Feeling Like Prisoners: The Plight of Rohingya Refugees Today
Al Jazeera, 25 Aug 2022
Five years ago, a violent campaign by security forces in Myanmar sparked a mass exodus of about 730,000 Rohingya, who – carrying their belongings on their backs and sometimes crowding onto makeshift bamboo and jerry-can rafts – fled in search of safety. Most headed to neighbouring Bangladesh.
Egyptian NGOs Complain of Being Shut Out of Cop27 Climate Summit
The Guardian, 24 Aug 2022
A group of Egyptian civil society organisations have been prevented from attending the Cop27 climate summit by a covert registration process that filtered out groups critical of the Egyptian government.
Iran: Stop Ruthless Attacks on Persecuted Baha’i Religious Minority
Amnesty International , 24 Aug 2022
The Iranian authorities’ persecution of the Baha’i religious minority has increased in intensity with a recent flurry of raids, arbitrary arrests, home demolitions and land grabs, Amnesty International said today. Since 31 July 2022, Ministry of Intelligence agents have raided and confiscated dozens of Baha’i properties and arrested at least 30 members of the Baha’i community on account of their faith in various cities throughout Iran. The authorities have subjected many more to interrogations and/or forced them to wear electronic ankle bracelets. The Ministry of Intelligence announced on 1 August that those arrested were “core members of Baha’i espionage party” who “propagated Baha’i teachings” and “sought to infiltrate various levels of the educational sector across the country, especially kindergartens”.
New Beirut Port Silo Collapse Brings Back Blast Trauma
Al Jazeera, 23 Aug 2022
The northern section of the grain silos damaged two years ago by a deadly blast at the Beirut port has collapsed after warnings the structure was leaning too far to stay up. A cloud of dust rose over the port early on Tuesday after the collapse, which brought down eight more silos that were more heavily damaged in the blast and where a fire has been burning since July.
Singapore: UN Rights Chief Welcomes Repeal of Colonial-Era Law Banning Sex Between Men
UN News, 22 Aug 2022
The UN human rights chief on Monday welcomed the announcement from the Prime Minister of Singapore, that the city State would move to repeal a law known as 377A, which for decades has criminalized sex between men.
Kenyan Candidate Challenges Results in Supreme Court
The Washington Post, 22 Aug 2022
After a week of refusing to concede defeat, former prime minister Raila Odinga on Monday filed a petition in Kenya’s Supreme Court outlining his case that Deputy President William Ruto’s victory was “illegal, invalid, null and void.” Odinga’s widely expected court challenge will launch the next phase in the closely contested election, which pitted two of the country’s most established politicians against each other and was marred by division among members of Kenya’s independent electoral commission. Minutes before the electoral commission’s chair, Wafula Chebukati, announced last week that Ruto had won about 50.5 percent of the vote, compared with Odinga’s 48.5 percent, four of seven members declared they could not stand by the results because of the “opaque nature” of the process.
