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☆ Why Israel's push into Gaza is killing so many children
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Lila Hassan | Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Children account for a startlingly high share of Palestinians killed in Gaza — roughly 41%. The overwhelming majority of the children — a reported 3,542 as of October 30, as compared to more than 30 children reportedly killed on the Israeli side — have been Palestinians living in Gaza. On Sunday, international humanitarian organization Save The Children said that the number of children killed in Gaza in three weeks surpasses the total number of children killed in all global conflict zones since 2019. 'A growing stain on our collective conscience'Children constitute 41% of the 8,525 Palestinians killed in Gaza, according to the health ministry. Since 2019, the court has had an open investigation into potential Israeli war crimes.

Persons: —, Joe Biden, Omar Shakir, Shakir, Mohammed Abed, Israel, Brian Finucane, Finucane, HuffPost, Al, HRW's, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Isaac Herzog, Herzog, Karim A.A, Khan, Khan's, Tahani Mustafa, Mustafa, Lila Hassan, hassan.com Mattathias Schwartz Organizations: Service, Palestinian Health Ministry, Hamas, Ahli Baptist Hospital, Health Ministry, United Nations, World Health Organization, UN, Human Rights Watch, Palestinian, Getty, State Department, Crisis, ISIS, UNICEF, Department, Israel Defense Forces, Law, IDF, Military, of Defense, ICC, New York Times, Israeli Air Force Locations: Israel, Gaza, Al, Ahli, Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, Palestine, Northern Gaza, Al Jazeera, HRW's Israel, Cairo, Lila@lila, schwartz79@protonmail.com

☆ The Biden administration wants to know if Saudi Arabia used American weapons to kill 'hundreds' of migrants
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The United States is investigating a report that Saudi Arabia killed "hundreds" of migrants. Human Rights Watch said border guards in Saudi Arabia killed scores of migrants in Yemen. The attacks included the use of explosive weapons and execution-style killings of people who had just been released from detention in Saudi Arabia itself, the group charged. AdvertisementAdvertisementIn the report, HRW cited eyewitnesses who reported migrants being struck by mortar fire as they approached the Saudi border. Saudi Arabia has denied the allegation.

Persons: Biden, Bill Frelick, Frelick, Michal Ratney Organizations: Rights Watch, Service, The Washington Post, Ethiopian, The Washington, HRW, Saudi, Associated Press Locations: States, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Wall, Silicon, Saudi, United States, Washington, Ethiopia

☆ Podcast: Fukushima's release, Prigozhin's video, Panama Canal gridlock and HRW's Saudi report
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Japan said it would begin the release of treated radioactive water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant this week. Human Rights Watch accuses Saudi border guards of killing hundreds of Ethiopian migrants at the Yemen border. Donald Trump plans to turn himself in to Georgia prosecutors on Thursday. Plus, Thailand's fugitive ex-PM returns and the Panama Canal experiences gridlock. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices.

Persons: Donald Trump, Africa Trump Organizations: Apple, Google, Reuters, Rights Watch, Thomson Locations: Japan, Saudi, Yemen, Georgia, Panama, Africa

Human Rights Watch/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsDUBAI/HARAR, Ethiopia, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian border guards have killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants, including women and children, who attempted enter the kingdom along its mountainous border with Yemen, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday. In a 73-page report, the rights group said Saudi guards used explosive weapons to kill some migrants and shot at others from close range. Saudi authorities have also strongly denied allegations made by U.N. officials in 2022 that border guards systematically killed migrants last year. HRW said it based its report on witness testimony as well as 350 videos and photos of wounded and killed migrants, and satellite imagery showing the location of Saudi Arabian guard posts. A letter issued by the kingdom's U.N. mission in March 2023 rejected the allegation, saying that Saudi border security regulations "ensure humane treatment...no form of mistreatment or torture is tolerated."

Persons: U.N, Nadia Hardman, Hardman, Mustafa Sofian Mohammed, Mustafa, Sofian Mohammed Abdulla, Mustafa's, Stephane Dujarric, Andrew Mills, Emma Farge, Daphne Psaledakis, Dawit, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Human Rights, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Rights Watch, Saudi, Ethiopian, Reuters, State Department, Al, Al Thawra Hospital, International Organization for Migration, Hallelujah, HRW, Rehabilitation, Torture, UN Human Rights, Gulf Bureau, Tiksa, Milan Pavicic, Thomson Locations: Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Rights DUBAI, HARAR, Saudi Arabian, Saudi, Addis Ababa, U.S, Tigray, Horn of Africa, Aden, Ethiopian, Harar, Al Thawra, Sanaa, Addis, New York, Gulf, Tiksa Negeri, Milan, Gdansk, Geneva, Washington

☆ ICC ruling opens way to investigation on killings in Philippines
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In a ruling on July 18, the ICC appeals judges rejected an attempt by the Philippines to block an investigation into the bloody anti-narcotics campaign of former President Rodrigo Duterte. A majority of judges rejected all four points of Manila's appeal, including that the ICC has no jurisdiction in the Philippines and that authorities there were conducting their own investigation. "The ICC appeals judges' ruling marks the next step toward justice for victims of 'drug war' killings and their families," Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said in a statement. The decision left some of the families of drug war victims in tears after they watched the court proceeding online. But appeals judges ruled prosecutors still had jurisdiction over the alleged crimes because they occurred when the Philippines was still an ICC member.

Persons: Rodrigo Duterte, Harry Roque, Roque, Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, Bryony Lau, Kristina Conti, HRW's Lau, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Anthony Deutsch, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Neil Jerome Morales, Eloisa Lopez, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Emma Rumney, Alex Richardson Organizations: Criminal Court, ICC, Philippine, Human Rights Watch, Duterte, Police, Thomson Locations: AMSTERDAM, MANILA, Philippines, Manila, Asia, Amsterdam

Concluding his visit on Thursday, Secretary of State Blinken told reporters he raised human rights issues with Saudi officials and "made clear that progress on human rights strengthens our relationship." "Human rights are always on the agenda of the United States - that’s who we are," he said during a news conference. But some rights advocates argue the golf deal shows the administration has chosen geopolitics over human rights. New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) says scores of human rights activists and dissidents are in prison or on trial in Saudi Arabia and that the repression "spiked" following Biden's visit last year. The list included prominent cleric Salman al-Odah, children of former spy chief Saad al-Jabri, human rights defender Mohammed al-Qahtani and aid worker Abdulrahman al-Sadhan.

Persons: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Joe Biden, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Jamal Khashoggi, LIV, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Biden, Seth Binder, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Sarah Yager, Salman al, Saad al, Mohammed al, Abdulrahman, Saad Ibrahim Almadi, Tess McEnery, Humeyra Pamuk, Simon Lewis, Arshad Mohammed, Don Durfee, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Saudi Crown, Al, Saudi Royal Court, REUTERS, Saudi, Public Investment Fund, North, MbS, PGA, East Democracy, Biden, Rights Watch, Saudi Foreign, U.S, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Bandar, REUTERS RIYADH, WASHINGTON, U.S, Riyadh, Washington, United States, Yemen, New York, China, Israel, OPEC, Russia, Florida

☆ Harvard school reverses course, will extend fellowship to human rights advocate
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The fellowship was subject to approval by Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf. Kathryn Sikkink, a human rights academic at the Kennedy School, told The Nation magazine earlier this month that Elmendorf told her he rejected the appointment because of what he called HRW's "anti-Israel bias." In an email to the community on Thursday, shared by a Harvard Kennedy School spokesperson, Elmendorf said he believed he had made an error. I hope that our community will be able to benefit from his deep experience in a wide range of human rights issues," Elmendorf said. Elmendorf in the email said his earlier decision not to award the fellowship had not been influenced by donors or "made to limit debate at the Kennedy School about human rights in any country."

☆ Harvard school in row over fellowship for human rights advocate
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Simon Lewis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 10 (Reuters) - The prestigious Kennedy School at Harvard University is under fire over a decision not to award a fellowship to the former head of Human Rights Watch, which one academic said was due to the campaigner's criticism of Israel's treatment of Palestinians. The school's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy last year approached Kenneth Roth, who served as HRW's executive director from 1993 to 2022, and agreed on the terms of a fellowship, according to both Roth and the Carr Center. The fellowship was subject to approval by Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf. Kathryn Sikkink, a human rights academic at the Kennedy School, told The Nation magazine that Elmendorf told her he rejected the appointment because of what he called HRW's "anti-Israel bias." Harvard Kennedy School spokesperson James Smith said by email that Elmendorf decided not to appoint Roth "based on an evaluation of the candidate’s potential contributions to the Kennedy School," adding that the school does not discuss such deliberations.

☆ Qatar police stop protest by British LGBT activist
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Andrew Mills | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Veteran British LGBTs rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, holds a sign in front of the National Museum of Qatar reading "Qatar arrests, jails & subjects LGBTs to 'conversion' #QatarAntiGay", in Doha, Qatar, October 25, 2022. REUTERS/Obtained by ReutersDOHA, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Qatari police on Tuesday stopped a one-man protest by British LGBT activist Peter Tatchell outside the national museum of the Gulf Arab state which hosts soccer's World Cup next month. "Rumours on social media that a representative from the Peter Tatchell Foundation has been arrested in Qatar are completely false and without merit," it said in a statement. Human Rights Watch on Monday said security forces in Qatar arbitrarily arrested and abused LGBT Qataris as recently as last month. Qatar expects 1.2 million visitors during the tournament, creating an unprecedented logistical and policing challenge for the tiny state.

☆ HRW says Qatar has detained and mistreated LGBT people ahead of World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A Qatari official said in a statement that HRW's allegations "contain information that is categorically and unequivocally false," without specifying. "Freedom of expression and nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity should be guaranteed, permanently, for all residents of Qatar, not just spectators going to Qatar for the World Cup," HRW said in a statement. They were detained without charge in an underground prison in Doha, HRW said, and one individual was held for two months in solitary confinement. "All six said that police forced them to sign pledges indicating that they would 'cease immoral activity'," it said, adding that transgender women detainees were mandated to attend conversion therapy sessions at a government-sponsored clinic. One of the transgender Qatari women interviewed by HRW told Reuters on condition of anonymity that she was arrested several times, most recently this summer when she was held for several weeks.

☆ Lebanon to resume sending refugees back to war-damaged Syria
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Timour Azhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Lebanon hosts the highest number of refugees per capita in the world. The plan would not involve the United Nations, which maintains that conditions in Syria do not allow for the large-scale return of refugees. The Lebanon office of the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said it was "not facilitating or promoting the large-scale voluntary repatriation of refugees to Syria." New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in July that "Syria is anything but safe for returnees". In its September report, the United Nations' Syria commission said the country was still not safe for returnees.

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