29 June 2021 | By Brennan MacDonald A masked demonstrator attends a protest denouncing China's treatment of Uyghur Muslims in front of the Chinese consulate in Istanbul, on July 5, 2018. Canadian senators on Tuesday voted down a motion to label China's treatment of the Uyghurs as a genocide. (Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images) Senators declined to label China's treatment of its Muslim minority Uyghur population as a genocide Tuesday evening. A motion brought forward by Sen. Leo Housakos called on the Senate to recognize that a genocide is currently being carried out against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims. Twenty-nine senators voted in favour of the motion, 33 senators voted against and 13 abstained. The motion also called upon the International Olympic Committee to move the 2022 Olympic Games out of China should the Chinese government continue to perpetrate a "genocide." The vote in the Senate follows on a similar vote in the House in February which saw a substantial majority of MPs — including most of the Liberals who participated — vote in favour of labelling China's treatment of the Uyghurs as genocide. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and almost all of his cabinet colleagues were absent for that vote. Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau was the only cabinet minister present. He abstained when it was his turn to vote, saying he did so "on behalf of the government of Canada." Trudeau and his government have been reluctant to use the word genocide to describe China's treatment of the Uyghurs, arguing that more evidence from independent investigations is needed. Canada has led an international effort calling on China to allow a UN investigative team "meaningful and unfettered access" to Xinjiang, the region of China where human rights violations allegedly are taking place. During debate on the motion, Independent Senators Group Leader Sen. Yuen Pau Woo said Canada should avoid criticizing China over its treatment of Uyghur Muslims because our country has mistreated Indigenous peoples. Echoing an argument made by Chinese officials at the UN last week, Woo said China's policy toward the Muslim minority in Xinjiang province is similar to the colonialism directed at Indigenous peoples in this country, and that condemning Beijing in harsh terms would be "gratuitous" and "simply an exercise in labelling." Independent B.C. Sen. Yuen Pau Woo has criticized Canada for condemning China's treatment of its Uyghur minority. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press) Sen. Peter Boehm, who chairs the Senate foreign affairs committee, also opposed the motion, but for different reasons than those articulated by Woo. Boehm argued that the House vote which labelled China's treatment of its Uyghur population a genocide had "no discernible impact" and that he believes strongly that foreign policy actions fall under the purview of the executive branch of government — the prime minister and cabinet. "The complexities of a bilateral relationship that is fraught, as is the case between China and Canada today, cannot be boiled down into a few paragraphs of what passes for megaphone parliamentary diplomacy by copying a motion from the other place [House] of almost four months ago that had no discernible impact other than to spark an angry reaction from the Chinese government, which passage of this motion will probably do as well," said Boehm. "Effective diplomacy must weigh words carefully, and parliamentary diplomacy or motions in this chamber, as I see them, should be no different. Foreign policy is not binary. It is all about the shades of grey. This motion, in my view, will not advance the importance of addressing the situation in western China, nor will it contribute to resolving or alleviating an already fraught and complex relationship that we now have." Housakos said it was not about compelling China to do one thing or another. "The people of Xinjiang and the Uyghur people require solidarity, like our allies around the world have expressed that solidarity — the Senate of the United States, the House of Commons of the U.K., the Parliament of Australia — and we should follow suit as a strong democracy and stand up in support of that solidarity," said Housakos during debate. Sen. Leo Housakos has said Canada 'should follow suit' with other Western democracies in condemning China's actions. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press) "The authoritarian state of China is committing these atrocities, these crimes against humanity, with impunity. They're arrogant in their blatant disregard for human life and human rights, and we must not allow it to go unchecked and unnamed for what it is." China has detained an estimated one million to two million Uyghurs in what the government calls "re-education centres." An independent legal analysis released earlier this year by the Montreal-based Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and a Washington-based think-tank concluded that China is committing an ongoing genocide against its Muslim minority population in Xinjiang. The report concluded that the Chinese government's actions in Xinjiang have violated every single act prohibited by the United Nations Genocide Convention. A number of Canadian human rights experts contributed to the report, including former cabinet ministers Lloyd Axworthy, Allan Rock and Irwin Cotler, as well as former ambassador to the UN Yves Fortier. Following the release of this report, retired lieutenant general Roméo Dallaire, who previously served as a senator, urged Ottawa in March to act in response to the "genocide" being committed by the Chinese government. Dallaire led the UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide there. ©2021 CBC/Radio-Canada. All rights reserved.

Restrictive rules banning the independent practice of religion are still in force. Men praying in Kokand in 2019 (David Trilling) Uzbekistan has adopted a new law on religion that affords some marginal concessions but mostly leaves restrictions in place, much to the dismay of faith advocacy groups. Among the more contentious areas covered in the legislation signed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on July 5 is that concerning the right to wear religious clothing. The new-look Religion Law discontinues a widely disregarded provision forbidding anybody not registered as a cleric from appearing in public wearing such clothes. State entities, which can include offices or universities, still retain the right to enforce a dress code, however. How this norm will be enforced with regard, for example, to women adopting Islamic headwear will be closely watched by a public increasingly alive to debates around this issue. Another section of the new law will nominally simplify the process of registering religious organizations and places of worship. This procedure once required an initiative to be undersigned by 100 founders, but that number has now been halved. Critics say, though, that fiddly requirements have been slipped in to make the process complicated all the same. Strict rules remain in place in regard to religious education. Pursuing religious studies is possible only after graduating from high school. Schools and universities will continue not to have faith studies included in their curriculum. “The inclusion of religious disciplines in curricula is not allowed (with the exception of religious educational institutions),” the law states. This is a sore point for the ever-growing number of people wishing to instill their children with Islamic doctrines from a young age. Since around 2017, many clandestine religious classes have been detected and broken up by law enforcement bodies. The state jealously guards its exclusive prerogative over imparting religious values to the public – a position that the newly adopted law defends. “[Independent religious education] can cause discord in society over religious issues and lead to the public falling under the influence of alien ideas and views. To this end, the provision of religious education outside of a religious educational institution is deemed an illegal activity,” a state newspaper commentary on the legislation reads. Forum 18, a Danish-registered religious freedoms advocacy group, has criticized the Religion Law approved by Mirziyoyev, saying that it retains too many of the earlier standing restrictions, in defiance of international human rights charters to which Uzbekistan has committed in principle. The group said its concerns about bans on the exercise and teaching of religious beliefs without state sanction and the sharing of beliefs, as well as tight censorship over religious literature were echoed by a number of international bodies, including the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Council of Europe Venice Commission. Complaints center on points that have been billed as signs of progress. “Although the Religion Law reduces the number of adult citizens required to apply for a community to be allowed by the regime to exist from the current 100 founders to 50, it adds an extra restriction requiring all founders to live in one city or district,” Forum 18 noted. Another criticism of the legislation was not so much its content, but how it was adopted without serious public scrutiny. “The drafting and adoption of the new Religion Law took place almost entirely in secret, with only infrequent public announcements of progress,” Forum 18 complained. Even though the draft law was posted online last August for public discussion, it was not made clear how or when ordinary members of the public were to provide their feedback. “The state wants total control and even discussion of the Religion Law is in secret,” one unnamed human rights defender told Forum 18. “This breeds extremism.” Although legislation may not meet the hopes of those wishing for greater religious freedom, others are satisfied that things are improving in the day to day. Between 2006 and 2017, Uzbekistan was listed among the U.S. State Department’s countries of particular concern for lack of religious liberties. The country was held on a so-called Special Watch List in 2018 and 2019. A further upgrade followed last year. “On December 2, 2020, in accordance with the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, as amended, the Secretary of State removed Uzbekistan from the Special Watch List, determining that it no longer engaged in or tolerated ‘severe violations of religious freedom,’” according to the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom. As far as religious education goes, the authorities are pinning their hopes on the pious being placated by initiatives like the newly created Islam-themed television station Hidoyat Sari (Guidance toward the path of truth). The online channel, which began broadcasting on July 7, is described by its creators as educational and a platform for disseminating definitive positions on Islam. “The channel will show programs that have been subjected to expert and religious analysis to ensure the exclusion of all kinds of alternative interpretations,” Alisher Khadjayev, the head of the National Television and Radio Company of Uzbekistan, wrote on his Facebook page. Hidoyat Sari will also include content telling young people about the dangers of falling under the sway of religious currents promoting terrorism and extremism, or even “popular culture,” Khadjayev wrote. Eurasianet © 2021

By Stephanie Nebehay A demonstrator holds the LGBT flag during a protest against a law that bans LGBTQ content in schools and media at the Presidential Palace in Budapest, Hungary, June 16, 2021. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo GENEVA, June 25 (Reuters) - A Hungarian law banning the use of material in schools seen as promoting homosexuality and gender change will perpetuate stigma and discrimination, a U.N. human rights expert said on Friday. Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the independent expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, said that the legislation was challenging the "values base" of the European Union (EU). Hungary's parliament passed legislation last week that bans the dissemination of content in schools deemed to promote homosexuality and gender change, amid strong criticism from human rights groups and opposition parties. Madrigal-Borloz said that he had voiced his concerns to the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban over the last months. "This legislation tends to perpetuate stereotypes and stigma around sexual orientation and gender identity," he said. He also said the bill wrongly portrayed homosexuality as linked to paedophilia, which he said was "disgraceful". Comprehensive sexual and gender education helps break down stigma, and "allows teachers to be well-equipped to address questions of pupils and to address bullying which as we know is a basic problem in schools all over the world," he added. In 69 countries worldwide it remains a crime to be homosexual or transgender, which has no justification under international human rights law, Madrigal-Borloz told the Human Rights Council earlier on Friday. "I urge them to dismantle such criminalisation," he said. "These criminalising provisions, even when they are not applied, create a context that is hostile to the existence of LGBT persons that is also conducive to blackmail and to significant violence affecting the every day lives of these persons," he said. Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay Editing by Peter Graff © Copyright 2021 Reuters

Officials have so far blocked Shia Muslims' attempts to reopen mosques in Bukhara with property excuses, and in Samarkand attempts have not been made as "they are afraid of the authorities". Officials have rejected other religious communities' recent applications to exist, or failed to respond. "Nothing has changed," a Protestant church which has applied for registration told Forum 18. Also, the draft Religion Law has been sent for presidential signature, but the regime has not revealed the text of the law it intends to apply to people it rule Khoji Bakhrom Mosque, Bukhara District, 2021 Private [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] Shia Muslims have nationwide only four registered mosques of their own, two in Bukhara Region and two in Samarkand. The capacity of these mosques is inadequate to meet demand, and on religious festivals worshippers "overflow into the street", a Muslim who remains anonymous for fear of state reprisals told Forum 18. In Bukhara Region, seven Shia mosques operated from the early 1990s until 2008, when officials closed all but two. "Shia Muslims say that without enough Shia mosques, many Shias - particularly young people - are forgetting Shia traditions and faith," a Muslim explained. Officials closed the five Shia mosques using the excuse that the mosque buildings had no property documents. As well as Shia Muslims, Jehovah's Witness and Protestant religious communities have had recent applications to exist refused. In many cases the excuse used has been refusals by local authorities to provide documents as part of the complex, time-consuming and expensive application process (see below). Bukhara Muslims repeatedly state that many Shias would like the five closed mosques to be reopened, to accommodate the demand for more capacity than the currently open mosques can provide. Local mahallas (district administrations) have allowed the mosque buildings to decay into a state of poor repair. Some have been rented out for use as carpenter's workshops or storage depots. In autumn 2020, Religious Affairs Committee and other officials "clearly said that they will not give permission to exist to a community if buildings where meetings for worship will be held are in poor repair," a Muslim who remains anonymous for fear of state reprisals told Forum 18 (see below). Shia Muslims in Bukhara District have themselves repaired the Khoji Bakhrom Mosque building, which could accommodate up to 200 worshippers, and have collected the details of the 100 founders required by the current Religion Law. However, in early 2021 officials "verbally told community members that unless they repair a separate smaller damaged building that was used by women visiting the mosque, they will not receive permission to use the mosque." Shia Muslims are trying to decide whether to repair or demolish the building, but do not have the funds for either (see below). Officials have refused to discuss these problems with Forum 18. Kahraman Rasulov, Chair of Khonobod Mahalla which is responsible for two mosque buildings, claimed: "This is our state's internal issue. I cannot talk to you," before putting the phone down (see below). In Samarkand local Muslims say that Shias face similar problems, but have not approached the authorities about opening mosques as "they are afraid of the authorities and do not want to act independently of the imams of the open mosques". The Muslims described imams as "acting together with the authorities as they were appointed with their endorsement" (see below). Protestant, Jehovah's Witness, and Catholic religious communities have all had recent applications to exist refused or had no replies to applications. "Nothing has changed," one Protestant church which has applied for registration told Forum 18. It meets for worship in a building, but is afraid that officials could stop this at any moment (see below). "Churches face a lot of bureaucratic obstacles to overcome when collecting registration documents, as it can take several years before the authorities provide the necessary certificates," another Protestant told Forum 18. "Even when they apply, they still may not receive registration" (see below). Jehovah's Witnesses' registration applications have been repeatedly refused with various excuses. "Without registration, the Witnesses are not only denied the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association, but are also denied freedom of religion and belief," they told Forum 18 (see below). The upper chamber of parliament, the Senate, approved the new Religion Law on 26 June. The new Law was then sent to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev for signature, Senator Batyr Matmuratov told Forum 18 from Tashkent. The President usually signs laws between several days or weeks after the Senate has approved them (see below). Human rights defenders, religious communities and others in Uzbekistan have not seen any text since August 2020. Members of a wide variety of religious communities and human rights defenders all also told Forum 18 on 29 June 2021 that they have not seen a text of the Religion Law as passed to the President for signature. Senators and Senate staff refused to comment to Forum 18 on 29 June about the content of the new Religion Law, or the way it has been adopted in secrecy (see below). "The state wants total control and even discussion of the Religion Law is in secret," one human rights defender commented. "This breeds extremism" (see below). Closing Shia mosques, obstructing Shias exercising freedom of religion and belief The regime has long been hostile to Shia Muslims exercising their freedom of religion and belief. In April, a Samarkand court fined Shia Muslim Rashid Ibrahimov about two weeks' average wages for having Shia religious material on his mobile phone. In August 2017 Jahongir Kulijanov was with other Shias arrested, tortured, and fined. In September 2017, former prisoner of conscience Kulijanov was jailed for five years for having works on Shia history. He was released on parole in February 2019 and required to live under restrictions. Shia Muslims have nationwide only four registered mosques of their own, two in Bukhara Region and two in Samarkand. One more mosque in Bukhara is intending to apply for registration. When in 2019 Shias in Bukhara petitioned for mosques to be reopened, police visited active members of the community to stop this. In Bukhara Region seven Shia mosques operated from the early 1990s until 2008, when officials closed all but two. All seven mosques were filled with worshippers, especially during Shia holidays, a local Muslim told Forum 18. The five mosque closures followed the 1999 arrest and jailing for five years of the imam of the (still operating in 2021) Khoji mir Ali Mosque in Bukhara. That jailing caused a sharp drop in Shia mosque attendance, as Shias were afraid of state reprisals, a Muslim who remains anonymous for fear of state reprisals told Forum 18 on 16 June. "Now, Shias who do not visit the two remaining mosques carry out Shia rituals and ceremonies privately at home." "Shia Muslims say that without enough Shia mosques many Shias - particularly young people - are forgetting Shia traditions and faith," a Muslim who remains anonymous for fear of state reprisals told Forum 18. They explained that for Shias to celebrate Shia holidays, such as Ashura, in Sunni mosques is not acceptable to either Sunnis or Shias. "They also cannot pray together on other days because it is not a tradition for either Sunnis or Shias, and the differences in styles of prayer disturb Sunni worshippers." The overwhelming majority of mosques in Uzbekistan are Sunni, and all mosques and other expressions of Sunni and Shia Islam are controlled by the state-controlled Spiritual Administration of Muslims, or Muftiate, headed by Chief Mufti Usmonhon Alimov. Officials closed the five Shia mosques using the excuse that the mosque buildings had no property documents. "During Soviet times they were not given documentation, and in the early 1990s they were repaired on the initiative of the local people without state permission," the Muslim explained. "Due to the unwillingness of the local authorities to provide building documents, the Shia mosques' requests were many times denied." Begzod Kadyrov, Chief Specialist of the state Religious Affairs Committee, refused to discuss the problems Shia Muslims face with Forum 18 on 23 June 2021. The telephones of Committee Chair Sodiq Toshboyev and other officials were not answered whenever Forum 18 called between 18 and 23 June. Shia Muslim, Jehovah's Witness, and Protestant religious communities have all had recent applications to exist refused. In many cases the excuse used has been refusals by local authorities to provide documents as part of the complex, time-consuming and expensive application process. In some cases registration applications have led to reprisals, such as police demands that Protestant Christians renounce their faith. Will Bukhara Shias be allowed to reopen mosques? Only two Shia mosques operate in Bukhara region. The larger Khoji mir Ali Mosque in Bukhara can accommodate up to 700 people, and the smaller Zirabod Mosque in Kagan District up to 200 people. "However, during holidays up to 2,500 people attend," a Muslim who remains anonymous for fear of state reprisals told Forum 18 on 16 June. "People cram into these two mosques and more people sit outside." Local Muslims repeatedly state that many Shias would like the five closed mosques to be reopened, to meet the demand for more capacity than the currently open mosques can provide. For example, the closed Khusainiyya-liabi-chorbog Mosque can hold up to 300 people. Shia Muslims are said to be planning to apply for the closed Khonobod, Khoji Bakhrom, and Tor-Tor mosques in Bukhara District to be re-opened, a local Muslim told Forum 18. When in 2019 Shias in Bukhara petitioned for mosques to be reopened, police visited active members of the community to stop this. Local mahallas (district administrations) have allowed the mosque buildings to decay into a state of poor repair. Some have been rented out by for use as carpenter's workshops or storage depots, a Muslim who remains anonymous for fear of state reprisals explained. This is a major problem for Shias, as in autumn 2020 Religious Affairs Committee and other officials spoke on Uzreport national TV, and "clearly said that they will not give permission to exist to a community if buildings where meetings for worship will be held are in poor repair," a Muslim who remains anonymous for fear of state reprisals told Forum 18. Shia Muslims have themselves repaired the Khoji Bakhrom Mosque building, which could accommodate up to 200 worshippers, and have collected the details of the 100 founders required by the current Religion Law, a Muslim who remains anonymous for fear of state reprisals told Forum 18. However, in early 2021 officials "verbally told community members that unless they repair a separate smaller damaged building that was used by women visiting the mosque, they will not receive permission to use the mosque." Shia Muslims are trying to decide whether to repair or demolish the building, but do not have the funds for either. Shia Muslims are also concerned that the regime will use refusals by local authorities to provide documents as an excuse to block mosque re-opening. Bukhara regional Administration's religious affairs official, Erkin Majidov, claimed to Forum 18 on 18 June that the "Shia Muslim community freely carry out their worship and religious rites in the two mosques in Bukhara and Kagan District. If the citizens as founders ask the authorities to register a new religious organisation, their request will considered by the Justice agencies according to the established legal procedure." Bukhara regional Justice Department officials between 16 and 18 June refused to explain to Forum 18 why Bukhara's Shias cannot reopen the closed mosques for worship. Bakhrom Bakhromov, who is responsible for the registration of religious organisations, several times asked Forum 18 through his assistants to call back. When Forum 18 eventually spoke to him on 18 June, he refused to answer questions and put the phone down. The Talipoj and Khonobod mosques in Bukhara District just a few kilometres west of the city – which could accommodate 200 worshippers each - face similar problems to the Khoji Bakhrom Mosque. "The buildings need to be repaired, and private persons have illegally used mosque land for building and growing trees and vegetables," a Muslim who remains anonymous for fear of state reprisals told Forum 18. Talipoj Mosque is now surrounded by newly-built walls, while foundations for a new building have been laid in the yard. "We do not know whether the authorities are intending to demolish the building or reconfigure it for a different purpose," a local Muslim told Forum 18 with concern. Kahraman Rasulov, Chair of Khonobod Mahalla Committee which is responsible for the two mosque buildings, refused to discuss violations of Shia Muslims' freedom of religion and belief. "This is our state's internal issue. I cannot talk to you," he claimed to Forum 18 on 16 June before putting the phone down. Samarkand Shias "overflow into the street" The city of Samarkand has two open Shia mosques: Panjab Mosque, which can accommodate 1,000 worshippers, and Murad avliya Mosque, which can accommodate 900 worshippers. On festivals such as Ashura, "up to 5,000 people are crammed into the two mosques and overflow into the street," a Muslim who remains anonymous for fear of state reprisals told Forum 18 on 22 June. Officials closed Imam Mahdi Mosque (also known as Sakhib az Zaman Mosque) in Samarkand's Khusad mahalla, which could accommodate several hundred people, in 2010, the Muslim explained. To accommodate the existing demand this mosque would need to be reopened, the Muslim added, and "at least two more new mosques would need to be built and opened". Imam Batyr Rizayev of the state-controlled Panjab Mosque told Forum 18 on 22 June that there may be up to 200,000 Shias in Samarkand. He claimed that Shias do not ask for new mosques as "two mosques are enough for us". When Forum 18 asked how 5,000 Shias on religious festivals can fit into two mosques with a total capacity of 1,900, Imam Rizayev claimed: "We can find places." Local Muslims told Forum 18 that Shias have not approached the authorities about opening mosques in Samarkand as "they are afraid of the authorities and do not want to act independently of the imams of the open mosques". The Muslims described imams as "acting together with the authorities as they were appointed with their endorsement." Local Muslims quoted Imam Rizayev as stating that "Shias will get into trouble with the authorities if they ask for new mosques". When Forum 18 put this to the Imam, he claimed that "everything is fine with the authorities and we have no problems at all". Shakrukh Bakhromov, who is responsible for the registration of religious organisations in Samarkand Regional Justice Department, on 23 June refused to answer Forum 18's questions about reopening the city's Imam Mahdi Mosque. No-one Forum 18 called in Samarkand Regional Administration answered their phones on 22 or 23 June. "Nothing has changed" over registration applications Protestant, Jehovah's Witness, and Catholic religious communities have all had recent applications to exist refused or had no replies to applications. In many cases the excuse used has been refusals by local authorities to provide documents as part of the complex, time-consuming and expensive application process. In some cases registration applications have led to reprisals, such as police demands that Protestant Christians renounce their faith. "Nothing has changed," one Protestant church which has applied for registration told Forum 18 on 26 June. It meets for worship in a building, but is afraid officials could stop this at any moment. Protestant churches which had registration applications refused in 2020 and 2021 "can meet for worship privately and the authorities have left them alone for now," another Protestant told Forum 18 on 7 June. "However, no one can guarantee that this will not change in future, and the communities will not get into trouble with the authorities as in the past." "Churches face a lot of bureaucratic obstacles to overcome when collecting registration documents, as it can take several years before the authorities provide the necessary certificates," another Protestant told Forum 18 on 9 June. "Even when they apply they still may not receive registration." Catholics in Angren tried in 2019 to register a parish, as local Catholics presently have to travel 105 kms (65 miles) to Tashkent for Mass. The Apostolic Administrator Bishop Jerzy Maculewicz told Forum 18 on 8 June that the Church is not planning to apply for registration of the community "until all the renovation is finished and the priests arrive in Uzbekistan". He did not specify when the application will be filed. Officials have repeatedly refused Jehovah's Witnesses' registration applications with various excuses. "Without registration, the Witnesses are not only denied the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association, but are also denied freedom of religion and belief," they told Forum 18 on 9 June. Latest repressive Religion Law sent for signature, public still denied information on content The upper chamber of parliament, the Senate, approved the new Religion Law on 26 June, the Senate website announced the same day. The new Law was then sent to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev for signature, Senator Batyr Matmuratov told Forum 18 from Tashkent on 28 June. The President usually signs laws between several days or weeks after the Senate has approved them. The new Law in draft form was the subject of a highly critical October 2020 Venice Commission and OSCE ODIHR opinion on the draft Religion Law. The regime has not explained why a draft which it knew seriously failed to implement its human rights obligations was sent for review, nor what if any changes it introduced after the review. The draft also ignored recommendations from the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief in 2017, UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations the regime claimed to accept in 2018, and May 2020 Concluding Observations of the UN Human Rights Committee. "We need to understand that the draft Law is only an advertisement for Uzbekistan aimed at international organisations and foreign states," one Muslim noted to Forum 18. "If the authorities wanted real freedom for the people, then the draft Law would have been very different." "No real public discussions have taken place" The amended Religion Law has been adopted without the public being able to see or comment on any changes that might have been made since the draft text was published on the parliamentary website in Uzbek and Russian on 19 August 2020 "for public discussion". Members of religious communities – including those who took part in alleged regime "consultations" - have told Forum 18 that "no real public discussions have taken place". Human rights defenders, religious communities and others in Uzbekistan have not seen any text since August 2020. Members of a wide variety of religious communities and human rights defenders all also told Forum 18 on 29 June 2021 that they have not seen a text of the Religion Law as passed to the President for signature. "The state wants total control and even discussion of the Religion Law is in secret," one human rights defender commented. "This breeds extremism." Senators and Senate staff refused to make available the text of the Law on 29 June. They also refused to comment to Forum 18 about the content of the new Religion Law, or the way it has been adopted in secrecy. The amended Religion Law was approved in the lower chamber of parliament in the first reading on 15 September 2020. On 4 May 2021 the new Law was passed by the lower chamber on its second reading. It was then sent to the Senate. People in Uzbekistan have repeatedly criticised restrictions on the exercise of freedom of religion or belief in the current Religion Law. Yet the regime has ignored the comments of the people it rules. (END) Full reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Uzbekistan For more background, see Forum 18's Uzbekistan religious freedom survey Forum 18's compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments Follow us on Twitter @Forum_18 Follow us on Facebook @Forum18NewsService All Forum 18 text may be referred to, quoted from, or republished in full, if Forum 18 is credited as the source. All photographs that are not Forum 18's copyright are attributed to the copyright owner. If you reuse any photographs from Forum 18's website, you must seek permission for any reuse from the copyright owner or abide by the copyright terms the copyright owner has chosen © Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855.

The Sudanese deposed a dictator, but some fear true stability can never come until the truth is revealed about who killed more than a hundred protesters. Sudanese protesters in Khartoum in 2019. Bryan Denton for The New York Times KHARTOUM, Sudan — Two years after more than 100 young Sudanese were killed in a revolution that toppled a dictator, their bodies lie in limbo in a corner of the capital. A deathly stench wafts from the morgue where the bodies are being kept; power outages are frequent and the summer heat intense. Outside, friends and relatives are keeping vigil, angered that the authorities have failed to carry out autopsies. The government, they believe, is trying to suppress evidence that could provide the accountability they crave for the deaths of their loved ones. “They’re intentionally delaying the results,” said Muez Mohammed, whose brother Saeed was shot dead by Sudanese security forces on June 3, 2019. “Everyone knows who killed the people.” The macabre scene is a mark of the unfinished business and unrealized hopes from Sudan’s revolution. The country’s transition to democracy has been fragile, with civilian and military leaders still jousting for power. Little makes that clearer than the tensions over the bodies in the morgue. In June 2019, at the height of the revolution, soldiers opened fire on hundreds of people staging a sit-in in the capital, Khartoum, a brutal display intended to show that while civilian protesters may have ousted Sudan’s longtime ruler, Omar al-Bashir, two months earlier, it was the military that would decide the country’s future. Now, families of the victims and pro-democracy groups are warily preparing for mass protests on June 30 to mark their frustration. They say they’re still waiting for members of the police, the Sudanese Armed Forces or the Rapid Support Forces — militias linked to atrocities in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan dating back to the beginning of the century — to be held accountable for the violent crackdown. Muez Mohammed, whose brother was killed by security forces, outside the morgue. Simon Marks In interviews, forensic experts, state-appointed investigators and Sudan’s former attorney general, who resigned last month, said the inquiry into the killing was being stymied by the security forces and by attempts to cover up the evidence. Officials involved with the inquiry — a justice ministry official, the former attorney general and a senior investigator — said investigators had recently uncovered a mass grave outside Khartoum, in Omdurman, containing the bodies of several hundred people they suspect were killed when the soldiers opened fire in Khartoum on June 3, 2019. If that is confirmed, the death toll from that day will turn out to be far higher than known. Forensic experts sent by United States Agency for International Development are to arrive in Sudan next month, investigators here said, to make a preliminary assessment of the site. An agency spokesperson said the United States was supporting transitional justice efforts in Sudan, including “providing specialized expertise, where requested, in line with international standards.” In May, Sudan’s attorney general, Taj-Elsir el-Hebir, resigned, saying it appeared that factions within the security forces were withholding evidence from his office, which is investigating the killings. “We have reasons to believe that this relates to the sit-in,” Mr. el-Hebir said. “But we feel like there is a conflict of interest.” Mr. El-Hebir said investigators had amassed evidence, conducting interviews with people who live close to the grave site to ascertain when the bodies arrived, how they were transported and what vehicles were used. “We have very important witnesses who testified,” he said. Delivering justice in the case is seen as a critical test for the transitional government, which was formed through a painfully struck alliance between the army’s Transitional Military Council led by Lt.-Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the opposition coalition, Forces of Freedom and Change, led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the military council, waving to supporters at a rally in 2019. Hussein Malla/Associated Press A declaration between the two camps signed in 2019 called for national elections in early 2024. But the sheer number, power and wealth of officials on the military side of the accord have left many Sudanese feeling skeptical. Two senior Western diplomats and one from a major African state said most major powers — from Russia to China and the United States — had noted an increasingly strained relationship between General al-Burhan and his deputy, Lt.-Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, who is in charge of the Rapid Support Forces. Earlier this month, General Hamdan, who is commonly known as Hemeti, reportedly refused to merge his troops with the Sudanese defense forces, which General al-Burhan leads, despite that being a stated aim of the transition. “Talking about integrating the Rapid Support Forces into the army could break up the country,” he said at a memorial service for a soldier in Khartoum. Nasr Eldin, a member of a government-appointed investigative committee, said his team had found two victims of the June 3 massacre roughly 150 kilometers north of Khartoum after speaking to villagers who reported seeing bodies floating in the Nile. He said investigators had taken DNA samples from the two bodies and matched them with the victims’ families. “This is very solid evidence,” Mr. Eldin said. Despite some progress, forensic experts involved in the investigation said their work had been hindered by the very committee charged with investigating the shooting. Two state forensic experts working inside the Ministry of Health showed The New York Times a letter from the committee ordering them not to speak to the media. They said the committee had also ordered them not to conduct autopsies on the bodies in the morgue. Mr. Eldin said the committee had ordered a halt to the autopsies because forensic experts were compromised and had buried some of the bodies “without using correct procedures.” Pictures of Mohammed Hashim, 26, who was killed in the protests, at his family’s home. Simon Marks Those who fought to topple General al-Bashir say finding the truth behind who was responsible for ordering the deadly breakup of the June 3 sit-in will go a long way toward easing widespread public discontent over the pace of the transition, as well as such harsh economic measures as getting rid of subsidies for fuel and wheat. Sudan is also grappling with annual inflation above 360 percent. “Once we live in a just state, all the other pieces will start falling into place,” said Samahir el-Mubarak, a member of the Sudanese Professionals Association, a group that steered anti-Bashir protests. A spokesman for the prime minister’s office did not reply to questions about the investigation, though in a statement earlier this month Prime Minister Hamdok said “the complicated relations between the several security organs” was “playing roles in delaying justice.” General Hamdan’s office did not reply to questions. For now, all the families of the dead can do is wait. Amira Babiker, a lecturer in gender studies at the Ahfad University for Women in Khartoum, said the last time she saw her son was a day before the massacre. It was at his birthday party at the family home in Khartoum. In April, her son, Mohammed Hashim, 26, had come back from studying engineering at a university in London and joined the pro-democracy protests. In the early hours of June 3, he headed for a sit-in outside the military headquarters. Mrs. Babiker checked in with him every hour to make sure he was OK. She had seen rumors on social media that security forces were massing. “I called him until 05:15 — after that there was no response,” she said from her living room, which is now adorned with nearly a dozen photos and paintings of Mohammed. Around midday, the family went to a hospital that had taken in patients wounded at the protest. “He had one bullet under the right eye,” she said. “The police opened a case, but until now there’s nothing. No justice.” © 2021 The New York Times Company

The generals who seized power five months ago have shown no inclination to heed international pleas to reverse themselves, even as Myanmar slides into a failed state. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the commander of Myanmar’s military, during a parade on Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw, the capital, in March. Credit...EPA, via Shutterstock Western powers have imposed sanctions. Neighboring countries have implored the military to restore democracy. More than 200 human rights groups have called for an arms embargo. And last week, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a blunt rebuke aimed at isolating the generals. The diplomatic pressure has done little to change the situation in Myanmar. The military dictatorship now ruling the Southeast Asian nation has brushed aside the entreaties and threats, even as the country of 54 million people hurtles toward paralysis and possibly civil war that could destabilize the region. Confident in its impunity after a Feb. 1 coup, the putschists have stretched diplomacy to its limit. Was this the outcome that had always been foreseen? Protesters in Yangon wearing “R2P” headbands, thanking places who have shown support to the pro-democracy movement in Myanmar. Credit...The New York Times Not initially. Many people in Myanmar had hoped for intervention by the United Nations or perhaps the United States in the period immediately following the coup, which upended a November election victory by the civilian leadership and escalated into a brutal repression. Pro-democracy protesters carried signs that read “R2P,” or “Responsibility to Protect,” referring to a 2005 United Nations doctrine affirming the responsibility of nations to protect populations from such egregious crimes. But diplomatic efforts at the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the 10-nation regional body known as ASEAN, have largely fizzled. Why does Myanmar’s coup leadership appear so confident? General Min Aung Hlaing with Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, at a meeting in Naypyidaw in January, before the coup. Credit...Myanmar Military Information Team, via Associated Press The country, formerly known as Burma, was run by the military for decades after a coup in 1962, and the generals in charge never really embraced the idea of democracy. The Constitution they adopted in 2008 paved the way for the election of civilian leaders but ensured the military’s complete autonomy and veto-power over major constitutional amendments. Thant Myint-U, an American-born Burmese historian and grandson of U Thant, the former United Nations secretary general, wrote in a recent edition of Foreign Affairs that the Myanmar army’s need for total power is ingrained. “It is led by an officer corps that cannot imagine a Myanmar in which the military is not ultimately in control,” he wrote. The coup leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, appears to have secured vitally important allies — China and Russia — insulating Myanmar from any interventionist steps. The general also oversees a powerful patronage network built around two military-owned conglomerates and his family’s businesses. A democratic system could imperil them. The United Nations Security Council, the 15-member body that is empowered to take coercive action, has issued only mildly worded criticisms since the coup, at least partly reflecting resistance to anything stronger by China and Russia. Chinese diplomats have recently referred to Gen. Min Aung Hlaing as Myanmar’s leader. He also was treated well in a visit to Russia this week. Human rights activists have expressed exasperation at what they view as the Security Council’s failure on Myanmar. “The council’s occasional statements of concern in the face of the military’s violent repression of largely peaceful protesters is the diplomatic equivalent of shrugging their shoulders and walking away,” Louis Charbonneau, the U.N. director at Human Rights Watch, said last month in joining more than 200 other groups in demanding the council impose an arms embargo. Was the junta damaged by the General Assembly’s rebuke? Posters against Gen. Min Aung Hlaing in Yangon. Credit...The New York Times The General Assembly adopted a resolution denouncing the coup on Friday, an exceedingly rare gesture that grew partly out of the Security Council’s inaction, and it was deemed a success by Western diplomats who said Myanmar’s military had now been ostracized. But the resolution’s language was weakened to ensure more yes votes — and even then, 36 countries abstained. Analysts said the vote was unlikely to persuade the junta to negotiate with its domestic adversaries. Nonetheless, said Richard Gowan, the U.N. director at the International Crisis Group, the resolution was “at least a clear signal of international disapproval for the coup and will make it harder for the junta to normalize its relations with the outside world.” What have other Southeast Asian nations done about the coup? Gen. Min Aung Hlaing arriving in Indonesia for an Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in April. Credit...Indonesian Presidential Palace ASEAN, which includes Myanmar, has tried to mediate. But its efforts have done more to help Gen. Min Aung Hlaing consolidate his authority than to restore democracy. The military’s takeover compelled ASEAN to convene a meeting in April, to which they invited Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. ASEAN practices noninterference in the internal affairs of members and did not formally recognize the general as Myanmar’s new leader. But his red-carpet arrival for the meeting, held in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, was repeatedly trumpeted by Myanmar’s state-run media as recognition of his leadership. ASEAN conspicuously did not invite anyone to represent the deposed leadership, which now calls itself the National Unity Government, or anyone else from the pro-democracy movement. The leaders agreed on what they called a “Five-Point Consensus,” including the immediate cessation of violence, constructive dialogue to find a peaceful solution and ASEAN’s appointment of a special envoy to facilitate mediation. While member nations Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore pushed for ASEAN to take firm action, strong measures were resisted by Thailand, said Aaron Connelly, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore. (Thailand’s government is headed by a former general who took power in a 2014 coup.) The consensus made no mention of freeing political prisoners, who now number more than 5,000 and include the country’s elected civilian leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi would normally have attended such a meeting. ASEAN has yet to name the special envoy. So far, the main outcome of ASEAN’s diplomatic effort has been to damage its own credibility. Myanmar protesters have been burning the ASEAN flag at demonstrations. What is the National Unity Government and what does it do? U Kyaw Moe Tun, Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations. He has refused to cooperate with the junta. Credit...Celeste Sloman for The New York Times The winners of the November election were scheduled to be sworn into office on Feb. 1. But that morning, soldiers swept through the capital city, Naypyidaw, and arrested many of the elected officials. Some who escaped have since formed the National Unity Government, which has declared itself Myanmar’s legitimate government. Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations, U Kyaw Moe Tun, who refused to cooperate with the junta, now represents the National Unity Government. While the world body continues to regard him as Myanmar’s ambassador, no country has formally recognized the National Unity Government. In a departure from the stance of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, the National Unity Government has formed alliances with ethnic armed groups that have long battled the Myanmar military. And in a move that could win support from Western countries, the National Unity Government has called for ending discrimination in the country, and for the Rohingya to receive full citizenship. The persecuted Muslim minority was targeted by the military in a ruthless campaign of ethnic cleansing that forced more than 700,000 people to flee to Bangladesh. Seeing futility in diplomacy, the National Unity Government also has formed an army that has made small-scale attacks against pro-military targets, raising the prospect that Myanmar could face a protracted civil war. Christine Schraner Burgener, the U.N. special envoy for Myanmar, who has repeatedly been blocked from visiting the country, warned of increased violence in remarks to the General Assembly after its recent vote. “Time is of the essence,” she said. “When we look back in 10 years, we should not regret having missed an opportunity to put this country back on the path of democracy.” © 2021 The New York Times Company

28 June 2021 | Kathy Gannon, Associated Press Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, center, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, right, and Defense Under Secretary Mike McCord, left, appear at a Senate Armed Services budget hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban fighters took control of a key district in Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz province Monday and encircled the provincial capital, police said, as the insurgent group added to its recent battlefield victories while peace talks have stalemated. The Taliban’s gains came as the Pentagon reaffirmed the U.S. troop withdrawal was still on pace to conclude by early September. Fighting around Imam Sahib district began late Sunday, and by midday Monday, the Taliban had overrun the district headquarters and were in control of police headquarters, said Inamuddin Rahmani, provincial police spokesman. Taliban militants were within half a mile of Kunduz, the provincial capital but had not entered into the city, he said, although there were reports of small bands of Taliban near the outskirts and residents trying to leave for Kabul. Dozens of districts have fallen to the Taliban since May 1, when U.S. and NATO troops began their final departure from Afghanistan. Like Imam Sahib district in northern Kunduz, their significance often lies in their proximity to roads and major cities. Imam Sahib is strategically located near Afghanistan’s northern border with Tajikistan, a key supply route from Central Asia. Rahmani said police and Afghan National Army soldiers had jointly tried to defend the district. He said it still wasn’t clear how many casualties the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces suffered in the protracted battle or how many Taliban were killed or wounded. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed confirmed Imam Sahib district was in Taliban hands. Several other districts in Kunduz have also fallen to the insurgent group in the latest round of fighting, including Dasht-e-Archi, which neighbors Imam Sahib, said Rahmani, further consolidating local transportation links in the area. In recent days, the Taliban have taken several districts across the three northern provinces of Kunduz, Baghlan and Balkh, said Mousavi. Significantly, witnesses said Doshi district in Baghlan province was in Taliban hands, which if it true gives the insurgent group control of the one road that links five northern provinces to the capital Kabul. The Taliban have circulated videos on their website and to WhatsApp groups which they claim show government soldiers who have surrendered being told to return to their homes and receiving money from the Taliban. On Sunday, Taliban leader Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhunzada issued a statement ordering his soldiers to “treat those who surrender well and display good behavior with them.” But the fighting has been bitter in some districts with both sides suffering casualties. A senior police official, speaking on condition he not be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media, said the police fighting in the districts are mostly from poor families. Those families have remained poor despite the trillions of dollars spent in Afghanistan in the past 20 years. “They have not seen changes in their lives and are indifferent, so they see no difference. … They want to save their lives just for today.” Taliban gains and the steady withdrawal of the remaining 2,500-3,500 U.S. troops and 7,000 NATO forces have lent an urgency to efforts to find a negotiated end to Afghanistan’s protracted conflict. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby on Monday said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has regularly reviewed the U.S. withdrawal, which he said is “on pace” and will be finished by early September. “It is a dynamic situation, and we’ve said that from the very beginning,” Kirby said. Austin is “looking at the situation every day with a fresh set of eyes to see if, you know, the pace we are setting is the appropriate pace.” Among the uncertainties, officials have said, is the State Department’s needs for embassy security and its decisions about getting interpreters and other Afghans who worked with the Americans out of the country. Talks between the government and the Taliban taking place in Qatar have stalemated. While Taliban leaders say they are ready to negotiate, observers familiar with the talks say the insurgent movement seems more anxious to chalk up military gains hoping to strengthen their negotiating position. Later this week, President Joe Biden will meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the country’s High Council for National Reconciliation, which oversees the government’s negotiation team. Friday’s meeting in Washington, according to a White House statement, is intended to reaffirm America’s financial and humanitarian aid “to support the Afghan people, including Afghan women, girls and minorities.” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday their conversation would also “continue to discuss how we can work together to ensure that Afghanistan never again becomes a safe haven for terrorist groups who pose a threat to the U.S. homeland.” © 2021 — North State Media LLC

By Jeff Abbott Search for and identification of remains of civil war disappeared provides hope for families, but challenges persist. San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala – Victoria Tubin was 10 years old when her father was disappeared by the Guatemalan military. It was September 1981 – the height of the country’s 36-year armed conflict – and Sebastian Tubin Poyon was entering his town of San Juan Comalapa when he never came home. Forty years later, like thousands of Guatemalans whose relatives went missing during the war, Victoria and her family have never given up their search. “I still feel the absence of my father,” she told Al Jazeera during a June 19 commemoration of the establishment of a memorial site at a former military encampment at the town’s entrance where her father was last seen. “Where is he?” Tubin asked, clutching a photo of her father in her arms. “I would have liked to see him again, to hear his voice, and to know his grey hair.” Victoria Tubin holds a photo of her father, who was disappeared in 1981 [Jeff Abbott/Al Jazeera] © 2021 Al Jazeera Media Network Indigenous hard-hit When Guatemala’s decades-long armed conflict came to an end in December 1996, more than 200,000 people were dead and 45,000 were disappeared. The violence affected rural Indigenous communities particularly hard. A United Nations-backed truth commission found that Indigenous Mayans accounted for 83 percent of the victims, while the Guatemalan military was responsible for 93 percent of all human rights violations. The commission concluded that acts of genocide had occurred. “The state was a well-oiled machine that put all of its assets to making sure that no one could find these bodies,” Fredy Peccerelli, executive director of the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation (FAFG, according to its Spanish acronym), told Al Jazeera. Tubin Poyon was a community leader in his Indigenous Maya Kaqchikel community, located about 76km (47 miles) from the capital Guatemala City, and was working to improve access to services, including potable water. That is what drew the attention of the military, said his daughter. The family fled San Juan Comalapa to live in a municipality close to Guatemala City after learning of threats against them. But they suffered from extreme poverty in their new location and on September 13, 1981, her father returned to San Juan Comalapa to pick up money to support his family. He was stopped, detained, and beaten by the military on the main road into town, according to witnesses. Then, Tubin Poyon was taken to the military encampment at the entrance to the town, tied and never seen again, witnesses also said. Unmarked graves Since the conflict came to an end, the former military encampment at the entrance to San Juan Comalapa has sat as an open wound for Indigenous residents – and a symbol of enduring pain and myriad questions about the disappearances of their loved ones. Unmarked graves were discovered at the former encampment after families of the disappeared approached Guatemala’s public prosecutor’s office with stories and personal accounts of the disappearances. In total, independent investigators uncovered the remains of 220 people in 53 grave sites between 2003 and 2005 at the site of the former military encampment. Of those 220, the FAFG was initially able to identify 48. Since 2018, it has identified 19 more. The foundation opened its lab in 2008, but did not make its first identifications until 2011, said Peccerelli. Overall, its experts have found more than 8,000 remains in clandestine graves in former military encampments, municipal cemeteries, and along highways across Guatemala. Nearly 4,000 of these remains have been identified. “Every family member that we have worked with hopes their family member is alive,” Peccerelli said. “But that doesn’t mean you should stop looking also among the dead – as hard as that sounds and as hard as that is.” Identification is a long and expensive process, one that is hindered by resistance from the military to provide information and a lack of political will to establish a commission to find the victims of the bloodiest period of the war, between 1979 to 1984. But the dedication of families to find their loved ones and the work of the FAFG have allowed for the establishment of an archive of DNA profiles that the remains can be compared to. It can take years to identify the victims, as Peccerelli explained the process depends on having DNA samples from different living family members. The FAFG maintains a database of family members of the disappeared and has an active campaign for people to provide their DNA so that it can be potentially matched with found remains. “It’s literally looking for a needle in a haystack,” he said. “And a lot of it is just the coincidence of finding the right body at the right time and the right family at the right time and having those two match within the database.” At the memorial site, Tubin thinks often of what her father would say about her trajectory in the last 40 years. Her parents had limited opportunities, but she managed to study, became a professor of sociology, and is finishing her doctorate. Her father’s remains have not been found, nor has Tubin’s DNA been matched to any of the remains the FAFG has identified. But the search continues. “The search for my father has helped me,” Tubin said. “It has helped me more than [for my siblings]. They haven’t wanted to search, saying it is better to forget. But it isn’t easy [to forget].” A global problem Guatemalan families are not alone in the search for disappeared loved ones, either. Efforts to locate individuals missing from war, human rights abuses, and migration are under way in Iraq, Syria, the Balkans, Sri Lanka, Colombia, and Mexico, among other places in the world. In the last 30 years, advocates have pushed for states to help search and identify the disappeared as a key step on the path to truth and healing. “Embracing that and ensuring that states take responsibility to find all missing persons, regardless of what category they’re missing in, is critical,” Kathryne Bomberger, director-general of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), told Al Jazeera. “It’s really difficult and it’s difficult because often states or political actors acting on their behalf are responsible for these disappearances,” she said. Regional cooperation in the Balkans led to the discovery of 3,000 clandestine graves in the region, as well as the identification of more than 70 percent of the 40,000 disappeared during conflicts in the region between 1991 to 1995. “Finding missing persons requires a post-conflict environment where the state can assume its responsibility,” Bomberger said. “So it is complicated.” Continued challenges Even in post-conflict societies, investigators can continue to face barriers. Back in Guatemala, in spite of advances in the search for the missing, the country’s congress has shown a lack of interest in approving legislation that would assist in the search for those missing from the war. In 2007, families and advocates for the victims of the war requested the approval of a law that would establish a commission to search for the 45,000 victims, but it was never approved. So the search is largely left up to the families and organisations like the FAFG, which is largely funded through grants. “It is important to continue the search for the disappeared and identify them,” Jordan Rodas, the country’s human rights ombudsman, told Al Jazeera. “But the government of Guatemala does not show the political will to assist thousands of families to find their loved ones.” Nevertheless, Guatemala is one of a handful of countries in which independent investigators have successfully worked to locate and identify those who disappeared during an internal armed conflict. The FAFG has also launched a school to share its experience with investigators from other countries, including Mexico, Colombia, and Sri Lanka. Investigators from around the world regularly travel to Guatemala to learn the techniques and lessons of the national search. One of the key steps, said Peccerelli, is to create specialised, interdisciplinary teams that can focus on searching for the disappeared specifically – and make connections to victims’ families and wider communities. “The biggest mistake is trying to just absorb searching for the disappeared into your normal forensic caseload,” he said. “You need other types of experts. You need to be able to gain people’s trust. You need to be able to be with the community.” © 2021 Al Jazeera Media Network

Nine years after she was sworn in, International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda ended her term last week with one final, striking mark on Southeast Asia. In a damning, 57-page request for judicial investigation, Bensouda wrote that there was reasonable basis to form a crimes against humanity case in the Philippines’ ‘war on drugs’. ‘Following a thorough preliminary examination process, the available information indicates that members of the Philippine National Police, and others acting in concert with them, have unlawfully killed between several thousand and tens of thousands of civilians during that time,’ Prosecutor Bensouda, said in a statement released last Monday. If judges decide to take up the case, something rights lawyers believe to be a distinct possibility, it will prove a rare chance of justice for countless grieving families. ‘It’s 3am and I feel like crying. For the dead I’ve seen and their kin I tried to comfort. Thank you ICC,’ tweeted Raquel Fortun, a forensic pathologist who has autopsied countless victims of the drug war and been outspoken about the evidence that they were murdered extrajudicially. Bensouda’s request names President Rodrigo Duterte along with several others, and makes repeated mention of the similarities between the war on drug killings and those carried out in the late 1980s by the ‘Davao death squad’ when Duterte was Davao City mayor. Duterte, who publicly called for drug addicts to be killed on multiple occasions, has shown little interest in efforts to investigate or punish those complicit. The Philippines announced it was pulling out of the ICC in 2018, shortly after Bensouda opened her examination. After last week’s announcement, a spokesman said the Philippines would not participate in an investigation as it was not a court member. But in her request, Bensouda argues that the court still has jurisdiction—as the Philippines was indeed a member during the years that the investigation covers. The prosecutor has a history of savvy legal manoeuvres around the question of jurisdiction. Most famously in Southeast Asia, judges agreed to allow her office to open a probe into possible crimes against humanity committed against the Rohingya. Though Myanmar is not a state party to the ICC, Bangladesh is, and Bensouda in 2019 successfully convinced the court that investigations into the enforced cross-border deportations of hundreds of thousands fell under its purview. As anyone who has watched the Khmer Rouge tribunal in Cambodia can attest, in few places do the wheels of justice grind more slowly than in international justice. Even if the court accepts Bensouda’s final request, it is unlikely to leave a mark on the Philippines, let alone Duterte and his brutal policies, anytime soon. But for some, the solace of seeing a loved one’s murder classed as such may bring a peace of its own. © 2021 Mekong Review

By Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic Editor at the Guardian Three main rivals congratulate candidate whose election is likely to unlock talks on reviving nuclear deal Image Credit: The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/19/iran-presidential-election-result-raisi-hemmati ) Ebrahim Raisi, the hardline head of Iran’s judiciary, has been hailed the country’s new president after his three main rivals congratulated him on his victory and preliminary results showed he had secured 17.8m votes, a huge 14.5m more than his nearest rival. With 90% of the votes counted, Iranian officials said 28.6 million people had cast their ballots. More than 41 million did so in 2017. Official results will be published later on Saturday, but it appears Raisi secured well over 50% of the vote, avoiding the need for a runoff. Raisi issued a victory statement, saying he will form a “hard-working, anti-corruption and revolutionary” cabinet. He added he would be president of all those who voted for him, those who didn’t vote for him and even those who didn’t vote at all. His victory means all the arms of government, elected and unelected, are in the grip of conservatives, ending the uneasy dualism of the past eight years when the outgoing centrist president, Hassan Rouhani, found himself at odds with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and conservative clerics. Rouhani’s presidency became increasingly unpopular as the US imposed sanctions that deprived ordinary Iranians of the economic benefits he had promised would come from signing the 2015 nuclear deal with Washington. The conservative Mohsen Rezaei, and the centrist former head of the central bank Abdolnaser Hemmati both sent their congratulations to Raisi. Rezaei secured 3.3m votes and Hemmati 2.4m. Raisi secured 15.8m votes when he stood in 2017 and was soundly beaten. Hemmati, the only non-conservative on the ballot who was seen as the main ideological challenger, arguably did not have enough time in the brief three-week campaign to shape his appeal or an attack on Raisi. All prominent reformist candidates were disqualified from the ballot by the 12-strong unelected Guardian Council. Hemmati said on his Instagram page that he hoped Raisi would bring prosperity and better livelihoods for the “great Iranian nation”. His campaign was hampered by being a key steward of the economy at a time when inflation eroded the living standards of the middle class. In a televised speech, Rouhani acknowledged “the people’s elected president” without naming him. “Because it has not been officially announced yet, I will delay the official congratulations, but it is clear who received the votes,” he said. The messages Raisi has received suggest disputes over the count, something that have marked previous campaigns, are unlikely. Initial published results on turnout indicate the campaign to mount a boycott due to the systematic exclusion of all reformists candidates was only partially successful. Turnout was down compared with the last presidential election four years ago, but many thought it more important not to relinquish their right to vote. Raisi’s election under US sanctions is paradoxically likely to unlock talks in Vienna on the terms for Washington’s return to the nuclear deal and Iran’s return to full compliance. Iranian officials insisted throughout the election campaign that an internal consensus existed on the country’s negotiating stance, and Raisi’s elevation will not change that position. The talks between Iran, Russia, China and three European states have in effect been on hold waiting for the outcome of the election, partly because the Iranian presidency did not wish to give the reformists a potential political gift of the sanctions being lifted before the vote. Raisi does not take over from the outgoing administration until next month, and talks in Vienna will resume before then. The US took steps as the polls closed on Friday afternoon to lift a series of barriers to sending humanitarian aid to Tehran. The country has suffered 82,746 deaths from coronavirus in four waves. Sanam Valiki, the deputy director at the Middle East programme at the London thinktank Chatham House, said: “This election is consequential because of the expected conservative reconsolidation of elected and unelected institutions not seen since the 2005 election of populist, neoconservative president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “A conservative victory under the stewardship of leading candidate Ebrahim Raisi will pave the way for a broader internal consensus on domestic reform in preparation of the supreme leader succession contest and likely provide greater assertiveness in Tehran’s position as it engages in international diplomacy in Vienna and beyond. “Raisi’s victory portends poorly for any meaningful liberalisation trends and reveals the conservative political establishment’s confidence in asserting its agenda.” Asked about the disqualifications of candidates, the foreign minister, Javad Zarif, said: “Many of us were surprised and disappointed but at the end of the day Ebrahim Raisi is the president of all Iranians.” Zarif, probably the best known Iranian politician in the west, has said little during the campaign, and had rejected numerous appeals by reformists to stand, possibly knowing security forces would oppose him. He added: “People’s apathy is a problem. We need to be careful and look in a sober way, without blaming one another, as to why people are not turning out in the numbers we expected.” Meanwhile, the Iranian embassy in London has made an official complaint after an Iranian woman seeking to cast her vote on Friday in the presidential elections in Birmingham was physically attacked. A video put on Twitter by the Iranian charge d’affaires, Hosseini Matin, showed a fight breaking out at the entrance to the polling station. He said on Twitter he had been in contact with the family. The UK ambassador to Iran, Rob Macaire, was also summoned by the Iranian foreign ministry. The Iranians claimed three people had been arrested. © 2021 The Guardian. All rights reserved.

Posts ranging from wanted posters to death threats remain online for months, breaching platform’s own standards. The Global Witness report said the Facebook content promoted in Myanmar advocating violence against coup protesters showed self-regulation was not working. Photograph: Stringer/Reuters Facebook is promoting content that incites violence against Myanmar’s coup protesters and amplifies junta misinformation, despite promising to clamp down on the misuse of its platform, according to a study. An investigation by the rights group Global Witness found that Facebook’s recommendation algorithm continues to invite users to view content that breaches its own policies. After liking a Myanmar military fan page, which did not contain recent posts violating Facebook’s policies, the rights group found that Facebook suggested several pro-military pages that contained abusive content. Among the posts featured on one of the pages was an image of a “wanted” poster offering a $10m bounty for the capture “dead or alive” of a young woman. The post claimed she was among protesters who had burned down a factory following a military crackdown. Images of the woman’s face and a screenshot of what appeared to be her Facebook profile were posted alongside a caption reading: “This girl is the one who committed arson in Hlaing Tharyar. Her account has been deactivated. But she cannot run.” Global Witness said that its report demonstrated that self-regulation by Facebook was not working, and called for Facebook’s recommendation algorithm to be subject to independent audit. Other posts identified by Global Witness included a death threat, the glorification of military violence and misinformation, such as the incorrect claims that Isis is present in Myanmar, and that the military had seized power due to “voter fraud”. The military has accused Aung San Suu Kyi’s party of vote rigging in last year’s election in order to justify February’s coup – a suggestion that has been discredited by observers, including by the independent monitoring group Asian Network for Free Elections. Facebook said in February that it would remove false claims of widespread fraud or foreign interference in Myanmar’s November election from its site. It also said it had banned military-controlled state and media entities, and introduced a specific policy for Myanmar “to remove praise, support and advocacy of violence by Myanmar security forces and protestors”. Content that supported the arrests of civilians by the military and security forces in Myanmar would be removed under this policy. A spokesperson for Facebook said its staff “closely monitor” the situation in Myanmar in real time and has taken action on any posts, pages or groups that break its rules. However, content identified by Global Witness has remained online for months, according to the rights group. Separate analysis by the Guardian found numerous recent examples of posts that also appeared to breach Facebook’s standards: In one post from 19 June, which received more than 500 likes, an image showed a man with a bloodied face and rope tied around his neck. The caption states: “This is how you should arrest them”, referring to protesters. Posts often mock and encourage violence against protesters. One post, also from 19 June referred to a recent flower strike, where protesters wore flowers to mark Aung San Suu Kyi’s 76th birthday, stating: “Every single one of the real men that wore the flowers in public today must be killed … Trash. They all need to be killed so that the children will not have the wrong role models.” The post was liked 175 times. Another post, from 1 June, targeted children. It showed an image of students outside their school, with a sign that states: “We are students and we will go to school. You are criminals, and you will go to prison.” Many children have not returned to school, despite orders to do so by the junta. The post had been liked more than 4,300 times. Posts often share misinformation, for example, blaming pro-democracy politicians for leading “terrorists”. A post states “only real news outlets in this country are MOI, MRTV and MWD and other state-run news”, referring to military-controlled channels. Facebook has previously acknowledged that its platform has been misused in Myanmar, where it is hugely popular and influential. The site is used by almost half the population and, for many, it is the primary way of accessing the internet. In 2018, following the massacre of Rohingya Muslims by the military, Facebook admitted that its platform had been used to “foment division and incite offline violence”. A UN fact-finding mission drew similar conclusions the same year, stating that Facebook had been “a useful instrument for those seeking to spread hate” and that the response of the company had been “slow and ineffective”. In February, Facebook said its staff were working around the clock to keep its platform safe. The coup greatly increased the likelihood “that online threats could lead to offline harm”, Facebook said at the time. The Global Witness report also called for Facebook to further investigate other types of content it hosted, including the circulation of forced confession videos by political prisoners, military adverts, and posts that amplified military propaganda – such as the claims that the army is acting in a measured way. In a statement, Facebook said: “We proactively detect 99% of the hate speech removed from Facebook in Myanmar, and our ban of the Tatmadaw [military] and repeated disruption of coordinated inauthentic behaviour has made it harder for people to misuse our services to spread harm. This is a highly adversarial issue and we continue to take action on content that violates our policies to help keep people safe.” © 2021 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies.

Published by BBC on June 24, 2021. A makeshift memorial has grown around the site of the former Kamloops residential school (Getty Images) An indigenous group in Canada says it has found 751 unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school in Saskatchewan. The Cowessess First Nation said the discovery was "the most significantly substantial to date in Canada". It comes weeks after the remains of 215 children were found at a similar residential school in British Columbia. "We are not asking for pity, but we are asking for understanding," said Cowessess Chief Cadmus Delorme. Such compulsory boarding schools were run by the Canadian government and religious authorities during the 19th and 20th Centuries with the aim of assimilating indigenous youth. Last month, the Cowessess began to use ground-penetrating radar to locate unmarked graves at the cemetery of the Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan. The Cowessess called the discovery "horrific and shocking". The group is set to release further details during a news conference on Thursday. Perry Bellegarde, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations described the finding of the graves as "tragic but not surprising". "I urge all Canadians to stand with First Nations in this extremely difficult and emotional time," he wrote on Twitter. Between 1863 and 1998, more than 150,000 indigenous children were taken from their families and placed in these schools. The children were often not allowed to speak their language or to practice their culture, and many were mistreated and abused. A commission launched in 2008 to document the impacts of this system found that large numbers of indigenous children never returned to their home communities. In 2008, the Canadian government formally apologised for the system. © 2021 BBC.