Author: Human Rights Watch

(Sydney) New South Wales police used apparent excessive force against people protesting Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia, Human Rights Watch said today. Video footage verified by Human Rights Watch from a rally in Sydney on February 9, 2026, shows police punching protesters lying on the ground, violently dispersing people kneeling in prayer, and […]

For the second time in less than a year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has referred an EU member to its oversight body, the Assembly of States Parties, for failing to cooperate with the court. On January 26, ICC judges asked the court’s member countries to hold Italy to account for refusing to surrender Osama Elmasry Njeem, […]

Georgia’s ruling party proposed on January 28 a new package of legislation that would criminalize core civic activity and erect sweeping barriers to political participation. If adopted, the draft laws would make it a criminal offense to receive foreign funding without prior government authorization, punishable by up to six years in prison. The bill defines a […]

(Nairobi) – An apparent Nigerien military drone strike killed at least 17 civilians, including 4 children, and injured at least 13 others at a crowded market in western Niger on January 6, 2026, Human Rights Watch said today. The strike, which also killed three Islamist fighters, violated laws-of-war prohibitions against indiscriminate attacks and might amount to […]

(Beirut) – Houthi authorities have arbitrarily arrested over 20 Christians in Yemen over the last three months, Human Rights Watch said today. The Houthis should immediately release them, along with the hundreds of others they are arbitrarily detaining across the areas of Yemen under their control. “Rather than addressing the alarming rates of hunger that […]

(Brussels, February 4, 2026) – European Union institutions and member states’ failure to prioritize human rights undermines the rule of law, democratic space, and rights protection at home and abroad, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2026. A focus on deterring migration, combined with the normalization of anti-gender, anti-migrant, and anti-democratic narratives, inconsistent enforcement of […]

(Istanbul, February 4, 2025) – The Turkish government deepened its assault on the main opposition party during 2025, while at the same time pursuing an end to the four-decade conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2026. “The Erdoğan government has spent the past year attempting […]

(Bangkok) – The Chinese government intensified its repression across the country in 2025, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2026.  President Xi Jinping mobilized the government to impose strict ideological conformity and loyalty to him and the Chinese Communist Party. Tibetans, Uyghurs, and other communities with distinct identities, including members of unofficial churches, face […]

(Washington, DC) – US President Donald Trump’s second term has been marked by widespread human rights violations and sustained attacks on core pillars of accountable, democratic governance in the country, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2026. The country has quickly fallen into a dangerous slide toward authoritarianism that impunity for serious […]

(Johannesburg) – Southern African countries committed serious human rights violations throughout 2025, creating vicious cycles of abuse and impunity, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2026.  Security forces in Angola, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe used excessive and at times lethal force, and arbitrarily arrested and detained protesters. The authorities severely restricted freedom of expression, association, and […]