Address Shocking Toll on Students, Teachers, Schools Attacks by armed separatist groups on students, teachers, and schools in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions have had a devastating impact on children’s right to education. These criminal attacks don’t just cause immediate physical and psychological harm, but they jeopardize the future of tens of thousands of students. Regional and international partners should urge Cameroonian authorities to investigate and prosecute attacks on education and provide forensic and justice system support. Systematic and widespread attacks by armed separatist groups on students, teachers, and schools in Cameroon ’s Anglophone regions since 2017 have had a devastating impact on children’s right to education, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 131-page report , "They Are Destroying Our Future: Armed Separatist Attacks on Students, Teachers, and Schools in Cameroon's Anglophone Regions," documents scores of education-related attacks by armed separatist groups in the English-speaking North-West and South-West regions between March 2017 and November 2021. The groups have killed, beaten, abducted, threatened, and terrorized students and education professionals; harassed and intimidated families into keeping their children out of school; and burned, destroyed, damaged, and looted school buildings. “Leaders of separatist groups should immediately announce an end to the school boycott and ensure that their fighters end all attacks on schools, teachers, and students," said Ilaria Allegrozzi , senior researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. “These criminal attacks don’t just cause immediate physical and psychological harm to victims; they jeopardize the future of tens of thousands of students.” Human Rights Watch interviewed by telephone 155 people between November 2020 and November 2021, including 29 current and former students, 47 education professionals, and other witnesses to attacks, parents of students, victims’ family members, community leaders, national and international humanitarian workers, members of Cameroonian civil society organizations, lawyers, medical doctors, journalists, and diplomats. Human Rights Watch shared its preliminary findings on September 22, 2021, with the leaders of four major separatist groups: the president of the Ambazonia Interim Government (Sisiku), Sisiku Ayuk Tabe; the spokesperson of the Ambazonia Interim Government (Sako), Christopher Anu; the president of the Ambazonia Governing Council, Ayaba Cho Lucas; and the president of the African People’s Liberation Movement, Ebenezer Derek Mbongo Akwanga. Their responses, which in differing ways dispute that their groups are responsible, are on the Human Rights Watch website. Human Rights Watch also sent a letter, with a summary of findings and questions, to Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute on September 21. He has yet to respond. The crisis in the Anglophone regions began in late 2016, when Cameroonian security forces used excessive force against peaceful demonstrators led by teachers and lawyers protesting the perceived marginalization of the country’s minority Anglophone education and legal systems and their assimilation into the Francophone systems. Armed separatist groups, seeking independence for the two English-speaking regions have since emerged and grown, and education soon became a primary battleground. From early 2017, separatist fighters began to order and enforce a school boycott , citing their opposition to Francophone education imposed by the central government, and as part of a perverse attempt to pressure the government for political recognition. Separatist groups began attacking scores of schools across the Anglophone regions. These attacks, the resulting fear, and the deteriorating security situation have caused school closures, with two out of three schools shut across the Anglophone regions, denying over 700,000 students access to education . Students and teachers described being beaten, mutilated , threatened, and harassed. “When I go to school, I don’t wear my school uniform,” a female high-school student from Bamenda, North-West region said. “I am afraid of being spotted by the amba [separatist fighters]. My walk to school is about a kilometer, and I never feel safe.” At least 70 schools have been attacked since 2017, according to reports from United Nations agencies, the World Bank, Cameroonian and international civil society organizations, and media outlets. Human Rights Watch documented in detail 15 attacks during which separatist fighters ordered schools closed and destroyed school infrastructure and property. Human Rights Watch documented the killings of 11 students and 5 teachers in the South-West region. Seven students were killed in an attack on their school in Kumba , and three students and a teacher in an attack on their school in Ekondo Titi . The others were killed at home or on their way to or from school. Separatist groups have also carried out hundreds of kidnappings . Human Rights Watch documented 268 abductions of students and education professionals since 2017. In two incidents alone, one in 2018 and another in 2019, fighters kidnapped 78 and 170 students, respectively, from North-West region schools. A high school student, who was kidnapped in Bafia, South-West region, on September 22, 2018, along with four other students on his way to school, said: “They beat me up, they hit me and my friends with sticks and machetes on the soles of our feet, in the arms, and in the back. They cut my right hand. I was bleeding and was seriously injured.” Separatist fighters have also used school buildings as bases for storing weapons and ammunition as well as holding and torturing hostages . Human Rights Watch documented the use by separatist fighters of at least seven schools across the two Anglophone regions. This can lead to the damage or destruction of vital education infrastructure. The attacks on education have had far-reaching consequences for students and teachers, including displacement, trauma and mental health issues, and school withdrawals. In 2018, Cameroon endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration, a political agreement committing countries to prevent and respond to attacks on education. But the attacks have continued, largely unabated, with an almost total absence of accountability. As of November, Human Rights Watch is aware of only 23 arrests, including 12 people prosecuted in a severely unfair trial before a military tribunal for the attack against the Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy in Kumba in October 2020. Cameroon’s regional and international partners should urge Cameroonian authorities to ensure that the police and the judiciary can effectively investigate and prosecute attacks on education and offer to provide monitor and targeted support to strengthen their forensic and civilian trial capacities, Human Rights Watch said. As a party to African and international human rights law treaties, Cameroon has obligations to protect the rights to life, education, and personal security for students, teachers, academics, and all education staff. This includes an obligation to take measures to prevent separatist fighters from interfering with these constitutionally and internationally protected rights and hold those responsible for attacks to account. “Cameroonian authorities should impartially investigate all education-related attacks, prosecute those responsible in fair trials, and provide timely support to victims,” Allegrozzi said. “As the future of children in the Anglophone regions hangs in the balance, the authorities should live up to their responsibility to ensure children’s safe access to education and protection from harm.” © 2021 Human Rights Watch

Japan’s defence ministry claims the program, which includes combat training, will inspire change from within. That’s not going to happen. By Teppei Kasai Military personnel participate in a parade on Armed Forces Day in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, March. 27, 2021. © AP Photo Japan was one of the first governments to issue a statement after the Myanmar military staged a coup on February 1 last year. Within hours of events unfolding in Naypyitaw, the Japanese leadership expressed “grave concern” and called for the release of those detained by security forces, including President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. Following its swift condemnation, the Japanese government took further action by halting new non-humanitarian development projects, while allowing existing aid projects to continue. Then on March 28, Japan’s defence ministry issued a joint statement with 11 allies criticising the military’s use of force against “unarmed civilians.” Japan even voted in favour of a Myanmar resolution at the United Nations General Assembly in June, a major shift from its repeated abstentions since 2017. All this begs the question: why does the Japanese government continue to train the Myanmar military? The Tatmadaw, along with other Myanmar security forces, has since the coup killed more than 1,400 people, detained over 10,000, and intensified abusive military operations in ethnic minority areas. Not only do Japan’s ongoing ties with the Tatmadaw contradict its condemnation of the coup, but they also undermine the international community’s efforts to hold the generals accountable for crimes against humanity and other abuses. Since 2015, Myanmar military cadets have been studying at Japan’s National Defense Academy, receiving both academic and military training. The program is authorised by the defence minister under article 100 of the Self-Defense Forces Act, which permits training and educating foreign nationals in Defense Ministry facilities. In December, a defence ministry official told Human Rights Watch that eight cadets from Myanmar were attending the academy, and at least two of them joined after the coup. The academy’s curriculum includes combat and the use of firearms. In addition to the cadets, two Tatmadaw officers are being trained at the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Training, Evaluation, Research and Development Command, and at the Japan Air Self-Defense Force Command and Staff College, according to a defence ministry document obtained by Human Rights Watch. Another defence ministry official said that the program is designed to bring change from within the Tatmadaw by showing cadets, who are expected to become officers, how Japan’s armed forces operate under strict civilian control. However, the official also conceded that the ministry does not keep track of the career paths the trainees take after the program, meaning that they do not monitor or evaluate whether this actually happens. The Japanese government should simply look at the Tatmadaw’s long record of human rights abuses and absence of deference to civilian authority and recognize that this program is not going to bring about the reforms they say it will. In August 2017, two years after Japan began the program, the Myanmar military under the current junta leader and commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, carried out crimes against humanity and possible genocide against ethnic Rohingya in Rakhine State, forcing more than 740,000 to flee to Bangladesh. At least 600,000 Rohingya who remained in Myanmar are confined to camps and villages under guard of local authorities and security forces, under conditions that amount to the crime against humanity of apartheid. Even before 2017, in long-running conflicts with ethnic armed groups, the Myanmar military has for many years committed summary killings, rape, indiscriminate shelling, torture, arson, and other abuses with impunity. And now, six years after the program began, Myanmar is in turmoil because of the Tatmadaw’s coup. The Japanese government should immediately suspend the program and cut defence ties with the Tatmadaw, as New Zealand and Australia, Japan’s regional allies, did soon after the coup. Otherwise Japan risks being complicit in the Tatmadaw’s atrocities. © 2022 Human Rights Watch

Reprisals against civilians prohibited. A Taliban fighter raises a flag in the ruins of Sangin, Helmand province, Afghanistan, November 30, 2021. © 2021/Alfred Yaghobzadeh/Abaca/Sipa USA(Sipa via AP Images). Taliban authorities in Afghanistan’s Helmand province have threatened to retaliate against activists and former government officials in response to recent killings of Taliban commanders, Human Rights Watch said today. The Taliban in Helmand have heightened surveillance and said that they would take retaliatory action in response to further attacks on Taliban officials. International law prohibits reprisal attacks – otherwise unlawful attacks taken as an enforcement measure – against civilians. “Taliban leaders in Helmand should not be responding to attacks with threats of unlawful punishments,” said Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Taliban authorities need to prevent retaliatory attacks and ensure that crimes are dealt with through a proper legal process.” A Taliban police official in Gereshk, Helmand, told residents that district-level Taliban authorities were calling for retaliation and targeting former government officials. Residents have reported an increase in patrols and night raids, along with warnings from local Taliban officials that mass arrests will ensue if attacks continue. Afghan activists told Human Rights Watch that the Taliban in Helmand have increased their surveillance of individuals and groups they accuse of being “opposed to the Islamic Emirate.” The threats follow a spate of attacks in which Taliban members have been abducted or killed. Haji Amanullah, 45, a Taliban commander, has been missing since February 14, 2022, when armed men accosted him outside his home in Nawai Bazaar, Gereshk district and forced him to accompany them. Three days later, a letter posted on his door said that Amanullah had been responsible for killing “innocent and poor people and government officials and had made many mothers cry… now it’s time for his mother to cry. We have killed him.” His body has not been found. That week, two local Taliban commanders were found fatally shot in Baba Ji district. In mid-March, the body of a Taliban commander in Gereshk bearing a gunshot wound was found by his relatives behind his house. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. A local mosque official said that Taliban officials told a gathering that they “have been very patient but eventually some of those who are now working against [us] will be caught and punished.” At the same gathering, a Taliban fighter said that the leadership had cautioned their members not to seek revenge yet, but just to watch because “the attention of the international community is on us right now” and “Mullah Yaqub [the Taliban defense minister] and other leaders have said to wait.… Only observe those who are acting against [us], particularly those government officials and civil society activists who preach against the [Taliban].” The Taliban have previously carried out revenge killings of former government officials and have forcibly disappeared or summarily executed former members of the security forces and others they accuse of being their enemies. The statements heighten concerns that Taliban fighters in the province could use recent attacks as a pretext to commit abuses against perceived critics, including journalists and activists. “The Taliban leadership has denied that revenge killings are taking place, but they have a history of such killings and a responsibility to stop their fighters from committing them,” Gossman said. “Country delegations meeting with the Taliban should press them to prevent their forces from committing further killings.” © Human Rights Watch, 2022

Damage from Military Use of Schools, Bombing, Shelling, Looting The destroyed playground of a kindergarten in the town of Kupiansk, Kharkivska region, Ukraine, May 26, 2023. © 2023 Serbei Bobok/AFP via Getty Images Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has devastated schools and kindergartens throughout the country. Since February 2022, over 3,790 educational facilities have been damaged or destroyed. Ukrainian children have paid a high price in this war because attacks on education are attacks on their future. International donors and aid agencies should support the Ukrainian government to ensure the equitable reconstruction of schools in all regions of Ukraine. (Kyiv, November 9, 2023) – Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has devastated schools and kindergartens throughout the country, Human Rights Watch said in a report and video released today. Since February 2022, over 3,790 educational facilities have been damaged or destroyed, according to Ukrainian government figures, severely interrupting access to education for millions of children. The 71-page report, “Tanks on the Playground,” documents the damage and destruction of schools and kindergartens in four Ukrainian regions during the first months of the fighting. Most of the damage to educational facilities resulted from aerial attacks, artillery shelling, rocket strikes, and, in some cases, attacks using cluster munitions – causing significant damage to roofs, the collapse of walls, and major debris in classrooms. Russian forces frequently looted and pillaged schools they occupied, a war crime. “Ukrainian children have paid a high price in this war because attacks on education are attacks on their future,” said Hugh Williamson, director of the Europe and Central Asia division at Human Rights Watch. “The international community should condemn the damage and destruction of schools in Ukraine and looting by Russian forces.” Human Rights Watch visited 50 education facilities in the Kyivska, Kharkivska, Chernihivska, and Mykolaivska regions and interviewed almost 90 school officials, representatives of local authorities, and witnesses to military operations. Education in Ukraine has been under attack since Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014. Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 led to further attacks on and military use of schools, which, along with the overall effects of war, have severely disrupted Ukrainian children’s education, already suffering from school closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Many students from schools that were damaged or destroyed had to continue their studies in other schools, studying in shifts or remotely, which has eroded the quality of education, Human Rights Watch said. Russian forces’ attacks on power infrastructure and consequent electricity and internet outages have frequently impeded remote learning. The Ukrainian government has taken several key steps to protect education from attack. In 2019, Ukraine endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration , an international political commitment that aims to protect education from the worst effects of armed conflict. In August 2021, Ukraine adopted an action plan to carry out to the declaration’s requirements. As of January 2022, one thousand Ukrainian military officials had been trained in the Safe Schools Declaration and the Declaration’s “Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict.” In July 2022, Ukrainian authorities also issued a high-level military order aiming to “non-use … premises of educational facilities for the temporary accommodation of military headquarters and units,” according to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry. The damage and destruction of schools that Human Rights Watch documented typically occurred when Russian forces captured cities and towns and occupied schools during the early weeks of the fighting in 2022. In several cases, Russian forces fired on the schools they had used as they withdrew from areas they had occupied, further damaging them. When occupying schools, Russian forces pillaged them, looting desktop and laptop computers, televisions, interactive whiteboards, other school equipment, and heating systems. What was not stolen was often broken. Upon withdrawal, Russian forces left behind burned-out and ransacked classrooms. They also painted graffiti on walls, typically expressing hate toward Ukrainians. For example, Russian soldiers occupied Borodianska school in the Kyivska region and used it for military operations against Ukrainian forces. The school was badly damaged by Ukrainian return fire. Russian soldiers left anti-Ukrainian graffiti and a flag with a Nazi swastika on classroom walls. “It was impossible to hold back tears,” the school’s director said. “In the cafeteria, they [Russian forces] set up a bath [in the sink]. In another room there was blood on the walls. … They broke all the computers… and filled everything with dirt. … They simply stole the laptops.” Using schools as living quarters for troops, storing ammunition, or parking or deploying military vehicles on school grounds makes attacks on schools more likely. Military forces are obligated under the laws of war to do everything feasible to protect schools and other civilian objects under their control from the effects of attack. Previous Human Rights Watch reporting documented how Russian forces attacked schools and kindergartens, including schools for children with disabilities ; tortured , raped, and otherwise ill-treated prisoners-of-war and detained civilians in schools; and used schools to detain civilians. Russia has not endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration. The United Nations and others should press the Russian government to immediately cease deliberate, indiscriminate, and disproportionate attacks against civilians and civilian objects, including schools, and urge Russia to avoid using Ukrainian educational facilities for military purposes. Russia should carry out the declaration’s provisions and include its principles in training military personnel. In a few cases Human Rights Watch documented, Ukrainian forces placed soldiers in schools, set up checkpoints near school buildings, or deployed small numbers of Territorial Defense Forces’ members to provide security for civilians sheltering in schools, actions that can increase the risk of attacks. The Education Ministry reported that over 95 percent of eligible students were enrolled in schools as of January, a significant achievement during wartime, Human Rights Watch said. Despite these efforts, interrupted learning due to the war, and global evidence from the coronavirus pandemic that switching from in-person to remote education often causes learning losses and inequality, indicate the massive effort needed to help Ukrainian children recover their education. A woman living in Izium, in the Kharkivska region, told Human Rights Watch that she struggled with remote learning for her 14-year-old son. “There is no internet, so no video lessons,” she said. “You can’t just [convey tasks to teachers] by phone, you need a laptop. He can’t set up the virtual classroom on his phone.” Being able to return children to classrooms adds urgency for Ukraine, with the support of international partners, to restore and reconstruct damaged educational facilities in line with safety and accessibility standards, Human Rights Watch said. International donors and humanitarian agencies should support the Ukrainian government to ensure the equitable reconstruction of schools in all regions of Ukraine and require strict adherence to accessibility standards mandatory under Ukrainian law. “Most countries around the world, including European Union and NATO members, have pledged to protect education from attack, and they should help Ukraine achieve that goal," Williamson said. "Ukraine's children have the same right to education as children everywhere, and despite the war this crucial right should be protected.” © 2023 Human Rights Watch

July 26 2024: More than 160 people  have been killed  in protests across Bangladesh since early July as the government has deployed the army against student protesters, imposed shoot-on-sight curfew orders, and shut down the internet.  Thousands of university students took to the streets earlier this month to  peacefully protest  a recent Supreme Court ruling restoring quotas in government jobs for various categories of people. On July 15, members of a student group affiliated with the government ruing party and backed by police attacked the protesters, killing six people. Protests spread to several cities and universities across the country following the attack, leading to  deadly clashes  between protesters and the pro-government supporters and security forces. Security forces have used live ammunition, tear gas, stun grenades, rubber bullets, and shotgun pellets to disperse protesters. With the internet shut down, reliable information is hard to get; the police and hospitals have reportedly recorded 163 deaths, but activists fear the number is much higher.  “I have never seen such cruelty,” a Dhaka resident who recently left the country told Human Rights Watch. “The security forces just kept on shooting. They were shooting at such young people. They even shot at bystanders if they tried to help protect the students.” The authorities have arrested hundreds of protest participants and organizers, and there are allegations of enforced disappearances and torture in custody. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has promised an investigation into the July 15 killings, although also referred to protesters as “political traitors” in one  statement . Meanwhile, a student leader on July 22 declared a 48-hour halt to the protests, calling on the government to end the curfew, restore access to the internet, and stop targeting the student protesters. Bangladeshi authorities  have long flouted  international standards and continue to do so during these ongoing demonstrations. Now is the time for influential governments to press Sheikh Hasina’s government to stop their forces from brutalizing students and other protesters. © 2024 Human Rights Watch

By Boris Dittrich Michel Togué, a lawyer in the African country of Cameroon, has received death threats for defending lesbians and gays. This one, like the others, came anonymously “We know that your wife is now shopping in the mall. We know your children are now standing in front of their school. They will die if you don’t stop.” After the death threats began, he requested help from the Lawyer’s Association in his country, but their president said: “Stop defending the LGBT community and you won’t have problems anymore.” Togué filed a complaint with the police, but they laughed him away, saying, “Don’t defend those faggots.” He did not receive any protection. On March 13 Togué, together with his colleague Alice Nkom, received the prestigious Dutch Geuzenpenning Award 2017 in Vlaardingen, the Netherlands for their courageous work. We know just how courageous they have been and how well-deserved this award is because Human Rights Watch has collaborated with these lawyers for years and documented how dangerous it is to be gay or lesbian in Cameroon. Between 2010 and 2013 we documented 28 arrests for consensual same-sex conduct in Cameroon, and in 2013 an activist, Eric Lembembe, was brutally murdered. In 2010, we published a report on the situation of lesbians and gays in Cameroon. In Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital, I had meetings with the prime minister, with the justice minister, members of parliament and with representatives of the United Nations. During all my meetings I was accompanied by the leaders of two Cameroonian human rights organizations, Alternatives Cameroon and ADEPHO, and the Dutch ambassador. Our message was the same in all our meetings: Repeal the law that criminalizes homosexual conduct with a maximum prison sentence of five years, and stop arresting lesbians and gays in the meantime. After all the meetings, we went to an outdoor café close to the Parliament building. We wanted to report back to the members of the two Cameroonian human rights organizations. About 20 young people listened intently to our account of the meetings and were impressed that we had had a conversation about homosexuality with the prime minister and the justice minister. That had never happened before. I invited Michel Togue to come to the Netherlands to lecture about the plight of LGBT people in Cameroon. He also spoke about the threats against him. The president of the Amsterdam Bar sent a letter of protest to his Cameroonian colleague, but to no avail. Nobody wanted to defend or protect Togue in his own country. A year after Eric Lembembe was killed, several Cameroonian organizations sharply criticized the dysfunctional police investigation and expressed their fear that there was no political will to shed light on the circumstances of Lembembe’s killing. No one has been arrested and convicted for this murder. As the death threats against Togue and his family escalated, he was left no other choice but to seek asylum for his wife and kids. The US government during the Obama administration granted them refugee status. His family now lives in the US. So not only gays and lesbians are victims of homophobia. But in the threatening climate in Cameroon, Togue choose to stay. He knew that the people he represented need lawyers more than ever. He decided not to close his law office in Cameroon, and he stayed in his country. He always says: “I cannot abandon the lesbian and gay community. They are entitled to be represented in court because human rights are universal and apply to everyone.” Michel Togué and Alice Nkom are the only two lawyers in Cameroon who have been representing the LGBT community for many years. In such a hostile environment this calls for tremendous courage. In spite of death threats, in spite of bureaucratic obstruction, they keep on doing their work. They are often the last resort for lesbians and gays in peril. Often their clients are very poor and Togué and Nkom provide them with pro bono legal assistance. Their perseverance has had impact. The last few years the number of arrests of lesbians and gays in Cameroon has dropped significantly. Both lawyers are very dedicated to their work at great personal expense. That’s why they deserve the Dutch Geuzenpenning Award 2017. “Is there really hope for us?” one of the young activists asked back in 2010 after hearing about our meetings with Cameroonian officials. In part because of the courage of Togue and Nkom, the answer is “yes.” ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) 2017 Human Rights Watch

By Belkis Wille The Islamic State (also known as ISIS) has been accused of carrying out a chemical attack in Mosul last week, which, if confirmed, would appear to be the first time it has used this tactic during its battle with Iraqi government forces to retake control of the city. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement that about twelve people, including women and children, were being treated for possible exposure to chemical weapons in a hospital in Erbil. While the ICRC stressed tests had not yet proved conclusive, it found the symptoms of the hospitalized patients suggested that they had been exposed to mustard agent. Iraqi authorities have said that ISIS was behind the attack. The use of chemicals as a weapon is a war crime. It is also a serious threat to both civilians and combatants, particularly in a city as densely populated as Mosul. Yet this latest reported chemical attack would not be ISIS’s first in Iraq. After Iraqi troops retook the town of Qayyarah, 60 kilometers south of Mosul last year, ISIS launched at least three chemical attacks in September and October. The attacks caused painful burns to at least seven people that were consistent with exposure to a mustard agent also known as a “vesicant,” or blister agent, a chemical weapons expert told Human Rights Watch. In two other cases in March 2016, first responders told Human Rights Watch they witnessed at least two other chemical attacks targeting the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Peshmerga military forces in Taza Khurmatu, a town 100 kilometers south of Erbil. The perpetrators of those attacks have not been confirmed but witnesses believed them to be ISIS. Despite reports of US-led coalition airstrikes targeting ISIS’ chemical weapons production facilities in Iraq, this new attack serves as a troubling reminder that ISIS still has chemical warfare capabilities – even as it loses ground in western Mosul. In light of these attacks, both Iraqi authorities and other states and organizations assisting in humanitarian protection should urgently deploy defensive measures to safeguard civilians, including stockpiling masks and other protective equipment that can be rapidly distributed to civilians. They should also inform civilians on what to do in case they find themselves in an area under chemical weapons attack, and restrict access to contaminated areas. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) Human Rights Watch

By Adeline Chen and Yemisi Adegoke (c) Jacques Nkinzagbo Kigali (CNN) -- For photographer Jacques Nkinzagbo, photography is about more than images. It's about telling a story and for Nkinzabgo the story of modern day Rwanda is one he is determined to tell. "When I started to document my country I was very tired of people come and just talk about the genocide," he told CNN. "Or all people know about my country is the genocide." "I want to show the beauty of people, I want to show the happiness of people." Nkinzagbo, a self taught photographer documents daily life in Kigali, capturing street scenes, people and everything in between. "I always tell people, if you want to see the life of people in the country, just go out on the streets," he said. "I always want to hear something from people. And get their experience. And tell their stories and people can learn from them." He got his start in photography after attending an international photography festival in Mali called 'Bamako Encounters.' After seeing photographers from across the continent, but none from his own country, he was determined to "put Rwanda on the map." In 2015 he co-founded the Kwanda Art foundation, an organization that promotes Rwanda's art community through exhibitions, festivals and workshops. When he not on the streets snapping or working with Kwanda, Nkinzingabo is teaching young children the art of photography. Keen to inspire the next generation of Rwandan photographers Nkinzingabo showcases his students work in local exhibitions and put their photos in his own exhibition in Germany last year. "We wanted to show everyday life of people, where are we, and the kids wanted to tell their own stories," he said. "They were so happy to see the work from the street kids. They couldn't believe that people that don't have opportunity, they can have cameras and they can go out and tell their stories." (c) CNN 2017

A gay couple was walking home in a provincial town, holding hands. They encountered a group of youths who started shouting homophobic slurs, then beat up the two men. One man was hit with a bolt cutter in the face and lost four teeth. Both received blows and were kicked while lying on the ground. Boris Dittrich A rainbow over a typical Dutch shopping street in Amsterdam. © Boris Dittrich/Human Rights Watch This happened Sunday in the Netherlands, a country known for its LGBT-friendly laws and policies. In 2001, Netherland became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples. The Netherlands has many openly lesbian, gay and bisexual role models in politics, business, religious denominations, sports, media, entertainment and other parts of society. And yet, violent incidents like this one occur on a regular basis - 1,574 reports of homophobic violence last year, compared to 428 in 2009. After the media reported Sunday's violence, four suspects turned themselves in at a police station and were interrogated. Three of them are 16-years-old, one is 14. Dutch authorities take homophobic violence seriously. The police have a special squad called "Pink Police Force" of LGBT police officers and allies who specialize in investigating these types of incidents. Politicians denounced Sunday's violence. Two heterosexual politicians from the social liberal party D66 walked to parliament holding hands while giving interviews to the media in support of an anti-violence campaign, launched by the Dutch LGBT group COC. But in spite of all this, violent incidents and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity keep happening. It reminds us that emancipation of LGBT people and equal rights are not things that can be "achieved" and then forgotten. No, society needs to combat discrimination and violence and build tolerance on an ongoing basis - everyday. Anti-discrimination courses in public and private schools in the country need to be intensified and special attention given to raising consciousness in migrant communities and empowering LGBT people from those communities. Surveys by the Dutch government suggest that acceptance of LGBT people in these communities is lower than in the Dutch population as a whole. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) 2017 Human Rights Watch

By Alla Eshchenko Russian warships have fired six missiles on ISIS targets in Syria, state media reports, in Moscow's latest show of force as its tensions with Washington heighten over the war. The Admiral Essen and Admiral Grigorovich frigates, along with the Krasnodar submarine, fired the cruise missiles from the Mediterranean Sea, the Defense Ministry said in a statement posted to state news agency RIA. ISIS command points and a weapons and ammunition depot were destroyed in Hama province of Syria, according to RIA. The ministry also said Turkey and Israel were informed about the missile launches, but made no mention of informing the US, which is leading an international coalition against ISIS in the country. The strike comes amid tensions after a US warplane downed Syrian jet, the first time the US has shot down a manned aircraft since 1999. Russia is the most powerful ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, and the rare air-to-air encounter prompted Moscow to suspend a de-confliction hotline with the US-led coalition, designed to prevent any accidents in the skies over Syria. The Syrian conflict has transformed from a civil war to a more complex battle involving international players and their proxies. While international players are focused on targeting ISIS, many are maneuvering to either prop up or depose Assad and his regime. Iran, which also supports Assad, on Sunday fired missiles at ISIS targets in Syria, the first such strike carried out by Tehran on another country in three decades. It is a major escalation of Iran's role in the war. Russia this week said it thinks one of its airstrikes may have killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghadi, a figure who has evaded international forces for years. But US officials told CNN that the US has not confirmed Russia's claim. US downs Syrian jet The US downed the Syrian warplane after a series of clashes between pro-regime troops and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which the US backs to fight ISIS. According to the Pentagon, Syrian regime soldiers equipped with tanks, artillery and technical vehicles were advancing on the US-backed rebels' position, forcing the coalition to use the de-confliction hotline with the Russians in an attempt to turn the regime troops back. When that proved unsuccessful, coalition aircraft performed "strafing runs" near the regime positions, which halted their advance. The Russian Ministry of Defense called the downing of the plane "a cynical violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic" and "military aggression." Russia has stopped using the de-confliction hotline, a US official said, and Moscow warned that aircraft operating where the shoot-down occurred would be considered "air targets" for its forces in Syria. But the downing did not appear to hamper Syria, which attempted a similar bombing Tuesday, according to US military officials. The US official told CNN that another Syrian Su-22 fighter made an approach Tuesday in what the military assessed as a possible bombing run on the SDF near the same area. The official said that coalition aircraft made a show of force and conducted a warning maneuver, and the Syrian fighter jet then aborted its trajectory and left the area. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) 2017 CNN

By Audrey Wabwire One hot Tuesday afternoon last January, about 10 South Sudanese government soldiers came to Elizabeth’s village, Romoji, in Kajo Keji county, near the Ugandan border. Many of the farming villages in her area have become the front lines of South Sudan’s four-year civil war. “The soldiers came close to the house around 4:00 pm,” said Elizabeth, a tall, slender woman in her thirties. “I was cooking at home when my son told me that soldiers had come. My husband Kristofer went outside the house to check. They shot him.” When her two sons, aged 10 and 5, went out to check on their father, the soldiers shot them dead too. Elizabeth (not her real name), ran from her home, hearing soldiers firing their guns. One soldier chased her and caught her. He was tall, like the rest of them. He did not speak to her, but threatened her with a knife and twisted her arm, breaking it. Elizabeth believes he wanted to kill her, though she’s not sure what stopped him. “Maybe they let me go because they had already killed 3 people,” she says. Despite a 2015 peace agreement, fighting between South Sudan’s government and rebel forces has spread to the country’s southern Greater Equatorias region, which had been somewhat insulated from the war until late 2015 when it began to spread. As in elsewhere in South Sudan, the fighting split communities down ethnic lines – with mostly Dinka government troops and armed militia targeting the mostly non-Dinka communities they suspected of supporting the rebels. The violence and abuses – largely committed by government forces during counter-insurgency operations in western parts of the country and in the southern Equatorias region – have displaced hundreds of thousands in the last year alone, mostly to Uganda, which now hosts almost a million South Sudanese. Since the conflict started in December 2013, igniting in Juba and spreading north, more than 2 million people fled to neighboring countries with another 2 million displaced internally, making South Sudan the largest humanitarian disaster in Africa today. Soon after this attack, Elizabeth’s mother and her 3 remaining children fled to Uganda. Elizabeth told Human Rights Watch how she hid in a riverbed nearby for four days, drinking water with one hand because her other arm was broken. She said she ate soil to survive. When she came out of hiding, her village was abandoned. She managed to find transport with assistance from the UN, and came to Uganda, where she now lives with her family as a refugee. Elizabeth’s past torments her and her future hangs in the balance. In May 2017, when Human Rights Watch spoke with Elizabeth, she could not stop crying. Five months later, she is clearly still traumatized – not just psychologically but physically: her arm hangs limp by her side and it is difficult for her to find a way to care for her family. She worries about finding food and does not sleep at night, she says. When she pauses in her story, Elizabeth stares listlessly into the horizon. “My husband was a farmer, why did they kill him? With one arm, how do I care for the children and my mother? I want to commit suicide,” she says. Although the camp offers some security, no one truly feels safe. Family members who dare to venture across the border to collect food from home face further attacks. Elizabeth walks back to her tent to prepare an evening meal for her children, a task she used to enjoy, but now struggles to perform. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) 2017 Human Rights Watch

By Belkis Wille Iraqi Security Forces stand guard at the gate of a camp holding families of men suspected of being ISIS affiliates in Bartella, east of Mosul, Iraq July 15, 2017. © 2017 Reuters Hundreds of thousands of civilians in Iraq have suffered horribly at the hands of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS. Now the families of those suspected to have joined the extremist group are paying a price as Iraqi forces continue to retake territory. Across federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, security forces are holding families of ISIS affiliates, often referred to by local authorities and communities as “ISIS families,” displaced by the fighting, and severely restricting their movements. To be clear, anyone displaced by fighting that is not accused of a crime has the right to return home if there are no longer military operations there, and under Iraqi law, to be compensated for property destroyed by the conflict. They also have the right to move freely throughout the country and resettle elsewhere if they prefer. Authorities can’t lawfully use camps for displaced people as open-air prisons. Yet Iraqi security forces appear to be doing just that, and pushing aid workers to be complicit in these unlawful actions. In mid-September, security officials told several international and local organizations responsible for managing camps 60 kilometers south of Mosul to draw up lists of so-called “ISIS families” so they can “keep an eye on them.” Several camp management teams told me they have already provided these lists, which include hundreds of families in camps that are housing at least 15,000 families displaced by recent fighting. These families may not be arrested or prosecuted, but a more probable scenario is what we have witnessed in Anbar governorate, west of Baghdad, over the past two years. Civilians fled to camps for displaced people during the fighting in cities like Ramadi and Fallujah, and once fighting ended, security forces required them to obtain security clearance to return home. Those the security forces considered to be the families of ISIS affiliates were denied clearance and are now stuck indefinitely in the camps. For how long? No one knows. It is disturbing enough to see security forces punishing families for the actions of their relatives, but it is particularly troubling to see aid workers helping them violate the rights of these families. While aid workers have repeatedly faced challenges in complying with security force requests and protecting those in need, they should stand strong and insist on the principles of neutrality and independence and avoid complicity in efforts to impose collective punishment on women and children. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) 2017 Human Rights Watch