Author: Human Rights Watch

Tanzania’s High Court on November 6 convicted Tundu Lissu, the leader of Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chama Cha Demokrasia Na Maendeleo (the ‘Party of Democracy and Development’, or CHADEMA), of incitement, sentencing him to four years in prison. The judges acquitted him of treason, a charge that carries the death penalty. Authorities accused him of […]

Alongside the high-profile congressional and gubernatorial races decided during the United States midterm elections on November 3, human rights were at issue in several state and local ballot measures across the country.  In Virginia, voters adopted a measure to automatically restore voting rights to people with felony convictions upon release from prison, ending a lifetime ban that […]

It takes a long time to read more than a hundred names. I stood holding a white balloon alongside the victims’ relatives, some wearing T-shirts bearing photos of their loved ones. The list went on and on. As Tauã Brito said name after name, as if reading tombstones, the scale of the tragedy hit me. […]

The United States is scheduled to appear in Geneva on November 10 for its Universal Periodic Review, the United Nations’ peer review process of every member state’s rights record. But the US is unlikely to show: the Trump administration declared in 2025 that the US would not participate.   After the US failed to turn up […]

The government announced on November 4 that it will propose a law regulating the human rights impacts of companies in the United Kingdom’s global supply chain. The UK’s Corporate Justice Coalition, along with some businesses, have long led advocacy efforts for such legislation. The government’s announcement responds to some of those demands and marks a chance to […]

The UK has significantly expanded its Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, allowing the government, for the first time, to impose targeted sanctions on individuals and entities involved in war crimes. The new powers were approved by parliament yesterday. The previous framework, adopted in 2020, did not allow for such sanctions, providing, instead, for targeted sanctions […]

Bangladesh police have used batons and tear gas to disperse thousands of garment workers protesting for higher wages. Violence by thugs allegedly linked to factory owners and political parties, arson, factory vandalism, and attacks on police have all been reported.  Consistent with international standards, Bangladesh authorities should ensure that police use force only when necessary and proportionate, and that those […]

(Tokyo) – The Hong Kong High Court on November 5, 2026, sentenced Joshua Wong, a well-known democracy activist, to 10 years in prison on baseless national security charges, Human Rights Watch said today. Wong has been in custody since November 2020, when he was 23, and faces imprisonment until late 2036, when he will be 40. […]

(Washington, DC) – The newly elected US Congress should prioritize respect and protection for human rights both within the United States and around the world, Human Rights Watch said today. Voters elected a majority of Democrats to control both the House and the Senate in the November 3, 2026 midterm elections.  “This newly elected Congress […]

(Istanbul) – Governments participating in the 31st annual United Nations climate change conference (COP31) should urgently act to protect the rights of communities displaced by the climate crisis and ensure that civil society groups can participate in the negotiations, Human Rights Watch said today.  COP31 will take place in Antalya, Türkiye, from November 9 to […]