COP29: Upholding Rights Crucial for Climate Action

(Baku) – Governments participating in the 29th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) should fulfill their human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said in a question-and-answer document released today. This includes transitioning away from fossil fuels in an equitable, time-bound, and rights-respecting manner. The conference will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11 to […]

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Australia: Strengthen Human Rights Sanctions Process

(Sydney) – The Australian government’s human rights sanctions process should be strengthened through better civil society engagement and bolder steps to sanction corrupt or rights-violating individuals and entities in Asia, Human Rights Watch said in a recent submission to the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee. The Committee is currently reviewing the Australian government’s […]

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Governments Need to Guarantee Health Care Without Racism

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has outlined concrete steps governments should take to address racial discrimination in health care.  Racism and prejudice have a global impact on health rights. Racism can shape the social determinants of health, such as income, employment, education, food, and housing; the benefits and burdens of financing […]

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Dangerous Setback for Minority Rights in South Korea

South Korea’s commitment to equal rights has suffered a dangerous setback with the appointment of Ahn Chang-ho as chairperson of the government’s National Human Rights Commission of Korea. A former Constitutional Court justice, Ahn has drawn widespread criticism for his opposition to antidiscrimination protections, particularly for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Ahn has taken several […]

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Vietnam’s New Leader is Same Old Rights Violator

Vietnam’s new president, To Lam, is one of many world leaders with poor human rights records visiting New York City this week for the United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting. He will meet with United States President Joe Biden on Wednesday and is expected to meet with Meta and Google executives. As minister of public security, […]

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UN: World Leaders Should Act to End Rights Crises

(New York) – World leaders gathering for the United Nations General Assembly’s annual General Debate should call for action to end the global human rights crises, Human Rights Watch said. During the sessions from September 20 to 30, 2024, the situations in Palestine, Sudan, Ukraine, Haiti, Myanmar, Venezuela, and Afghanistan should top the agenda. At the UN Summit of the Future, leaders […]

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UK Government Should End Cruel ‘Two-Child Limit’ Now

The United Kingdom Labour Party is about to meet for its annual conference. Now that Labour is in government, with their leader Keir Starmer as prime minister, it should act to strengthen social security, and tackle poverty and inequality. The first concrete step should be immediately ending the cruel “two-child limit” policy. The “two-child limit” […]

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Protect Women and Girls in DR Congo’s Prisons

A September 9 internal report by the United Nations Population Fund, the UN agency tasked with improving reproductive and maternal health, found that 268 out of the 348 women held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Makala prison – nearly 80 percent – were victims of rape and other sexual violence when an attempted […]

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World Court Findings on Israeli Apartheid a Wake-Up Call

The International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) July advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is a landmark ruling. The ICJ’s findings are legally and morally persuasive, and set out obligations on all states, and on the United Nations itself. Two of its important conclusions are with respect to […]

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Meta’s Oversight Board Rules ‘From the River to the Sea’ Isn’t Hate Speech

Earlier this month, Meta’s Oversight Board found that three Facebook posts containing the phrase “From the River to the Sea” did not violate Meta’s content rules and should remain online. The majority of the Oversight Board members concluded that the phrase, widely used at protests to show solidarity with Palestinians, is not inherently a violation of […]

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