FIFA for the 2019 Women’s World Cup — which reached 1.12 billion viewers — was US$30 million. After global pressure, the prize money has increased to $110 million in 2023 - still far below the $440 million awarded in last year’s Men’s World Cup.

With FIFA’s $4 billion in reserves and expected $11 billion in revenue over the next three years, it is only unacceptable gender discrimination that keeps the organization from leveling the pay playing field at the Women’s World Cup, and in professional play.

FIFA and football fans: the time for change is now.

Getting Aid to Northwest Syria

(written by Aiza Rodrigues Akhtar)

Last week, the UN Security Council failed to renew with Turkey authorization for the critical Bab-al-Hawa border crossing used to deliver humanitarian assistance to Syria’s beleaguered northwest.

Afterwards, the Syrian government sent a letter to the UN stating it could use the crossing. However, it said it could only do so if it works “in full cooperation and coordination with the Syrian Government.”

Allowing the Syrian government to dictate the flow of aid to areas beyond government control would essentially place the fate of more than four million vulnerable people in the hands of the government that displaced, dispossessed, and besieged them.

For more than a decade, the Syrian government has systemically obstructed and weaponized humanitarian aid for their own interests and to punish its opponents. That’s why the UN Security Council ten years ago first passed a cross-border resolution that bypasses Syrian government consent.

UN member states should find other ways to deliver lifesaving assistance to areas outside government control. And the Security Council should get back to negotiations and reach a consensus that puts Syrians’ needs and rights first.