Author: Human Rights Watch

(Beirut) – A prominent Iraqi women’s rights activist was gunned down outside her Baghdad home by two men on motorcycles on March 2, 2026, Human Rights Watch said today.  Yanar Mohammed, 65, co-founded the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq in 2003. She opened Iraq’s first women’s shelters that same year, building a network that […]

The Thai authorities should immediately release Le Chi Thanh, a prominent Vietnamese anti-corruption activist, and ensure that he is not forcibly returned to Vietnam, Human Rights Watch said today. Le Chi Thanh’s lawyers told Human Rights Watch that the Vietnamese embassy in Bangkok has been pressing Thai authorities to deport him as soon as possible […]

Imagine living in North Korea. Then imagine your mother selling herself into a forced marriage in China to pay for your escape. This is what happened to Kim Geum Sung. In 2019, the teenager arrived in South Korea alone. His mother remained in China so that her son might have a better life.For more than a year, […]

This week, the Australian government introduced a new bill, that if passed, will prevent people from conflict and crisis-affected countries from visiting Australia.  Under the Migration Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Bill 2026, the minister for home affairs can issue an “arrival control determination” that would stop people from specified regions from entering Australia on […]

Two women are currently in custody in Uganda for allegedly kissing in public. The pair, whom Ugandan police arrested on February 18, are detained under the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, one of the most draconian anti-LGBT legislations in the world. Uganda criminalizes consensual same-sex relations under its British colonial-era Penal Code Act. Over the last decade, […]

As the United States and Israel carry out thousands of strikes on Iran and Iran carries out attacks across the Middle East, detainees in the region face even greater risks than usual. In Bahrain, an island state that Iranian forces have repeatedly attacked, the authorities should immediately release detainees.   Many of those behind bars […]

(The Hague) – Libyan authorities should urgently surrender Osama Elmasry Njeem to the International Criminal Court (ICC), where he is wanted for serious crimes, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should also ensure full cooperation with the court for other ICC suspects believed to be in Libya. Njeem is a senior member of the […]

On February 26, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway announced the formation of a coalition to prevent atrocities and promote justice in Sudan. As atrocities continue unabated the coalition has its work cut out. The announcement—by the countries that make up Sudan Core Group at the Human Rights’ Council—follows the Rapid Support Forces’ […]

Congolese security forces have been responsible for numerous enforced disappearances in and around Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, since March 2025. The Congolese government is using the National Cyber Defense Council (CNC) as a proxy to carry out arrests and detentions of political opponents on dubious grounds. The authorities should ensure […]

A six-year-old child with a hearing disability was prevented from having his hearing aids delivered to him after being taken into custody with his mother and his five-year-old brother during an immigration check-in with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in San Francisco on March 3. The child’s mother appeared for the appointment as required […]