Author: Human Rights Watch

Iran’s judiciary has announced the enforcement of a five-year prison sentence for two journalists accused of “propaganda against the state” over their reporting on the death in custody of Mahsa Jina Amini which sparked nationwide protests in 2022. Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi, journalists from the “Ham-Mihan” and “Shargh” newspapers were among the first to report […]

Mozambique’s election commission today declared Daniel Chapo and his ruling party Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frente de Libertação de Moçambique, Frelimo) winners of the country’s October 9 general elections. The elections were marred by political killings, widespread irregularities, and restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly. International observers, including the African Union, European Union, and the Commonwealth, have raised serious […]

United Nations and African Union member states should begin planning the deployment of a mission to protect civilians in Sudan, where millions of people are displaced and face famine after a year and a half of brutal armed conflict.  In a new report to the UN Security Council, UN Secretary-General António Guterres outlines steps member states should take to […]

(Sydney) – The Australian government should take the lead with other governments to continue to publicly criticize grave human rights abuses in China, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. An Australian-led joint statement at the United Nations General Assembly on October 22, 2024, expressed ongoing concerns about the Chinese government’s serious human rights […]

On October 10, the Tangiers Court of Cassation overturned the 2019 conviction of a man for raping his wife, which had been hailed as Morocco’s first ruling to explicitly criminalize marital rape. By referring the case back to the Tangiers Appeals Court, which had sentenced the man to two years imprisonment and ordered him to pay a […]

Frontex, the EU border agency, does not normally inform nongovernmental rescue ships in the Mediterranean when it spots boats in distress or regularly issue emergency alerts. This has contributed to avoidable delays and tragic shipwrecks as well as to people being forcibly returned to countries where they face abuse. A new campaign asks Frontex to […]

Last week, Australia’s new government in Northern Territory passed legislation lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 10 years. This allows the territory to incarcerate 10-year-olds, a serious regression of children’s rights. The chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child responded that this action contravenes Australia’s obligations under the child […]

(Beirut) – The United Kingdom High Court issued an order on October 11, 2024, granting permission to a Saudi human rights defender who lives in the UK to bring a case that accuses the government of Saudi Arabia of using spyware against him, Human Rights Watch said today. Yahya Assiri, a prominent Saudi human rights […]

(Nairobi) – The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights should focus on the most critical issues facing Burkina Faso during its country review on October 23, 2024, Human Rights Watch said today. The Burkinabè government should urgently address the need to protect civilians affected by armed conflict; safeguard civic space for activists, journalists, and the […]

On September 30, Lithuania asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor to investigate serious crimes committed by the Belarusian authorities against its citizens. Following years of brutal crackdowns on civil society, journalists, and opposition politicians, Lithuania’s initiative should encourage stronger efforts to advance accountability and justice for all Belarusians. In 2020, mass peaceful protests erupted across […]