Having trouble viewing this email? Read it on the web.
| An Aerial photo shows Malian Army vehicles patrolling near the town of Konna on March 20, 2021. © 2021 Michele Cattani/AFP via Getty Images |
|
|
|
A Deadly Alliance Behind New Atrocities in MaliMalian armed forces and foreign fighters apparently from the Russia-linked Wagner Group have summarily executed and forcibly disappeared several dozen civilians in Mali’s central region since December 2022. They are also responsible for alleged torture and destroying civilian property. HRW interviewed people for a new report who said armed forces committed the abuses during operations against Islamist armed groups. In most operations, witnesses reported the involvement of foreign armed men who they described as “white,” “Russians,” or “Wagner." The Wagner Group is a private military security company run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a once-close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin before tensions between the Russian defense ministry and Wagner Group escalated in Russia on June 24. Mali’s government has said Russian military instructors were in the country as part of an agreement with Russia but denied the presence of Wagner fighters. Russia’s own foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, however, recently confirmed that the Wagner Group “provides security services” to the Malian government and are in the country working as instructors. Hostilities have intensified across Mali since 2022 as armed forces and affiliated foreign fighters have conducted operations against Islamist-armed groups. These operations have often resulted in serious abuses against civilians. The violence has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis, with 8.8 million people requiring assistance and 412,000 people forced from their homes. A 15,000-member United Nations peacekeeping force stationed in Mali as part of a stabilization mission is set to leave at the end of the year when its mission formally ends. This makes it even more crucial for Malian authorities to prevent abuses during military operations and protect civilians. Read More |
| US players celebrate winning the Women’s World Cup final soccer match against The Netherlands at the Stade de Lyon in France, July 7, 2019. © 2019 AP Photo/Francisco Seco |
|
|
|
Women’s World Cup: A Long Way to Go for Equality |
You’d think with such global fanfare and enormous spending around the Women’s World Cup tournament that its governing body, FIFA, would treat players on the field with respect and pay them a fair living wage. Think again. In many countries, women and girls must fight even to get onto the playing field. And once they do, they face threats and retaliation, unfair pay, harassment, and sexual assault. FIFA has a dismal record in protecting women and girls in football. FIFA President Gianna Infantino promised in June that every player in the tournament would get at least $30,000. But now Infantino, whose base salary and bonus package is $3.9 million, is reneging. At a news conference opening the games he said that how and whether women players are paid would be up to national soccer federations. After significant pressure, FIFA increased this year’s pool of prize money for the Women’s World Cup to $110 million. But the pool was $440 million in the 2022 Men’s World Cup, up from $400 million in 2018. There’s plenty of money to ensure a living wage to women players. With FIFA’s expected $11 billion in revenue in the 2026 World Cup cycle, it is only gender discrimination that keeps FIFA from leveling the pay playing field at the Women’s World Cup. Read More |
| Azimjon Askarov, a human rights defender and advocate for marginalized communities in southern Kyrgyzstan, should have turned 72 this year. Instead, he died in prison in 2020 while being held on bogus charges. Read More |
|
| A UN Security Council-mandated assessment on the approach to Afghanistan’s crisis should prioritize human rights, especially those of women and girls, and should center the voices of survivors of rights violations. Read More |
|
| Brazil had the highest number of registered rape cases in its history in 2022: 74,930, according to a recent report. In more than 60 percent of the cases, the survivor was under 14 years old. Read More |
|
Test Your Human Rights Knowledge Know your human rights news? Take our weekly quiz and see how you stack up. Find It Here |
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten