FROM THE REGION

Iran

• Amnesty International called on Iran to “lift restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, end discrimination against women and minorities, impose an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty, and end torture and other ill-treatment, unfair trials and ongoing crimes agaisnt humanity.”
• The UN last reviewed Iran’s human rights record in 2014, and Amnesty noted that the situation has only gotten worse. Phillip Luther, Amnesty’s research and advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa, said, “From horrific execution rates, to the relentless persecution of human rights defenders, rampant discrimination against women and minorities, and ongoing crimes against humanity, the catalogue of appalling violations recorded in Iran reveals a sharp deterioration in its human rights record.”
• Iran was given 291 recommendations from other states on how to improve its human rights record at the last Universal Periodic Review under the UN Human Rights Council, but it only accepted 130 recommendations. Of those 130 suggestions, Amnesty says that Iran has failed to implement reforms on most of them.

United Arab Emirates

• One prisoner’s health severely declined after four months without treatment, putting him at great risk of developing AIDS. At least two HIV-positive prisoners died while imprisoned. 
• HRW Deputy Middle East Director Michael Page said, “Denying, delaying, or interrupting treatment for HIV for non-national prisoners is a flagrant violation of the right to health and potentially the right to life.”
• “The guards knew nothing about HIV,” said one former prisoner. “They were afraid even to enter our block.They wore special masks and gloves, and talked to us through glass. They treated us like dangerous animals.”
• Under international law, prisoners are to be granted medical services "without discrimination." As HRW points out, although the UAE provides free HIV treatment to citizens, it also discriminates heavily against non-citizens who test positive for HIV.

Kuwait

• The protests were organized by former lawmaker Saleh al-Moulla, who called for protests using the slogan, “That’s enough!” on Twitter. Later, he told media that the demonstration was “an expression of the unhappiness in the face of corruption.” Notably, al-Moulla was given permission by authorities to organize the sit-in. 
• Mohammed al-Houmaidi, a lawyer and human rights advocate, said the protest “is not led by any political movement, but by the population who have come to flag their problems with housing, health, and education.”
• Participants' demands include forgiveness by the government of loans that are “burdening” the people and that the government find a way to integrate undocumented Kuwaiti residents—who number around 100,000 and are known as “Bidun”—after the suicides of two Bidun men this week. For more on the Bidun and the challenges imposed upon them by the Kuwaiti government, check out this Amnesty report from earlier this year.

Saudi Arabia

• The 62-page report covers events since 2017, when Mohammed bin Salman was elevated to crown prince and took unprecedented control over the kingdom. HRW recognizes "landmark reforms" since then, but emphasizes that the crackdown on dissent and pattern of abuse seriously undermine these changes.
• Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at HRW, said, "A truly reforming Saudi Arabia would not subject its leading activists to harassment, detention, and mistreatment."

Yemen

• Yemeni and Ethiopian traffickers often imprison migrants in Ras al-Ara, the Yemeni coastal village closest to the border of Djibouti, where “they are subjected to daily torments ranging from beatings and rapes to starvation.”     
• Traffickers are able to transport migrants freely through military checkpoints by bribing officials, who, in general, look the other way at the flow of hundreds of people per day being smuggled and held hostage in the country. 
• According to the International Organization for Migration, there was a 50 percent increase between 2017-18 of migrants landing in Yemen, with Mediterranean crossings severely decreasing. By September of this year, more than 107,000 migrants had arrived in Yemen. This uptick can be attributed in part to stricter patrolling of exit points in Libya as Europe works to crack down on refugees.

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