Author: Human Rights Watch

Between July and September 2024, Aliaksandr Lukashenka signed four presidential decrees pardoning some of those convicted for “protest-related” and “extremism-related” crimes. As a result, authorities released 115 prisoners.  Many of those who “repented” their crimes when seeking a pardon were forced to do so with threats and physical violence. Despite these recent releases, the extreme […]

The Philippine government has accused union leaders and members of being combatants or supporters of communist insurgency, putting them at great risk of harassment and violence. This sinister and at times deadly practice, known as “red-tagging,” has become a serious threat to labor rights in the Philippines. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should direct officials to end […]

(Bangkok) – Bangladeshi authorities should allow Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar to obtain protection and humanitarian assistance, Human Rights Watch said today. An estimated 18,000 Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh in recent months to escape abuses amid the surging fighting between Myanmar’s military junta and the ethnic Arakan Army, while another 10,000 are reportedly waiting at […]

The crew of the Geo Barents, the Médécins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders or MSF) rescue ship in the central Mediterranean Sea, had just brought on board a 7-month-pregnant Syrian woman when a voice crackled over the walkie-talkie: small boat fast approaching. As an observer on the ship, I ran to the bridge and watched […]

The Rwandan army and the M23 armed group have throughout 2024 indiscriminately shelled displacement camps and other densely populated areas near Goma in eastern Congo. The Congolese armed forces and allied militias have increased the risk faced by displaced people in the camps by deploying artillery nearby and by entering the camps, where they have committed […]

Global critics of the international financial architecture say the system is broken. As Brazilian President Lula da Silva said today addressing the United Nations General Assembly, it’s become “the Marshall Plan in reverse where the poorest finance the richest.” From realizing people’s socioeconomic rights to tackling climate change, the laws and institutions that make up the global […]

Academic freedom in Hong Kong has severely declined since the Chinese government imposed the draconian National Security Law on the city on June 30, 2020. Students and faculty accustomed to academic freedom must now tread carefully to avoid retribution for what they teach, research, and publish, and even with whom they associate. Concerned governments and […]

Uruguay is among the first countries in the Americas to provide personal assistance for people with disabilities in their care system, but has yet to provide services for everyone who require them for independent living. The program is riddled with gaps that leave many people with disabilities unable to access the support they need because […]

(Beirut) – More than a thousand Israeli strikes across Lebanon that have killed hundreds of people and injured thousands since September 23, 2024, are placing civilians across the country at grave risk of harm, Human Rights Watch said today. The UN should urgently establish, and UN member countries should support, an international investigation into the recent hostilities […]

(Austin, TX) – The Texas National Guard has repeatedly fired pepper spray projectiles at arriving migrants, Human Rights Watch said today. The Texas legislature should deny additional funds for the Texas Military Department, which oversees the Texas National Guard, until this practice ends. In several incidents, including one newly documented by Human Rights Watch, Texas […]