Myanmar: UN to investigate human right abuses against Rohingya Muslims

Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday that the UN is sending a fact-finding team to investigate alleged human rights abuses against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. Myanmar’s military has been accused of killing and raping Rohingya Muslims, a persecuted minority group, in a crackdown in Northern Rakhine state in western Myanmar last year. In February, a UN report accused Myanmar’s security forces of carrying out mass rapes and killings, possibility amounting to crimes against humanity. According to the UN’s statement, the team will also look into allegations of arbitrary detention, torture and inhuman treatment, enforced disappearances, forced displacement and unlawful destruction of property by security forces. http://bit.ly/2rBHwft

Amnesty International warns Nigeria to avoid repression of Biafra day protests

All Africa reported on Tuesday that Amnesty International have warned the Nigerian security forces to exercise restraint when policing demonstrations marking the 50th Anniversary of…

Disappearance of four activists in Pakistan

DNA India reported on Monday that the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed serious concern over the enforced disappearance of four political activists in the southeastern Sindh province. HRCP is particularly concerned over political activists being picked up from different villages in a coordinated manner. http://bit.ly/2ricnfZ

Mass grave of 150 human remains discovered in central Vietnam

A Vietnamese media outlet, VnExpress, reported on Monday that a mass grave containing 150 sets of human remains has been found in the central area of the country. A statement from the forensic biology testing center at the Ministry of Public Security’s Criminal Science Institute said the bone samples dated back more than 150 years. The remains probably belong to anti-French insurgents from the 19th century. Samples have been sent for DNA testing. http://bit.ly/2r6CLJv

G7 summit offers little help to Italy on issue of migrants and refugees

TRT,…

Missing children in Nigeria

The Nigerian Newspaper, Daily Trust, carried a story on Saturday about Nigeria’s many missing children. The article cites a figure of more than 40 children under the age of three who have gone missing recently. Parents of the missing have formed an informal association; they complain that the authorities have failed to address the situation. One of the major challenges is a lack of police data on cases of children going missing, the article says. http://bit.ly/2qtSn6R

Yemen: Call for detainees to be released during Ramadan

ReliefWeb carried a story on Saturday on a Human Rights Watch statement calling on Yemen’s warring sides to meet their legal obligations and release those held arbitrarily, during the holy month of Ramadan. “Houthi-Saleh forces, Yemeni-government forces, and forces backed by the United Arab Emirates should free those arbitrarily held, ensure detainees have access to lawyers and family members, and reveal the…

Libyan coastguard accused of firing on refugees

The Independent reported on Thursday that members of the EU-backed Libyan coastguard have allegedly opened fire while forcing refugees back to the war-torn country in the latest clash with international rescue ships. The incident occurred during the deadliest period recorded so far, as more than 30 migrants, including several toddlers and children, drowned in the Mediterranean. Tensions have been rising as the number of smugglers’ boats launched from Libya has risen to record levels with improving weather, seeing almost 60,000 people arrive in Italy so far this year and more than 1,500 killed attempting the world’s deadliest crossing. http://ind.pn/2qcHkD6

Nepal: politicians and military resist war-crimes investigations

The Mail Online carried a Reuters story yesterday stating that political parties and security forces in Nepal that are accused of war crimes during the country’s decade-long civil war are hampering efforts to bring justice to tens of…

“More than 100 cases of enforced disappearances in Egypt in 2017”

The Middle East Monitor on Wednesday carried a story on a report issued by a group called Stop Enforced Disappearance. The report says that 107 people were forcibly disappeared in Egypt in 2017. Of these, 99 people have been located while eight are still missing. According to the report, 45 people were held in custody, six were released, one was convicted in court, three were released without trial and four were acquitted. The fate of the remaining 40 people could not be definitively determined, but a majority are believed to be still in detention. Egypt’s Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar said in an earlier statement that “there is no enforced disappearance in Egypt. http://bit.ly/2qeoED0

Ezidi activist highlights continuing plight of captives

On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Iraqi parliamentarian and Ezidi activist Vian Dakhil has urged other Ezidis to stand for…

Malaysia: police investigate missing persons support group

The Sun, a news portal from Malaysia, reports today that police in Malaysia are investigating a group that alleged official involvement in several cases of missing activists. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the matter is being investigated under Section 504 (b) of the Penal Code, which deals with intentional insult to provoke a breach of the peace. The activist group, known as Citizen Action Group on Enforced Disappearance (CAGED), has claimed that cases of missing persons, including those of Pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife Ruth, social activist Amri Che Mat, and Pastor Raymond Koh, were enforced disappearances. http://bit.ly/2rPnRFY

UNHCR urges Libya to free asylum seekers and refugees from detention centers

Radio France Internationale reported on Tuesday that UNHCR has urged Libyan authorities to free all asylum seekers and refugees from detention centers, describing these centers as “inhumane”. In…

Cholera takes hold in war-weary Yemen

The Gulf Times reported on Monday that a cholera outbreak in Yemen has killed 315 and is suspected to have infected more than 29,300 since 27 April, according to the Ministry of Health. The country’s overcrowded prisons could be an ideal place for quick spread of the disease, the report says. Thousands of families have no contact with relatives detained in connection with the conflict and enforced disappearances and allegations of ill-treatment and deteriorating conditions further add to the plight of detainees and to families’ anxiety. http://bit.ly/2qPZiKC

Gambia: How to deal with past injustice

On Monday, All Africa carried a story on transitional justice in Gambia. The government has indicated that it is looking into the truth and reconciliation mechanism, the report says, while steps are also being taken to put security officials from the previous regime on trial. http://bit.ly/2q5PDRm

Human rights have greatly diminished…