WORLD NEWS FLASH
UNITED STATES
The Justice Department announced on July 5 that it has filed a lawsuit against the State of Arizona challenging voting restrictions imposed by House Bill 2492 (2022), a recently-enacted law set to take effect in January 2023. The United States’ complaint challenges provisions of House Bill 2492 under Section 6 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) and Section 101 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“House Bill 2492’s onerous documentary proof of citizenship requirement for certain federal elections constitutes a textbook violation of the National Voter Registration Act,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “For nearly three decades, the National Voter Registration Act has helped to move states in the right direction by eliminating unnecessary requirements that have historically made it harder for eligible voters to access the registration rolls. Arizona has passed a law that turns the clock back on progress by imposing unlawful and unnecessary requirements that would block eligible voters from the registration rolls for certain federal elections. The Justice Department will continue to use every available tool to protect all Americans’ right to vote and to ensure that their voices are heard.”
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona is dedicated to protecting voters in the state,” said U.S. Attorney Gary M. Restaino for the District of Arizona. “We are proud to join the Civil Rights Division in bringing this lawsuit to ensure that all eligible citizens in Arizona have the opportunity to register to vote and exercise their fundamental right to participate in our elections.”
The United States’ complaint contends that House Bill 2492 violates the NVRA by requiring that applicants produce documentary proof of citizenship before they can vote in presidential elections or vote by mail in any federal election when they register to vote using the uniform federal registration form created by the NVRA.
This requirement flouts the 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Ariz., Inc., 570 U.S. 1 (2013), which rejected an earlier attempt by Arizona to impose a similar documentary proof of citizenship mandate on applicants seeking to vote in federal elections. The United States’ complaint also contends that House Bill 2492 violates Section 101 of the Civil Rights Act by requiring election officials to reject voter registration forms based on errors or omissions that are not material to establishing a voter’s eligibility to cast a ballot.
The United States’ complaint asks the court to prohibit Arizona from enforcing the provisions of House Bill 2492 that violate the NVRA and the Civil Rights Act.
More information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws is available on the Department of Justice’s website at https://www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section. Complaints about discriminatory voting practices may be reported to the Civil Rights Division through the internet reporting portal at https://civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931.
AFRICA
LATEST EBOLA OUTBREAK ENDS
At least ten people have reportedly been killed by what Ukrainian authorities have said was a Russian missile strike on a crowded shopping center, and attack which the UN condemned on June 27 as “utterly deplorable.”
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has declared the end of its 14th Ebola outbreak after less than three months, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on July 4.
There were four confirmed cases of Ebola and one probable case, all of whom died, the WHO said in a statement. The outbreak was the third in Congo’s northwest Equateur province.
In the previous outbreak in Equateur Province that lasted from June to November 2020, there were 130 confirmed cases and 55 deaths.
“Thanks to the robust response by the national authorities, this outbreak has been brought to an end swiftly with limited transmission of the virus,” said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
According to WHO, the just ended outbreak saw a total of 2,104 people vaccinated, including 302 contacts and 1307 frontline workers.
To facilitate the vaccination rollout, an ultra-cold chain freezer was installed in Mbandaka which allowed for vaccine doses to be stored locally and safely and be delivered effectively.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has now recorded 14 Ebola outbreaks since 1976, six of which have occurred since 2018.
“Africa is seeing an increase in Ebola and other infectious diseases that jump from animals to humans impacting large urban areas,” said Dr. Moeti.
Noting that “crucial lessons” had been learned” from past outbreaks and they have been applied to deploy an ever more effective Ebola response, Dr. Moeti stressed that: “We need to be ever more vigilant to ensure we catch cases quickly. This outbreak response shows that by bolstering preparedness, disease surveillance and swift detection, we can stay a step ahead.”
The UN health agency supported the DRC in implementing a strong national strategy developed early to guide response coordination; decentralizing operations to the lowest level to work closely with communities; basing the response on evidence; and regularly analyzing the epidemiological risk to rapidly adjust the response.
Although the outbreak in Mbandaka has been declared over, health authorities are maintaining surveillance and are ready to respond quickly to any flare-ups.
It is not unusual for sporadic cases to occur following an outbreak, WHO cautioned.
EUROPE
FISH HOOKED BY NASTY VIRUS
The Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) have found Koi herpesvirus (KHV) disease in fish at several sites in England and Wales.
KHV is a serious viral disease of fish and is a listed disease in the United Kingdom. It affects all varieties of common and ornamental carp species (Cyprinus carpio) and can result in large scale mortalities. Fish with KHV disease may show the following signs, especially when water temperatures are between 16 to 28 °C: necrotic (white or brown) patches on the gills; rough patches on the skin and sloughing mucous; sunken eyes.
People have been asked to contact the FHI if they suspect an outbreak of KHV. This includes fish with the above signs, or deaths of carp or carp hybrids.
So far, no risk to public health has been declared.
Sites with KHV disease must undergo a formal monitoring program immediately following the outbreak. The FHI visit these sites to look for evidence of disease and to inspect compliance with the conditions of the statutory controls in place.
If a notifiable disease is confirmed, FHI places controls to limit the spread of disease (these are known as confirmed designations).
CARIBBEAN
CONCERNS GROW FOR YOUNG HAITIANS
On June 27, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) agents interdicted a vessel with two occupants transporting 902 pounds (409 kilos) of cocaine near Desecheo Island in the western coast of the island. The estimated value is approximately $ 9 million.
Rising gang crime in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince is limiting access to education and is preventing thousands of children from going to school. Since 2020, gang-related violence has led to school closures, and children have become easy prey for gang recruitment.
According to a report published by two local youth-focused organizations 13 percent of the children surveyed in one troubled neighborhood in the capital, Port-au-Prince, say they have been in direct or indirect contact with members of armed gangs as they tried to recruit them.
In 2021, clashes between rival armed gangs erupted in some urban areas of the capital Port-au-Prince. More than 19,000 people including 15,000 women and children have been forced to flee their homes due to acts of violence such as killings, kidnappings; hundreds of houses have been burned or damaged.
This year, the gang war has intensified. Since April 24, half a million children have lost access to education in Port-au-Prince where some 1,700 schools are closed, according to government figures.
Giving children weapons to fight and using them as soldiers or spies is a violation to their child rights and condemned by both national and international laws,” says Bruno Maes, UNICEF Representative in Haiti. “It saddens me that children who are willing to learn and teachers willing to educate cannot do so because they feel unsafe. Children must be able to attend school safely, play freely and enjoy being a child and given a chance to develop to their fullest potential.”
SOUTH AMERICA
POLICE BRUTALITY RAMPANT IN BRAZIL
Following the killings of at least 23 Brazilians during police raids and checks, UN-appointed independent human rights experts called on July 6 for urgent reforms against “racialized police brutality.”
“We have repeatedly raised our concerns about the excessive and lethal use of force used by Brazilian law enforcement officials and the disproportionate impact on Brazilians of African descent,” the three experts said in a statement.
“However, the latest reports of police brutality appear to show that such human rights violations continue with impunity.”
The development follows a raid on Favela Cruzeiro in Rio de Janeiro in late May, where nearly two dozen people, including children, were killed after security forces reportedly fired indiscriminately.
Most of the victims were Afro-Brazilians, said the Human Rights Council-appointed experts, who called on the Brazilian Government to adopt “wide-ranging reforms to … de-militarize all law enforcement agencies and …address systemic racism and racial discrimination.”
In another incident, the rights experts described how three police officers reportedly used pepper spray and tear gas on a motorcycle rider of African descent, after pulling him over and putting him in the boot of their car, where he died a short time later.
“The victims of these killings deserve justice,” the experts said.
The experts reiterated calls to adhere to international standards governing the use of force.
“The use of potentially lethal force is an extreme measure, which may be resorted to only when strictly necessary to protect life or prevent serious injury from an imminent threat,” they stated.
They also called for comprehensive law enforcement reforms in Brazil.
“The new wave of violence is the latest manifestation of systemic and sustained deployment of excessive and lethal use of force by law enforcement officials in Brazil,” upheld the independent experts. Moreover, they stressed the need to effectively, independently and promptly investigate the latest incidents, including adhering to the 2016 Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death, and the UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions.
