The Gambia has accused the military of murder, rape and torture of the Muslim ethnic minority. The ICJ’s hearing at The Hague in the Netherlands on Feb. 22, 2022. [Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs] The International Court of Justice (ICJ) plans to deliver its judgement on Myanmar’s objections to the genocide case brought against it by The Gambia, on July 22. In a statement issued Monday the ICJ said a public sitting of the court will take place at 3 p.m. at the Peace Palace in the Dutch city of The Hague. The President of the Court, Judge Joan E. Donoghue, will read out the ICJ’s decision. A Rohingya Muslim in Buthidaung Township in northern Rakhine State, who was subjected to human rights abuses by the military, told RFA that the perpetrators should be brought to justice. “There is evidence of genocide against Rohingya Muslims by Myanmar’s army in 2017,” he said. “On-site inspection is available. The villages of Buthidaung and Maungdaw were destroyed. The residents fled to Bangladesh in fear of being killed by Myanmar’s army. No matter how much they deny it, we know our people suffered. Therefore, we want effective action against their genocide in accordance with the law.” The Gambia’s parliament approved the plan to bring genocide charges in July 2019, after the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) proposed to the West African Nation that it should prosecute Myanmar. It instituted proceedings in November of the same year alleging genocide through “acts adopted, taken and condoned by the Government of Myanmar against members of the Rohingya group.” The Gambia has not denied that it received funding for the legal action from the OIC. In the initial hearing The Gambia said that “from around October 2016 the Myanmar military and other Myanmar security forces began widespread and systematic ‘clearance operations’ … against the Rohingya group. The genocidal acts committed during these operations were intended to destroy the Rohingya as a group, in whole or in part, by the use of mass murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well as the systematic destruction by fire of their villages, often with inhabitants locked inside burning houses. From August 2017 onwards, such genocidal acts continued with Myanmar’s resumption of ‘clearance operations’ on a more massive and wider geographical scale.” The military council’s delegation protested at a hearing on Feb. 25 this year, saying the ICJ has no right to hear the case. Christopher Staker, a lawyer hired by the military council, argued the international community should not be allowed to prosecute Myanmar and the court has no jurisdiction to hear the case. Calls to the military council spokesman by RFA went unanswered Tuesday. Some local media outlets quoted an unnamed senior foreign ministry official as saying Myanmar’s delegation to the ICJ, led by the Military Council’s International Relations Minister Ko Ko Hlaing, plans to travel to The Hague to hear the ICJ’s judgment. The ICJ said the hearing at the Peace Palace will be closed to the public to observe Coronavirus restrictions. Only members of the Court and representatives of the States party to the case will be allowed to enter the Great hall of Justice. Members of diplomatic corps and the public will be able to follow the procedures on a live webcast on the Court’s website as well as UN Web TV. The Gambia has called on Myanmar to stop persecuting the Rohingya, punish those responsible for the genocide, offer reparations to the victims and provide guarantees that there would be no repeat of the crimes against the Rohingya. The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations and was established in 1945 to settle disputes in accordance with international law through binding judgments with no right of appeal. The U.S. has also accused Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya. Secretary of State Antony Blinken ruled in March this year that “Burma’s military committed genocide and crimes against humanity with the intent to destroy predominantly Muslim Rohingya in 2017.” That was the year the military cleared Rohingya communities in western Myanmar, killing, torturing and raping locals. The violent campaign forced more than 740,000 people to flee to squalid refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh. The State Department said the military junta that seized power in the Feb. 2021 coup continues to oppress the Rohingya, putting 144,000 in internal displacement camps in Rakhine state by the end of last year. A State Department report last month noted that Rohingya also face travel restrictions within the country and the junta has made no effort to bring refugees back from Bangladesh. © 2022 Radio Free Asia

By Matthew Brooker Protesters can now demonstrate more freely on the mainland than they can in the former British colony. Hong Kong crackdowns continue. Photographer: Justin Chin/Bloomberg The protest in Zhengzhou by victims of a bank fraud and its violent suppression by unidentified men caused an outcry on Chinese social media and captured the attention of the world’s press. Nowhere will the images have resonated more strongly than in Hong Kong. That’s partly because in the current climate it’s all but impossible to imagine a similar demonstration happening in the former British colony. In one key respect, a provincial city in the Communist mainland can now be considered freer than a global financial center that had Western-style liberties written into its foundational legislation as a special administrative region of China. It’s a sobering measure of how far Hong Kong has fallen. Consider the banners that the bank protesters held up. “Against the corruption and violence of the Henan government,” read one in English, referring to the province of which Zhengzhou is the capital, in a clear attempt to appeal to an international audience. “No deposits, no human rights,” said another. Displaying such messages in Hong Kong would risk accusations of provoking hatred of the government and colluding with external elements, offenses under the national security law that Beijing imposed on the city two years ago. The Zhengzhou demonstrators took chances in staging their protest, it is true; but the risk of being battered by plainclothes security personnel hardly compares with the threat of life imprisonment, the maximum sentence under Hong Kong’s security law. Together with Covid social-distancing regulations that currently restrict public gatherings to no more than four people, the law has served to effectively eradicate large-scale expressions of dissent since the sometimes-violent pro-democracy protests that convulsed the city in 2019. Authorities aren’t focused only on the organized. In the days following the Henan incident, Hong Kong jailed two people for protest-related activities. One was a terminally ill 75-year-old, who was sentenced to nine months under a colonial-era sedition law for planning to demonstrate at the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. (Koo Sze-yiu, who planned to push a coffin on a trolley bearing anti-Communist Party slogans, was arrested by police before he could stage his one-man procession.) A day later, another magistrate jailed 66-year-old activist Alexandra Wong, popularly known as “Grandma Wong,” for eight months on two counts of unlawful assembly in 2019. This is how Hong Kong is responding to even minor and unthreatening displays of defiance, which for decades were tolerated as an integral part of the city’s free-speech tradition. The Zhengzhou melee reverberates in other ways. The sight of men in white T-shirts charging into and beating a crowd of demonstrators unavoidably recalls a 2019 mob attack on commuters in Yuen Long, a town near Hong Kong’s northern border with the mainland. Many, though not all, the subway passengers were pro-democracy activists returning home from a protest. With no police present, they were beaten indiscriminately. The “721” incident was a turning point for trust in authorities, with protesters seeing the police’s absence as evidence of a mainland-style outsourcing of social control measures to thugs. (Police said that they were overstretched on the night and responded as quickly as they could.) Such tactics were hitherto largely unknown in Hong Kong, where rule of law and clean administration had been prized as core strengths. For those present in Yuen Long, the images from Zhengzhou are likely to have been a flashback to a bad dream. On Monday, outgoing U.S. Consul General Hanscom Smith gave a blunt assessment of how Hong Kong has changed since passage of the security law. “Routine diplomatic activities are characterized as ‘interference’ and diplomats have even been threatened with the National Security Law for conducting ordinary business,” Smith said. “Strong nations are not terrified of dissenting opinions. An exchange of views is not collusion. Attending an event is not interference. A handshake is not ‘a black hand.’ Hong Kong has succeeded when it embraces openness and transparency, not ideological paranoia and groupthink.” Smith cautioned that constraining Hong Kong’s political and social freedoms would inevitably damage the city’s status as a global business hub, saying Beijing “can’t have it both ways.” In response, a spokesperson for the China foreign ministry commissioner’s office in Hong Kong said the US had been trying to infiltrate and subvert the city as part of a plan to contain China, and Smith’s farewell remarks were a symbol of the bankruptcy of its strategy. Hong Kong society has become more stable and united, and the city is moving toward greater prosperity, the spokesperson said. In fact, the territory has been seeing a record exodus of residents, in part because of the change in the political environment but also because of the city’s strict Covid rules, which have hewed closely to Beijing’s pandemic policies. A third echo of the Zhengzhou incident concerns that issue. Hong Kong is bringing in a color-coded health system for home quarantine that matches the method used in the mainland. Authorities in Zhengzhou managed to circumvent an earlier protest by changing the health codes of protesters to red, which restricted their ability to move about freely. That was a violation of how the system is supposed to be used, and caused outrage on social media. The Hong Kong government has insisted it will use the codes only for legitimate health purposes. Not everyone may be reassured. Under current regulations, groups of as many as 120 people are allowed in restaurants — but the limit for outdoor gatherings remains at four. It’s difficult not to see this as another tool of social control aimed at preventing dissent. Hong Kong once promised those who came to the city, if not affluence then at least safety from the political campaigns, corruption and uneven exercise of state power that characterized the Communist Party’s rule in the mainland. Those days are receding ever further into the past. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Ⓒ 2022 Bloomberg. All rights reserved.

Webinar Wednesday, 13 July 2022, 1:00-2:30PM EDT / 7:00-8:30PM CMT This International Center for the Study, Prevention and Treatment of Multigenerational Legacies of Trauma webinar is held in observance of the 11 July 1995 genocide in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). Born between 1986 and 1998, participants will discuss childhood and inter/multigenerational legacies of the genocide in B&H from both the personal and the multidimensional, multiple professional perspectives. Speakers: Amina Duraković A Bosnik psychologist, researcher, and activist, Amina was born in 1995, during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is a descendent of war survivors. Her research is focused on multigenerational trauma, collective identities, and memories. She is the author of dozens of popular and scientific articles in the field of social and clinical psychology. So far she coauthored two books. Amina is active on social media and in the non-governmental sector with the aim of improving and preserving psychological health. Jasmin Jusufović Born in 1986 in the Bosnian town of Zvornik, Jasmin holds a master's degree in Islamic finances and is currently employed in the field of international finances. He is also a poet and a writer. His book, Crvena jakna s kapuljačom (Red jacket with hood), is about his childhood as a refugee and genocide survivor in Srebrenica, where his father and many other members of his family were killed. Translated into multiple languages, his poetry was performed in London and in Istanbul. Jasmin also uses his voice to fight genocide denial and help survivors in their quest for truth and justice. Ajna Jusić President of 'The Forgotten Children of War' Association (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Ajna is a young activist fighting for gender equality, against sexism and sexual violence both nationally and internationally. Her primary focus is on the legal and social recognition of children born out of the war which includes children born of rape, children born from forced marriage, peacekeepers’ babies, and children whose fathers served in humanitarian organizations during and after the war. Ajna is a member of ICMGLT’s Advisory Council. Mirela Osmanović Having graduated from Law school at International University of Sarajevo, Mirela’s first work experience was at Srebrenica Memorial Center. Currently, she is working at International University of Sarajevo as Assistant to Student Affairs Office manager. Mirela was born and raised in Sarajevo but originated from Srebrenica. ‘Talking about genocide in Srebrenica and spreading the truth about what happened in B&H is not my job but my obligation and mission.’ Moderator: Dr. Yael Danieli, Founder, and Executive Director, International Center for the Study, Prevention, and Treatment of Multigenerational Legacies of Trauma; Director, Group Project for Holocaust Survivors and their Children. Past Leader/facilitator, “Democracy Cannot be Built with the Hands of Broken Souls” program in B&H. REGISTER FOR WEBINAR HERE

By Gabriela Selser July 9, 2022 MEXICO CITY (AP) — fter ordering the expulsion of the Missionaries of Charity established by Mother Teresa, the Nicaraguan government has now gone after one of the few local newspapers that dared to report on the nuns being removed. Two drivers for the independent newspaper La Prensa have been jailed and police raided the homes of two reporters, according to an employee of the newspaper. The reporters had covered the expulsion on Thursday of 18 nuns of the Missionaries of Charity after the government of President Daniel Ortega had ordered the organization closed in late June. It came amid a crackdown by Ortega’s government against opponents and almost any civic organization not allied with his regime. The La Prensa employee, who asked their name not be used for security reasons, said Friday that the two drivers had been taken to the infamous El Chipote prison, where many political and media figures are being held. The government has imprisoned nearly 190 people who are considered political prisoners by human rights groups and the U.S. State Department, including seven people who could have challenged Ortega for the presidency in his reelection last November. Renata Holmann, daughter of Juan Lorenzo Holmann, the jailed manager of La Prensa, said Thursday that her father suffered from chronic illnesses and additional health problems acquired in prison since his arrest last August. Holmann was arrested when police raided and took over the La Prensa offices. He was later sentenced to nine years in prison for supposed money laundering — a charge often lodged against government opponents or journalists. The closure of the local branch of the Missionaries of Charity brought to 758 the number of nongovernmental organizations shuttered in Nicaragua over the last four years. The government says the groups didn’t comply with a 2020 requirement to register as “foreign agents.” While Ortega started by cancelling groups he viewed as having ties to the opposition, the government now seems intent on wiping the landscape clean of any organization it does not control. The Missionaries of Charity had been in Nicaragua for 34 years, operating a children’s center, a home for girls and a facility for the elderly. The missionaries offered children music and theater classes as well as vocational training for child victims of violence. The closures have been aimed at a wide breadth of groups, among them the Society of Pediatrics, the Nicaraguan Development Institute, the Confederation of Nicaraguan Professional Associations and the Nicaragua Internet Association. Also already closed were the Cocibolca Equestrian Center, the western city of Leon’s Rotary Club and the Operation Smile Association that financed free surgeries for children with cleft lip and cleft palate until it was cancelled in March. A prominent businessman associated with that group had participated in antigovernment protests in 2018. Many of the organizations were dedicated to helping the most marginalized people in an impoverished nation. Ortega has accused nongovernmental groups of working on behalf of foreign interests to destabilize his government. ©️AssociatedPress2022

Sasa Dragojlo July 13, 2022 Women in Black’s office in Belgrade was vandalised with red paint the day after the Serbian peace group was involved in events to commemorate the anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. Photo: Women in Black. Women in Black said that an unknown man posing as a postal worker entered the building where the peace group’s office is located in Belgrade on Tuesday and poured red paint on the entrance door and on the staircase. “The attack took place in the context of the commemoration of the 27th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica and numerous activities organised by Women in Black in the previous two days,” Women in Black said in a statement. The statement said that this was the latest in a series of attacks both on the premises and on activists of Women in Black, and took place in what it described as a “climate of impunity” maintained by the Serbian government. It claimed that state institutions “permit violence” against people they see as political dissenters. In November 2021, Women in Black’s office in Belgrade was sprayed with slogans describing wartime Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic, as a hero. Mladic was sentenced to life imprisonment by the UN tribunal in The Hague for the genocide of Bosniaks from Srebrenica and other wartime crimes. Activists held commemorative events in Belgrade on Monday to mark the 27th anniversary of Srebrenica, urging the Serbian government to name July 11 Remembrance Day of the Victims of the Genocide. The government refuses to accept that the 1995 massacres by Bosnian Serb forces constituted genocide, despite the verdicts of international courts. Copyright BIRN 2015

The Diplomat By Sebastian Strangio July 06,2022 Ordinary people are struggling to keep pace with precipitous increases in the price of petrol, cooking oil, and other basic necessities. A Street market in Luang Prabang, Laos. Credit: Depositphotos Inflation continues to spiral out of control in Laos, with the country’s Statistics Bureau announcing this week that the country’s year-on-year inflation had risen to a 22-year high of 23.6 percent in June. According to a report in the state-run Vientiane Times, the consumer price index last month jumped sharply above the ceiling rate of 12 percent set by the government, which was already breached last month, when year-on-year inflation touched 12.8 percent. The alarming inflation figures are the latest indication of the economic storm that continues to batter the country’s debt-laden economy. In recent months, Laos has been exposed to the twin shocks of rising oil prices and a rapidly depreciating currency, which have led to runaway increases in the price of energy and consumer goods. The local currency, the kip, has collapsed in value. As recently as September, one U.S. dollar traded for just over 9,300 kip, a rate that has since blown out to around 15,000. As a result, the Vientiane Times reported that the price of petrol, gas and gold had increased 107.1 percent, 69.4 percent, and 68.7 percent, respectively, in the year to June. It also reported that “the cost of food, seasonings, non-alcoholic beverages, clothes, footwear, medicine, construction equipment, vehicles, spare parts, and other imported goods rose significantly.” In the words of the usually staid newspaper, these upward pressure “continue to deepen hardship and create new pains for the Lao public.” The fuel price crisis has been perhaps the most visible indicator of economic crisis, with motorists forced to queue up for hours in the capital Vientiane in May due to fuel shortages caused by the government’s lack of available foreign exchange. With diesel rising by similar margins to petrol, the fuel crisis threatens also to bring agricultural production to a halt, as farmers struggle to keep the necessary machinery running. Looming in the background is the question of debt. Laos currently owes $13.3 billion in sovereign debt, much of which has financed the construction of large-scale infrastructure projects, many backed by China, including the undeniably impressive but costly high-speed railway connecting Vientiane to the Chinese border. After COVID-19 hit the country in 2020, draining its foreign reserves and leaving it at high risk of default. As The Diplomat’s David Hutt noted recently, the economic crisis is now beginning to attain a political dimension. Last month, Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh was forced to reshuffle his cabinet in a bid to get the economic situation under control. On June 6, Phankham belatedly formed a special taskforce to address the country’s economic problems, in particular, to resolve its fuel shortages. The nation has since seen a temporary reprieve from the fuel crisis after the government issued a line of credit to state fuel importers, allowing them to import enough fuel to keep the country running until the end of August. The government has also raised the national minimum wage in order to assist those most affected by the rising cost of living. But these are best seen as piecemeal measures that will do little to resolve the structural challenges facing the economy. These include rampant corruption and tax evasion, which by the government’s own admission have starved the state of revenue, and an infrastructure-driven development strategy that has left the country both exposed to external shocks and highly indebted to a single creditor (China). Laos’ government will no doubt introduce more measures to stave off the worst impacts of the crisis on ordinary people, but a more lasting solution to the country’s economic woes appears some way off. Sebastian Strangio is Southeast Asia editor at The Diplomat. @ 2022 The Diplomat. All rights reserved.

By Brian Whitmore The axis of autocrats in Eastern Europe is also an axis of war criminals. Russian air and missile strikes from Belarusian territory and airspace hit a Ukrainian kindergarten and an apartment complex on June 25. The attacks killed a 37-year-old man and injured his wife and seven-year-old daughter. Additionally, according to Ukraine’s northern military command, at least 20 rockets launched from Belarus struck the village of Desna, 70 kilometers north of Kyiv in the Chernihiv region. “Russian bombers ‘worked’ directly from the territory of Belarus,” Ukraine’s Defense Ministry wrote in a post on its Facebook page, adding that six aircraft had launched 12 missiles from Belarusian airspace. “The strikes were carried out in Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions.” The wave of air and missile strikes against Ukraine from Belarusian territory this past weekend are the latest indication that, despite frequent protestations to the contrary, Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s autocratic regime is a full and willing combatant in Vladimir Putin’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. The strikes from Belarus came as Lukashenka and Putin met in Saint Petersburg. During their meeting, the Kremlin leader announced that Russia would soon transfer nuclear-capable Iskander-M missile systems to Belarus and also upgrade Minsk’s Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jets to allow them to carry nuclear weapons. Moscow and Minsk say the moves are ostensibly to counter an alleged threat to Belarus from Poland and Lithuania. The bellicose moves by Russia and Belarus came as G7 leaders were meeting Germany and as NATO was preparing to hold its summit in Madrid. They also reflected rising tensions between Russia and Lithuania as Vilnius moved to impose European Union sanctions against Moscow by blocking the shipment of some goods to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Russia has already positioned its own Iskander missiles in Belarus. The Ukrainian General Staff announced on May 24 that Russia had deployed a division of nuclear-capable Iskander-M missiles to the Brest region of Belarus near the Ukrainian border. The missiles have a range of 400-500 kilometers, which puts large parts of central and western Ukraine within striking distance. Ukraine’s General Staff announced that in addition to the Iskanders, Russia has also deployed Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft gun systems and S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems in Belarus. Offering up Belarusian territory as a platform for Russia to kill Ukrainian civilians isn’t the only way Alyaksandr Lukashenka has become Vladimir Putin’s partner in war crimes. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced on June 27 that Belarus is resupplying Russia’s war effort in Ukraine with ammunition. The most recent consignment involving up to 20 wagon loads of ammunition was recently sent to Russia’s Belgorod Oblast near the Ukrainian border. Speaking after the latest escalation in deadly airstrikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made it clear that Belarusians who aid and abet Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, from Lukashenka down to rank-and-file troops, would be held accountable. “All pilots, dispatchers, mechanics, and other people who ensure the launch of missiles at Ukraine must understand: We will find you all. Each of you will be held responsible for these strikes. And if someone thinks they will evade responsibility by saying that they were just following orders, they are mistaken,” Zelenskyy saidin a speech on June 26. “When your missiles hit residential buildings, these are war crimes. Trial is what awaits you all. And there will be nowhere to hide for you, neither on the shores of the Caspian Sea, over which your missiles are launched, nor in Belarus. Nowhere.” These latest attacks demonstrate not only that Lukashenka is a full and willing participant in Putin’s aggression against Ukraine and that his collusion with the Kremlin is escalating, but also that the two autocrats are conspiring to terrorize and kill innocent Ukrainian civilians. Both Putin and Lukashenka, as well as the relevant officials and soldiers in their respective chains of command, should be charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly genocide. The United States and its allies should also designate Russia and Belarus as state sponsors of terrorism. Zelenskyy has long asked Western nations to apply this designation to Russia. And a bipartisan group of US lawmakers in both the House and Senate have called on the administration of US President Joe Biden to do so. But why stop with Russia? Just as aiding and abetting a war criminal is a war crime, aiding and abetting a state sponsor of terrorism is terrorism. Lukashenka and his regime need to be held fully accountable for assisting Putin’s campaign of terror against Ukraine. © 2022 Atlantic Council

Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighters hold the Syrian opposition flag as they walk in the border town of Akcakale in Sanliurfa province [Khalil Ashawi/ Reuters] A military council affiliated with Turkish rebel factions in Syria has been conducting military drills in preparation for a Turkish military operation in the city of Tal Rifaat, which is controlled by Kurdish militants, the Al-Monitor news website reported. Movements on the ground confound the view that Turkey may have placed a planned military operation into northern Syria on the backburner, Al-Monitor’s Sultan al-Kanj, a former Syrian activist, said on Thursday. Turkey has been deploying soldiers and equipment near the border with Syria and has installed jamming systems for drones, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported, according to Al-Monitor. A Turkish military convoy, consisting of tanks, artillery, armoured vehicles and troop carriers, entered northern Syria through the Bab al-Salama border gate on July 4 and headed to Turkish bases in Aleppo, the SOHR said. Another convoy crossed at Ayn al-Bayda and travelled to Turkish bases in eastern Idlib and western Aleppo, it said. “We have drawn up all the plans for the attack and made the necessary preparations. The battle is very close, and we have informed the Turkish side to stay on alert and prepare for a full-blown war,” a leader of the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) told Al-Monitor. “The main battle axis will certainly be the city of Tal Rifaat, which is occupied by the Kurdish forces.” The pace of preparations for a military operation has increased dramatically over the past four days, said Hisham Askif, a member of the Public Relations Office of the FSA’s Third Legion based in northern Aleppo, according to Al-Monitor. “We are now in a state of maximum readiness, and we have recently carried out military drills with live ammunition in preparation for the battle,” he said. “We trained and mobilised troops, and our forces took their positions on the front lines, waiting for our signal. The regime recently carried out drills in Tal Rifaat, but we have seen this before; it is unable to clash with the Turkish army, so its forces will withdraw from Tal Rifaat as soon as the battle is announced, which could be any day now. “All I can say is that we are very close, but we cannot tell the media exactly when the battle will begin,” Askif said. © Copyright Ahval 2020 Link to Article: https://ahvalnews-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/ahvalnews.com/turkey-syria/turkey-backed-rebels-very-close-starting-battle-against-kurds-syria?amp

Human Rights Committee Warns Authorities Not to Retaliate Against Activists. By Sophie Richardson Hong Kong’s secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs, Erick Tsang, speaks during a press conference in Hong Kong, November 29, 2021.© 2021 Vernon Yuen/NurPhoto via AP United Nations independent human rights experts in Geneva finished questioning Hong Kong government officials today. The UN Human Rights Committee’s (HRC) review of Hong Kong under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, was its first since the Chinese government imposed a draconian, rights-erasing National Security Law in June 2020. Hong Kong’s delegation was headed by Erick Tsang, Hong Kong’s secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs, who was sanctioned by the United States in August 2020 for his role in “undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy.” HRC members asked a range of tough questions: What are the obstacles to universal suffrage in Hong Kong? What is the chemical composition of crowd dispersal substances? The delegation faced questions about the hostile environment for civil society groups, the basis for withdrawing textbooks from schools, and the authorities’ use in “smart prisons” of surveillance technology to monitor detainees – even as they shower or use the toilet. Ultimately, the Hong Kong delegation’s answers were empty propaganda. Few answers responded to the committee members’ specific questions, yet Tsang tried to reassure them: “There are…no causes for concern.” The committee’s consistent focus on the National Security Law’s vaguely worded criminalization of “collusion” with “foreign forces” showed profound concern. Committee members repeatedly asked whether those engaged in the UN review itself, Hong Kong delegation members, committee members, and civil society groups that contributed to the review, could constitute such collusion. The question wasn’t rhetorical. Until June 2020, Hong Kong civil society thrived, tackling diverse challenges including media freedom, prison conditions, and poverty alleviation. But under the National Security Law, many groups chose to disband rather than risk prosecution; others have been targeted on baseless pretexts and shuttered. Some of the most prominent rights activists, including labor leader Lee Cheuk-yan and organizer Chow Hang-tung, have been jailed, while others have been driven into exile. HRC’s chair, Photini Patzartzis, ended the session with a clear caution, that the authorities should not retaliate against members of Hong Kong civil society for their engagement in the review. The review and its assessment, expected in a few weeks, show critical support for courageous Hong Kong activists – and show authorities their actions will not escape international scrutiny. © 2022 Human Rights Watch. All rights reserved.

Marcelo Arruda, supporter of Brazilian former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, killed by an alleged supporter of Brazilian President Bolsonaro at his birthday party in Foz do Iguacu, poses in this picture taken on September 9, 2020, Brazil . July 10, 2022. REUTERS/Christian Rizzi SAO PAULO, July 10 (Reuters) - A local official from Brazil's leftist opposition Workers' Party (PT) was shot dead on Saturday by a federal prison guard shouting support for right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, according to state law enforcement and a witness. Marcelo Arruda, a municipal guard and PT official, was celebrating his birthday party in the southern Brazilian city of Foz de Iguacu, in the state of Parana, when Jorge Jose da Rocha Guaranho entered the event and shot him dead. According to a statement from Parana's public security office, Arruda and Guaranho "had a disagreement" at the birthday party, which resulted in both men being shot. Arruda died, while Guaranho was in intensive care, the statement said. Previously, the Workers' Party had said in a statement that Guaranho also died. Arruda's death augurs badly ahead of an October general election amid intense political polarization Brazil. Bolsonaro, who has long railed against Lula and his leftist allies, has floated the idea of not accepting any election loss, citing unfounded claims of election fraud and problems with Brazil's widely respected electronic voting system. According to a state civil police report and a witness who spoke with Reuters, Guaranho appeared at the party, uninvited, pointing a gun while shouting insults at those present and words in support of Bolsonaro. Aluizio Palmar, a journalist at the party, told Reuters that a man arrived and started screaming in support of Bolsonaro, describing him as a "legend". According to Palmar, the man left but returned about 15 or 20 minutes later, pointing a gun at Arruda. Arruda ordered him to stop, identifying himself as a member of the security forces. Both men then opened fire, according to a civil police report and security camera images circulated in local media, which showed them both injured, rolling around on the floor. "Another dear comrade passed away this morning, a victim of intolerance, hatred and political violence," said the PT's national president, Gleisi Hoffmann, in a statement. Bolsonaro's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On social media, Bolsonaro repeated a 2018 post "refusing support from those who practice violence against opponents." "I ask these types of people, for consistency, to change sides and support the left," Bolsonaro said in the tweet. © 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved

By Alex MacDonald Legislation would allow anti-LGBTQ+ groups to 'get away with murder,' warn rights campaigners Activists from pro-LGBT group Rasan pose in front of murals in Sulemaniyah (supplied) Rights groups have reacted with alarm to proposals for a law banning homosexuality in Iraq, warning that it would allow anti-LGBTQ+ vigilantes to "get away with murder". A member of the Parliamentary Legal Committee told the official Iraqi News Agency on Friday that it had begun formulating proposals to criminalise homosexuality, which was made legal in Iraq after the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. "It was agreed within the parliament to collect signatures after returning to session to legislate a law prohibiting homosexuality in Iraq," said Aref al-Hamami, an MP with the State of Law coalition led by former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki. "[The] legislation of such a law will be reinforced by legal provisions that prevent homosexuality and the perversions associated with it." Although homosexuality has been officially legal in Iraq for almost two decades, politicians and religious leaders in the country have frequently railed against LGBTQ+ people, and laws punishing "immodest acts" have been used to target them. Many members and suspected members of the community have also been subject to death threats, attacks and outright murder by armed groups. Amir Ashour, head of the IraQueer rights group, told Middle East Eye that the new law would provide cover for such attacks. "This will allow the Iraqi government to legally get away with murder and provide legal protection for armed groups and other criminals who continue to target LGBTQ+ citizens," he said. "This will also have a huge impact on the movement, as queer people and those advocating for us will be facing legal consequences, in addition to the extra-judicial violence that we've been facing for decades." 'Homosexual-pox' Iraq has been unable to form a government since elections in November 2021, which were poorly attended and heavily contested. The Sairoon coalition led by influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr won the most seats in the election. However, last month he ordered his MPs to withdraw from parliament, reportedly in an attempt to break the deadlock in negotiations to form a government. Sadr has in recent years repeatedly attacked LGBTQ+ people in statements, blaming them for the Covid-19 pandemic and the spread of other diseases. On 23 May, in a statement published on his Twitter account, Sadr suggested monkeypox was a result of homosexual behaviour, as some of the early cases detected were among gay men. "I call on them [homosexuals] to repent," he wrote, then went on to call for a repeal of laws upholding gay rights in order to "protect humanity from the monkeypox epidemic or what we call homosexual-pox". He also proposed the creation of an annual day against homosexuality. Ashour said Sadr and other politicians had been pushing campaigns against LGBTQ+ rights to avoid discussing the material problems facing Iraq, such as unemployment, corruption and a continuing lack of government. "I think the Iraqi government, including individuals like Sadr, continue to try to distract Iraqis from the real problems in Iraq, including their failure to form a government, uphold human rights, and provide basic needs like paying salaries and other services," he said. "They have been using the public's lack of accurate knowledge about LGBTQ+ identities by pretending that they are fighting against 'real problems' that Iraq is facing." © 2014 - 2022. Middle East Eye. All rights reserved. Link to article: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iraq-anti-lgbtq-law-raises-concerns-rights-group

More than 50 Christian worshippers were slaughtered in this Catholic church in Ondo, Nigeria June 7, 2022 If we do not stand up for Christians, who will? Independent Catholic News July 8, 2022 By Rebecca Tinsley The Freedom of Religion or Belief ministerial level conference took place during an eventful week in Westminster. Persecuted minority groups from across the globe testified about the hardship faced when exercising the most basic human right: to practice a religious faith, to convert to another faith, or not to follow the faith prescribed by the state. Speakers from the Yezidi, Sikh, Muslim, Ahmadi, Chaldean Christian, humanist and other communities contributed both inspiring and dispiriting stories. Dozens of diplomats pledged that their governments would uphold Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (the right to freedom of religion or belief). Also this week, the non-partisan NGO Genocide Watch reported that in the first six months of 2022, 2,543 Christians were killed by Islamist extremists in Nigeria. Yet, whenever this matter is raised by concerned UK Parliamentarians, officials warn them not to ascribe sectarian motives of the killers, as if by asking the question they are stirring up trouble. British ministers continue to avoid stating the obvious: that when well-armed militia enter a Nigerian village yelling Allah 'akbar, (God is great) and kill only the Christians while leaving Muslim residents unharmed, there is a sectarian element. I have interviewed Christians in Plateau State in Nigeria who have witnessed the security services looking the other way, as villagers are slaughtered by jihadists. Rights groups have complained that security services have suddenly vanished before Islamists arrive at schools and kidnap children. Meanwhile, the UK gives the Nigerian government £258 million in aid a year (2019 figures). The highest recipient of British development funding is the government of Pakistan (£305m) which is also frequently cited by rights groups for allowing the persecution, murder and imprisonment of Christians and other minority faiths, often accusing them without evidence of blasphemy. In Sudan, the optimism arising from the overthrow of the Islamist regime of Field Marshall Omar al-Bashir in 2019 has gone, and with it the hopes that Christians would be treated as equal citizens. According to Bushra Gama from the non-partisan Human Rights and Development Organisation (HUDO), the Muslim Brotherhood whose ideology guided Bashir's regime are back in power. "After the military coup in October 2021 which dissolved the transitional government, the situation worsened in Sudan. For instance, last week four Christians were arrested in Zalingei in Darfur, taken from their church. Their holy books and loud speaker were confiscated by police. They are still under detention in Zalingei prison, accused by apostasy. Yet there is no article in the Sudan criminal penal code criminalizing apostasy. The previous article (article 126) was revoked in 2020, but the authorities are ignoring that." What Should We Do? The message emerging from the Freedom of Religion or Belief Ministerial was that we should all support the rights of every person to follow their beliefs without fear. But if Christians do not make a particular effort to draw attention to the persecution of their coreligionists in Nigeria, Sudan, Pakistan, China or the Middle East, then who will? This acknowledgement places a special burden on Christians who take it for granted that they can worship freely. It is never a futile effort to write to elected representatives, reminding them that the UK has soft power in the form of aid and diplomacy, and that our taxes should not be given to governments which are oppressing Christians. At the least, we should require our aid recipients to investigate atrocities against Christians and end the current culture of impunity. If an MP receives more than five messages on a topic (individual emails or mailed hard copy letters, not mass emailed petitions or identical top-and-tailed emails) from constituents, it is considered a veritable landslide of opinion. In 1994, the late Senator Paul Simon of Minnesota said that if he had received 50 letters about the Rwandan genocide from his constituents, he would have been empowered to demand that the US State Department took action to stop the slaughter. That should inspire us all to put our prayers into action for the sake of Christians who need our help. To watch YouTube video about the June 7, 2022 Ondo church massacre click on image above.