Author: Human Rights Watch

(New York) – A Pakistani airstrike on a drug treatment center in Afghanistan on March 16, 2026, was an unlawful attack and a possible war crime, Human Rights Watch said today. International agencies reported that at least 143 people were killed and more than 250 injured, most of them patients. Pakistani authorities should promptly and impartially investigate […]

India’s parliament passed a bill this week that changes how transgender people are legally recognized and removes their right to self-identification. If the bill becomes law, it will be a major reversal of the hard-won rights of transgender people in India. “These politicians are making laws for us when they don’t even have basic concepts of […]

In a landmark class action lawsuit in Thailand, a court held a multinational corporation accountable for contamination from a gold mine and recognized the right of villagers in affected areas to effective remedies.  On March 24, the Bangkok Civil Court ordered Akara Resources, a subsidiary of Australia-based Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd., to pay up to THB200,000 (US$6,250) […]

(Abuja) – Deadly bombings in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State in northeastern Nigeria, have heightened concerns about the resurgence of violent attacks by Boko Haram and a growing risk to civilians in the region, Human Rights Watch said today. In the aftermath of this apparent war crime, Nigerian authorities should urgently strengthen protection for […]

(New York, March 26, 2026) – The geographic spread, speed of escalation, and open disregard for international norms by all parties one month into the Middle East conflict are a critical stress test for the international legal order created to protect civilians during armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said today.  Statements by top officials from […]

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, said on March 17 that they would present a law forbidding the desecration of the national flag during the ongoing Diet session. Currently, Japan’s penal code only makes it a criminal offense to damage foreign flags, which the […]

Amid a bleak political landscape of rising authoritarianism and anti-rights political agendas, the Council of Europe and its member states adopted a new declaration last week in Chișinău, Moldova, reinforcing their commitment to social rights. The Chișinău Declaration recognizes that “democratic stability and security are directly impacted by rising socio-economic inequalities and the cost-of-living crisis” and that “ensuring […]

Iranian forces appear to have deliberately targeted at least two civilian commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz on March 11, 2026, which would amount to war crimes. Between March 1 and 17, the UN confirmed 17 incidents of damage to commercial vessels in the region.  The attacks, as well as the threat […]

Next week, the United Nations Human Rights Council will vote on a resolution to renew the mandates of the Group of Independent Experts on the Situation in Belarus and the special rapporteur on Belarus. As Belarusian authorities continue to commit grave rights violations in the country and persecute Belarusians in exile, these mandates are vital to […]

UN Security Council resolution on the decades-long dispute of the Western Sahara territory does not ensure that a new framework to end the long-standing issue upholds the right to self-determination for the Sahrawi people and is consistent with international law. The resolution endorses only Morocco’s autonomy proposal, which does not include independence as an option, […]