Author: Human Rights Watch

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is under assault by the United States and Russia, among others, which are determined to undermine its mandate as the court of last resort. ICC member countries need to stay firm in their defense of the court so that impartial justice remains a critical part of the rules-based international order. ICC member […]

By a Research Assistant, Middle East and North Africa Division On November 23, Yemen’s President Rashad al-Alimi stated in a cabinet meeting that “it is unacceptable for the Yemeni government to remain without a single ministerial portfolio led by a woman in a country where women make up more than half of the population.” Al-Alimi […]

Azerbaijani authorities are escalating their campaign against independent and critical voices abroad, issuing arrest warrants and summonses for exiled journalists, activists, and analysts on what appear to be politically motivated charges. The moves fit a long-running pattern of efforts  to crush dissent and restrict freedom of expression both inside Azerbaijan and beyond its borders.   […]

As families across the United States prepare to gather for Thanksgiving this Thursday, too many children face danger cultivating and harvesting the foods that will end up on our tables. A new Los Angeles Times investigation has found children working back-breaking 10-hour shifts on farms across the US state of California. Many said they began working […]

As coastal communities around the world are already facing the sobering consequences of sea level rise, government negotiators at the just-completed United Nations climate summit, known as COP30, debated a critical question: how do we measure “successful” climate adaptation? There is no easy answer, as negotiations on how to measure progress toward a global goal […]

India will play host to the centenary Commonwealth Games in 2030 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat state, which is also the proposed host city for the country’s 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games bid. India last hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2010 in New Delhi amid allegations of corruption, forced evictions, labor rights abuses, and trafficking of women […]

(Beirut) – A political prisoner died on November 19, 2025, in the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) notorious al-Razeen Prison after more than a decade of unjust imprisonment and torture allegations, Human Rights Watch and the Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center (EDAC) said today. Ali Abdullah Fath Ali al-Khaja, 59, was found dead in his prison cell […]

(Nairobi) – Concerns about irregularities, political interference, and security pressures risk putting the credibility and inclusiveness of key elections in the Central African Republic into question, Human Rights Watch said today. The vote, scheduled for December 28, 2025, will include presidential and parliamentary elections, but also municipal elections for the first time in decades. “The Central […]

(Berlin, November 28, 2025) – Russia’s designation of Human Rights Watch as an “undesirable” foreign organization, made public by the Ministry of Justice on November 28, is yet another mark of the Kremlin’s repression, Human Rights Watch said today. The designation bans the organization’s work in Russia. “For over three decades, Human Rights Watch’s work […]

United Nations human rights experts have highlighted “widespread and systematic” exploitation, deception, and deepening debt bondage of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia. Over 800,000 Bangladeshis have Malaysian work permits, making them the largest group of documented foreign workers in the country. According to information received by the UN, thousands of workers are stranded in Bangladesh or face […]