U.S. Exits Human Rights Council | Australia Probes Harassment | Yemen Prisoners

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. June 20, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA U.S. Withdraws From UN Human Rights Council The Trump administration withdrew the United States on Tuesday from the UN Human Rights Council, a body that U.S. envoy to the UN Nikki Haley called a “cesspool of political bias” (State Department) that disproportionately takes aim at Israel and protects many rights abusers. Haley said that the council has failed to address recent abuses in Venezuela and Iran and allowed the Democratic Republic of Congo to become a member. The move, which was hailed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Ynet), will see the United States join Iran, Eritrea, and North Korea (NYT) as the only countries that do not participate in the Geneva-based council's meetings. UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein called the pullout "disappointing, if not really surprising" (Twitter). ANALYSIS "[It's] the latest example of the Trump administration‘s quitting multilateral institutions and agreements, coming on the heels of its withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, the Paris climate agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal," Nahal Toosi writes for Politico. "Without strategic U.S. engagement at the Council as a member, the U.S. loses a platform to influence the course of human rights globally for the better and the victims of human rights abuse globally will fall prey to the machinations of governments that will take advantage of this strategic vacuum," twelve human rights organizations wrote in a joint letter. "Actions taken by the UNHRC, the only global intergovernmental human rights body, carry special weight. Whereas countries can deflect criticism of their human rights record by another government as being politicized, it is harder to dismiss the voting outcomes of a globally representative rights body," Mark P. Lagon and Ryan Kaminski write in a CFR discussion paper [PDF]. PACIFIC RIM Australia Announces Workplace Harassment Probe Australia’s Human Rights Commission will investigate workplace sexual harassment and issue recommendations to employers (SMH) during a year-long inquiry. CAMBODIA: Cambodians formerly employed by the U.S. embassy staged a protest (RFA), claiming they were unduly fired over child pornography allegations. The embassy fired thirty-two security personnel in April. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA India Initiates Direct Rule Over Kashmir The chief minister of India-administered Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti, quit her office after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party pulled out of a coalition with her People’s Democratic Party, paving the way for the state governor, from the BJP, to exert direct rule over the region (BBC). New Delhi is expected to escalate counterinsurgency operations (Hindustan Times) under the new arrangement. AFGHANISTAN: Numerous soldiers were reported killed in Badghis Province in the first major Taliban attack (RFE/RL) since the end of a cease-fire marking the Eid al-Fitr holiday. CFR’s Courtney Cooper argues that Afghan ceasefires could pave the path to peace. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Sexual Abuse Reported in UAE’s Yemen Jails Hundreds of detainees in prisons run by the United Arab Emirates in Yemen endured sexual abuse by their captors, in addition to torture, according to a new report from the Associated Press. UAE officials did not comment on the allegations. Tawakkol Karman discusses peace-building efforts in Yemen. IRAN: Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said OPEC is  “not an organization to receive its instruction from President Trump” (FT), a sign he would resist a Saudi-backed push to ease production restrictions on crude oil at the group’s meeting later this week. Trump has criticized OPEC for keeping prices high. CFR's Amy Myers Jaffe discusses the agenda at OPEC’s meeting in Vienna. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA South Sudan Rivals Meet in Ethiopia Rebel leader Riek Machar arrived in Ethiopia to discuss ending South Sudan’s five-year civil war (Reuters) with President Salva Kiir, the first such meeting since a peace deal broke down in 2016 (Al Jazeera). Machar since fled to South Africa, where he was under house arrest. Katherine Almquist Knopf discussed ending South Sudan’s civil war in a CFR conference call. MALI: The defense ministry said soldiers are implicated in “gross violations” (Reuters) following the discovery of mass graves containing at least twenty-five bodies in central Mali, where the government has been fighting Islamic militants. EUROPE Italian Minister Proposes Roma Census, Deportation Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has proposed to carry out a census of the Roma ethnic minority (VOA) and deport those found not to have Italian citizenship, reportedly drawing a rebuke from Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte as having gone “too far.” RUSSIA:  Russia will soon present a list of U.S. goods that will be subjected to additional import duties (TASS) in retaliation for new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, the Economic Development Ministry said. AMERICAS Canada Passes Marijuana Legalization Recreational cannabis is expected to be legally available in Canada within twelve weeks (CBC) after the Senate passed a legalization bill backed by the federal government. NICARAGUA: At least three people were killed in the city of Masaya as security forces and allied militias sought to retake the city from barricaded opposition activists (BBC). More than 180 people have been killed since demonstrators first called for President Daniel Ortega, in power for eleven years, to step down two months ago. UNITED STATES Microsoft Employees Protest ICE Contract More than one hundred employees of the technology giant called on the company to end its work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (NYT), with which it has a $19.4 million contract, in protest over the government policy of separating immigrant children from parents who have been detained at the border.         Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. Forward This Email | Subscribe to CFR Newsletters | Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org

Date: June 20, 2018 at 10:09PM