Author: Human Rights Watch

A coalition of voting rights organizations renewed a motion for preliminary injunction on July 20 in Massachusetts to prevent the United States Postal Service (USPS) from implementing parts of President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14399. The renewed motion is part of litigation challenging the order’s legality. The order purports to combat election fraud by directing […]

(Manila) – The Philippine government’s revised national guidelines on free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) threaten the rights of Indigenous communities, Human Rights Watch said today. Philippine authorities should align these guidelines with international human rights standards. On May 1, 2026, the Philippine National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), which issues rules and regulations related to […]

(Nairobi) – The Ugandan authorities have brought abusive criminal charges against an opposition politician, Muwanga Kivumbi, apparently based on his criticism of the president’s son, who is head of the armed forces, Human Rights Watch said today.  On July 29, 2026, the authorities charged Kivumbi, a deputy president of the National Unity Platform (NUP) Uganda’s […]

(Bangkok) – The Malaysian government should reverse plans that would permit the forced return of refugees to Myanmar, where they face persecution and other rights abuses, Human Rights Watch said today.  On July 23, 2026, Malaysia’s deputy foreign minister informed parliament that 5,000 Myanmar nationals in immigration detention would be sent back to Myanmar. On July 29, Malaysian […]

The arrival of an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 people in Ceuta, Spain’s enclave in North Africa, on July 30-31 was not only unprecedented but also tragic. At least 72 people died, including many who drowned while trying to swim from Morocco to Ceuta and others who were crushed while trying to climb a border barrier, according to Spanish […]

Eight years on, justice is still elusive for the families of 6 people killed and the 35 injured by Zimbabwe state security forces during the August 1, 2018, protests.  Witnesses at the time told Human Rights Watch that military officers and anti-riot police used excessive and lethal force against people who were protesting delayed election results on […]

A representative of the Congolese Ministry of Hydrocarbons, during an on-the-record interview with Human Rights Watch on July 31, discussed the findings of the government’s official environmental audit into the activities of Perenco, the French-British oil and gas company operating in western Democratic Republic of Congo.  The audit identified “negative impacts on soil and air […]

On July 23, Human Rights Watch filed a written submission to the European Commission on the European Union’s landmark corporate accountability law, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. The European Commission is currently formulating guidance on how companies should implement the law, which requires businesses to identify and address human rights risks in their operations and […]

A nightmare for Indigenous people and other communities on the Abacaxis riverbanks in the Brazilian Amazon began on August 3, 2020. That day, three private boats arrived in the town of Nova Olinda do Norte carrying ten undercover military police officers from the state of Amazonas; ten days earlier, someone had shot at a boat […]

(New York) – Afghanistan’s Taliban have entrenched one of the world’s worst human rights crises and systematically dismantled the rights of women and girls since taking power five years ago, Human Rights Watch said today, releasing a timeline of abuses over the last five years. Afghanistan is also facing a severe humanitarian crisis with nearly 40 […]