World News Briefing: Humanitarian Crisis and Human Rights Rebeca de Assis Gabriela Menezes 10.10.17

1 2 3 4 5 Table of Contents Topics of the Week Human suffering: Puerto Rico Crisis 2 Human suffering: Yemen Crisis 3 Human suffering: Rohingya Crisis 4 Issue Debate 5

Las Vegas Shooting What happened? 1/5– Topics of the Week Las Vegas Shooting What happened? A gunman, named as 64-year-old Nevada resident Stephen Paddock, opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel towards an open-air music festival attended by 22,000 on Sunday, October 1st. 58 people died and more than 500 were injured during the attack. Paddock committed suicide as police entered the room where more than 20 guns and hundreds of ammunition were found. Investigators have found no link to international terrorism, despite a claim from so-called Islamic State. The shooting has prompted calls for reform to US gun laws.

Catalonia Referendum What happened? 2/5 – Topics of the Week Catalonia Referendum What happened? Catalonia is home to 7.5 million people and accounts for 15 percent of Spain's population. The region in northeastern Spain held its second referendum on independence in three years on October 1st. Catalonia voted in favor of independence with 90 percent of approval, leading to a lot of violence. Catalonia's leaders now intend to declare independence from Spain in the coming days, triggering a political and constitutional crisis for Spanish Prime Minister Manuel Rajoy's administration. Problem: Spain's 1978 constitution decrees that the country is indivisible, and grants the national government exclusive power to hold referendums. Therefore, the vote on Sunday was declared illegal.

Saudi Arabia - Russia Relations 3/5– Topics of the Week Saudi Arabia - Russia Relations What happened? King Salman is visiting Moscow from Oct 4 to 7 (his first visit to Russia). Russia and Saudi Arabia have had bad relations for decades: The two oil superpowers market competitors; Russia and Saudi Arabia have opposed each other for decades on every major regional conflict, including the one in Syria. However, Russia’s success in Syria and the resulting Saudi Arabia’s unfavorable situation in the conflict has made the country more flexible: Saudi now pragmatically has been forced to have a softer position regarding the joint Russian-Turkish-Iranian formation. Moscow hopes that King Salman’s historic visit will show that Russia can forge close alliances with all the key Middle East players.

Turkey - Iran Relations 4/5 – Topics of the Week Turkey - Iran Relations What happened? On September 25, voters in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq voted to back a split from Baghdad. Iraq’s central government, the UN and the USA have opposed the Kurdish vote Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani  have called for "more decisive action" in response to the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG)'s attempt to split from Iraq, renewing their opposition to the redrawing of the country’s borders. Israel is pointed as the only country that recognized their referendum as legitimate. Closer ties between Turkey and Iran: Both countries vowed to take more steps in support of the Astana Deal, allowing for the creation of de-escalation zones in Syria.

Turkey - Iran Relations 5/5 – Topics of the Week Turkey - Iran Relations

1 2 3 4 5 Table of Contents Topics of the Week Human suffering: Puerto Rico Crisis 2 Human suffering: Rohingya Crisis 3 Human suffering: Yemen Crisis 4 Issue Debate 5

1/4 – Human suffering: Puerto Rico crisis

Puerto Rico Crisis What happened? 2/4 – Human suffering: Puerto Rico crisis Puerto Rico Crisis What happened? Puerto Rico is an Island in the Caribbean Sea which is part of the USA’s territory. Hurricane Maria (nearly Category 5) reached the Island on September 20th, causing heavy rain and wind for approximately 30 hours. The official death count is of 34 people, and the region’s infrastructure has been destroyed: The island’s 3.4 million residents – particularly those in the more isolated parts – are still largely without electricity, communications and access to clean drinking water and food. Large criticism on Trump’s administration for: Lack of interest in the issue; Unequal response compared to the events in Texas and Florida; Diminishing the severity of the problem; Using the situation to praise his own government and criticize the administration in Puerto Rico. Lack of interest is connected to the fact that residents from Puerto Rico don’t vote in American presidential elections.

3/4 – Human suffering: Puerto Rico crisis

Trump’s speech on his visit to Puerto Rico (CBC News - October 3rd) 4/4 – Human suffering: Puerto Rico crisis Puerto Rico Crisis Trump’s speech on his visit to Puerto Rico (CBC News - October 3rd)

1/5 – Human suffering: Yemen crisis

Yemen Crisis What happened? 4/5 – Human suffering: Yemen crisis Yemen Crisis What happened? Saudi-led coalition, which supports Yemen’s government, is at war with Iran- backed Houthi rebels since March 2015. Houthis are in control of the capital Sanaa and much of Yemen. Their jets have bombed hospitals, factories and infrastructure, directly worsening the situation for civilians on the ground. U.S. and the UK support the Saudi-led coalition with munitions and refueling. Results: More than 10,000 people killed and around 50,000 injured since the beginning of the conflict. 7 million people are on the verge of famine, 17 million with food shortage, at least 2 million children in the country are known to be malnourished and more than a million pregnant women are in the same situation. According to the UN, a cholera outbreak is believed to have affected 775,000 people and caused 2,130 deaths. Is estimated that 2 million children are out of school and 3 million people are displaced General situation: 20.7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Both Saudi Arabia and Houthi rebels were included in this year’s draft of the UN’s “Blacklist” of Child Killers.

2/5 – Human suffering: Yemen crisis

3/5 – Human suffering: Yemen crisis

The War in Yemen explained (Al Jazeera – July 3rd) 5/5 –Human suffering: Yemen crisis Yemen Crisis The War in Yemen explained (Al Jazeera – July 3rd)

1/6 –Human suffering: Rohingya crisis

Rohingya Crisis What happened? 2/6 –Human suffering: Rohingya crisis Rohingya Crisis What happened? The Rohingya are an ethnic group of about 1.1 million, majority of whom are Muslims, who have lived for centuries in the majority Buddhist Myanmar. Nearly all of the Rohingya in Myanmar live in the western coastal state of Rakhine. They are not considered one of the country's 135 official ethnic groups. As a result, their rights to study, work, travel, marry, practice their religion and access health services have been and continue to be restricted. Many Buddhists consider the Rohingya to be Bengali, rejecting the term Rohingya as a recent invention, created for political reasons. After the killings of nine border police officers in October 2016, military troops started invading villages in Rakhine State. The government blamed the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, which they call terrorists. Most recently, the violence escalated: Myanmar's military has imposed a crackdown on the country's Rohingya population after police posts and an army base were attacked in August 25th. Since the violence erupted, rights groups have documented fires burning in at least 10 areas of Myanmar's Rakhine State. More than 500,000 people have fled the violence to Bangladesh and other areas, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). 

Rohingya Crisis What happened? 3/6 –Human suffering: Rohingya crisis Rohingya Crisis What happened? Aung San Suu Kyi’s government has repeatedly rejected accusations of abuses and also the allegations of systematic atrocities against the Rohingya. The government of Myanmar is also accused of often restricting access to northern Rakhine States for journalists and aid workers. UN problem: Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of the risk of ethnic cleansing, calling on Aung San Suu Kyi and the country's security forces to end the violence, while the UN in Myanmar had been accused of “suppressing” a report that criticized its strategy in the country and warned it was ill-prepared to deal with the impending Rohingya crisis. Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said in September that Bangladesh would offer the refugees temporary shelter and aid, but that Myanmar should soon "take their nationals back".  Bangladesh announced on October 6th that it would build one of the world’s biggest refugee camps to house all the 800,000-plus Rohingya Muslims in the country. After a meeting with Myanmar official Kyaw Tint Swe, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali said both countries agreed to form a joint working group to begin work on the massive repatriation.

4/6 –Human suffering: Rohingya crisis

One month into the Rohingya Crisis (Al Jazeera – September 24th) 5/6–Human suffering: Rohingya crisis Rohingya Crisis One month into the Rohingya Crisis (Al Jazeera – September 24th)

(Euro News – October 6th) 6/6 –Human suffering: Rohingya crisis Rohingya Crisis UN fears further exodus of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar into Bangladesh (Euro News – October 6th)

Issue Debate How states treat their own citizens on their own territory is today unquestionably a legitimate matter of international concern? What do you think of the Human Rights Norm “Responsibility to Protect”? Do you think the idea of “Just War” and its condemnations to war crimes are effective in the international scenario? In case of a negative answer, do you think there is a way for improvement? Do countries really care about their international image? Do you think the UN’s black list (international “shaming” mechanism) will work on Saudi Arabia regarding the Yemen crisis? Having the Rohingya crisis in mind, how efficient do you think the UN has been when it comes to the protection of Human Rights? Do you see any possibilities of future improvement? How important do you think NGOs are for the protection of Human Rights? If we consider the state as both the main human rights’ provider and also as their main violator, should we think of globalization as a good or bad thing for human rights? (How can human rights be effectively implemented if the rights and powers of states are being eroded by globalization, as some argue). If state failure can be connected with international security (states weakened by human suffering can more easily become harbor for terrorist groups), why the international community still does not do much about it?