Author: Human Rights Watch

Leading UN human rights experts on issues of slavery, migration, and human trafficking worldwide have urged Saudi Arabia on April 29 to effectively abolish the kafala (sponsorship) system, an abusive system ties workers to their sponsors for their residency and work permits. Despite Saudi authorities’ Labor Reform Initiative in 2021 and the narrative Saudi leaders have cultivated […]

(Athens, May 19, 2026) – The decision by a Norwegian appeals court on May 15, 2026, to block the extradition of a human rights defender, Tommy Olsen, to Greece is a victory for human rights, Human Rights Watch said today. A district court had initially approved the extradition request on March 16, but Olsen filed an appeal. The Hålogaland Court […]

(Jakarta) – An Indonesian official announced on April 30, 2026, that the government would seek to amend the country’s 1999 Human Rights Law to allow authorities to determine who is a recognized human rights defender, Human Rights Watch said today. Adopting such revisions would violate fundamental rights to freedom of expression and association and put rights […]

Two years after the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group, killed and wounded hundreds of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine State and burned down their village, the survivors are still denied justice and cannot return to their homes. The Arakan Army, which denies having committed war crimes, deliberately fired on unarmed villagers who were seeking […]

On May 5, a Nigerian high court ordered the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a prominent local human rights organization, to pay 100 million naira (about US$72,000) in damages to two Department of State Services officials. The court also directed the organization to publish public apologies and pay litigation costs. The Department of State Services […]

The death of accused Rwandan genocide financier Félicien Kabuga closes an important chapter of the country’s 1994 genocide. Unfortunately, it also robs survivors of a chance for justice many had waited decades to see. Kabuga, long alleged to have financed the extremist militia that carried out the genocide and helped fuel genocidal propaganda through Radio Télévision Libre […]

(Washington, DC) – The prominent anti-corruption lawyer Ruth López remains in pretrial detention in El Salvador with her case under judicial seal one year after her arrest, Human Rights Watch said today. Salvadoran authorities should guarantee López a prompt, open, and fair trial, lift the judicial secrecy on her case file, and allow her regular contact with […]

Ukraine’s parliament on April 28 advanced a bill to make sweeping reform of the national civil code, which raises significant human rights concerns. The draft, which was adopted in the first reading, does not include same-sex partnerships in the definition of “marriage.” A recent landmark ruling from Ukraine’s Supreme Court recognized that a same-sex partnership constituted “family,” […]

One year after Chadian authorities arrested and later sentenced Succès Masra, the prominent opposition leader and former prime minister, his continued imprisonment on politically motivated charges underscores the government’s intolerance of dissent. Masra, leader of the opposition party Les Transformateurs (The Transformers), was arrested at his residence in N’Djamena early on May 16, 2025. He was accused of […]

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced a proposed budget deal that includes reforms aimed at blunting the abusive impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the state. The White House “border czar” Tom Homan has threatened to retaliate against such reforms, stating that ICE would “flood the zone” in New York or […]