Current Human Rights Issues in the News

The New York Times reported last week that the United Nations Human Rights Council, the primary U.N. human rights body, will undertake investigations of suspected extra-judicial killings in the Philippines. There have long been allegations that President Duterte's "war on drugs" has involved the killing of thousands of people by law enforcement. The article recounts the fierce opposition The Philippines waged against the resolution passed to initiate the investigation.

In another story that relates to both another Asian country, and the operation of the Human Rights Council, The New York Times reported that the Independent Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar just submitted a report to the U.N. Human Rights Council, concluding that systematic persecution of the 660,000 Rohingyas is ongoing and that Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi could be subject to prosecution for crimes against humanity.

Finally, Foreign Policy last week provided some details on the "religious freedoms" meeting at the U.N. General Assembly, and efforts of the Trump Administration to facilitate cooperation among conservative governments to limit women's sexual and reproductive rights at a U.N. Universal Health Care Summit that will occur at the same time this week. As the piece explains, this is a continuation of efforts that began at a conference convened by the World Health Organization last summer. The effort pits the United States against its traditional allies, who argue that these efforts will have severe negative consequences for women around the world.