Author: Human Rights Watch

This week Brazil is hosting the 4th National Conference on the Rights of LGBTQIA+ People, an ambitious effort to chart new directions for public policy on equality and inclusion. Beyond its national scope, the conference underscores Brazil’s reemergence as a key voice in global equality debates. And as many countries, including in the Global North, roll back support of LGBTQIA+ rights, the conference shows […]

(Washington, DC) – Ecuadorian police and security forces have restricted freedom of assembly and at times used excessive force in their response to anti-government protests since mid-September, 2025, Human Rights Watch said today.  Since September 18, the country’s largest Indigenous organization has led protests following President Daniel Noboa’s decision to scrap diesel fuel subsidies. While some […]

(Beirut) – Three women died in Qarchak prison, a Tehran women’s prison notorious for abysmal conditions, between September 16 and 25, 2025, following a lack of medical care, Human Rights Watch said today.  The deaths in custody of Soudabeh Asadi, Jamile Azizi, and 42-year-old political prisoner Somayeh Rashidi highlight Iranian authorities’ violation of prisoners’ right to […]

When governments convene this week in Paris for a conference on feminist foreign policy, there will be a lot to talk about. The French government’s description of the event laments that progress toward gender equality “is not being made fast enough.” That is an epic understatement. We are deep in a global backlash against women […]

When Martha García, a young disability activist and student at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, heard the Supreme Court planned to change a legal precedent that could weaken the right of people with disabilities to engage in the democratic process, she decided to act. On October 13, the Court was expected to issue its […]

(Nairobi) – Chad’s new constitutional amendment abolishing presidential term limits is a serious setback for the rule of law and democracy, Human Rights Watch said today. The change paves the way for President Mahamat Idriss Déby to remain in power indefinitely, further weakening the prospects for a meaningful, democratic change of government in line with international norms, […]

The Trump administration is poised to mount a two-pronged attack on refugee resettlement. The first prong is quantitative: refugee admissions would be slashed from 125,000 in the fiscal year that just ended to 7,500. The second is qualitative: selecting who among the world’s 42.7 million refugees would be chosen for rescue. The US refugee resettlement […]

On October 9, Human Rights Watch with Tokyo-based Human Rights Now and Peace Boat held an event at the Japanese Diet to press the Japanese government to step up its efforts to defend the International Criminal Court(ICC). The ICC, a court of last resort for victims of serious crimes around the world, has been under extreme pressure from the […]

As European Union leaders and foreign ministers prepare for meetings to discuss the situation in Israel and Palestine, some of their representatives in Brussels, and Israel’s new ambassador to the EU, have been pushing for the European Commission to amend or withdraw its proposals to sanction “extremist” Israeli ministers and suspend the EU-Israel trade deal. […]

(Seoul) – Chinese authorities since 2024 have forcibly returned at least 406 people to North Korea, where they are at grave risk of persecution and ill-treatment, Human Rights Watch said today. The Chinese government’s forced return of North Koreans puts them at high risk of torture, wrongful imprisonment, sexual violence, forced labor, and possible execution, in […]