Human Rights Watch Weekly Digest [Germany Ratifies Cluster Munitions Treaty]

July 3rd - &nbsp 10th, 2009 Germany Ratifies Cluster Munitions Treaty Equatorial Guinea: Account for Oil Wealth Mongolia Rebuffs Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Organization UK: Investigate Complicity in Torture in Pakistan Ghana: Obama Visit Should Highlight Rights Bangladesh: Upgrade War Crimes Law China: President Should Ease Tension by Acknowledging Grievances Honduras: Evidence Suggests Soldiers Shot Into Unarmed Crowd US: Revisions Can't Fix Military Commissions Saudi Arabia: Women's Rights Promises Broken Iran: Detainees Describe Beatings, Pressure to Confess Guinea: Coup Leaders Undermining Rights China: Exercise Restraint in Xinjiang Syria: Disclose Fate of Detainees Germany Ratifies Cluster Munitions Treaty (Berlin) – Germany's ratification of the new treaty banning cluster munitions is an important step. Germany deposited its instrument of ratification of the Convention on Cluster Munitions at the United Nations in New York, making it the 11th country to ratify the treaty. Read more Equatorial Guinea: Account for Oil Wealth (Madrid) - The government of Equatorial Guinea has set new low standards of political and economic malfeasance in handling its billions of dollars in oil revenue instead of improving the lives of its citizens. Read more Mongolia Rebuffs Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Organization (New York) - The Mongolian minister of justice should overturn a state agency's decision to deny the official registration request of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center, a national nongovernmental organization. Read more UK: Investigate Complicity in Torture in Pakistan Officials Privately Confirm UK Role in Torture of Terror Suspects (London) - The UK government should order an independent judicial inquiry into mounting evidence that its security services and law enforcement agencies were complicit in the torture of terrorism suspects in Pakistan. Read more Ghana: Obama Visit Should Highlight Rights US Should Encourage New Leader to Promote Democracy and Justice in Africa (New York) - United States President Barack Obama should use his visit to Ghana on July 10 and 11, 2009 to encourage its new president, John Atta Mills, to take a leadership position in Africa on issues of democracy and justice. Read more Bangladesh: Upgrade War Crimes Law Failure to Meet International Standards Could Undermine Credibility of Trials for 1971 Atrocities Bangladesh should make significant improvements to its 1973 law on war crimes so that its planned trials for atrocities and crimes committed in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan will bring meaningful justice to victims. Read more China: President Should Ease Tension by Acknowledging Grievances (New York) - Chinese President Hu Jintao, who on July 7, 2009 abruptly left the G8 Summit in Italy to return to Beijing to cope with the Xinjiang protests, should break with past practice and acknowledge Uighurs' grievances. Read more Honduras: Evidence Suggests Soldiers Shot Into Unarmed Crowd De Facto Government Should Let Inter-American Commission Investigate Evidence obtained by Human Rights Watch suggests that Honduran soldiers may have used excessive force against supporters of the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, outside the Tegucigalpa airport on July 5, 2009. Read more US: Revisions Can't Fix Military Commissions Senate Bill Undermines Federal Courts in Prosecuting Terrorism Suspects (New York) - Obama administration-backed legislation before the US Senate to revise military commissions would harm efforts to bring terrorism suspects to justice. Read more Saudi Arabia: Women's Rights Promises Broken Evidence Shows Male Permission Still Being Required for Surgery, Travel (New York) - Saudi officials continue to require women to obtain permission from male guardians to conduct their most basic affairs, like traveling or receiving medical care, despite government assertions that no such requirements exist. Read more Iran: Detainees Describe Beatings, Pressure to Confess New Accounts of Mistreatment in Crackdown (New York) - The Iranian authorities are using prolonged harsh interrogations, beatings, sleep deprivation, and threats of torture to extract false confessions from detainees arrested since the disputed June 12 presidential election. Read more Guinea: Coup Leaders Undermining Rights Six Months After Coup, More Abuses and Promised Restoration of Democracy Off Track (New York) - Respect for human rights by the coup government that took power six months ago has been undermined by arbitrary arrests and detentions, restrictions on political activity, unpunished criminal acts by the military, calls for vigilante justice, and disappointing progress in organizing elections. Read more China: Exercise Restraint in Xinjiang Government Should Allow Independent United Nations Probe (New York) - The Chinese government should exercise maximum restraint in the face of unrest and violence on July 5 in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. Read more Syria: Disclose Fate of Detainees One Year After Prisoners Died During Unrest, No News of at Least 1,500 (New York) - Syrian authorities should immediately make public the fate of all detainees at Sednaya prison, at least nine of whom are believed to have been killed when military police used lethal force during unrest in the prison last July. Read more