Author: Human Rights Watch

(Beirut) – Syria’s newly approved constitutional declaration, meant to govern the country’s transitional phase, concentrates power in the executive and could undermine the independence of the judiciary, Human Rights Watch said today.  The declaration, endorsed by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa on March 13, 2025, grants the president significant authority, including over judicial and legislative appointments […]

Government officials, local authorities, health professionals, and civil society are gathering today at the second global conference on air pollution and health in Cartagena, Colombia. As multilateralism is under threat, this convening is a crucial opportunity for policymakers to make progress on tackling air pollution globally. Organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the government […]

The Trump administration has jeopardized efforts to find thousands of Ukrainian children illegally deported to Russia and Belarus, and in doing so, may have compromised evidence of war crimes by Russian officials. After the US State Department funded Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab in 2022 to work on Ukraine, the lab exposed the scope of Russian […]

On Tuesday, the well-known political activist and journalist Idrissa Barry was arrested by men claiming to be gendarmes in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, sparking fears he has been forcibly disappeared. Barry, 48, is the national secretary of the opposition political group Servir et Non se Servir (“To Serve and Not Serve Oneself,” or SENS). According […]

(Miri) – Malaysia should move swiftly to strengthen its proposed National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights by ensuring that its key provisions are enforceable, a coalition of three Indigenous, human rights, and environmental groups said today in responding to the Malaysian government’s draft plan. Priorities should include meeting Malaysia’s domestic and international commitments to halt […]

(Nairobi) – Pro-government militias in Burkina Faso are implicated in video footage circulating on social networks showing the massacre of dozens of civilians in and around the western city of Solenzo on March 10 and 11, 2025, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should impartially investigate and appropriately prosecute all those responsible for serious crimes. […]

This month, a court in Azerbaijan convicted the prominent opposition leader Tofig Yagublu on fabricated forgery and fraud charges, sentencing him to nine years in prison. Yagublu’s prosecution and imprisonment is part of the Azerbaijani government’s relentless efforts to silence dissenting voices in the country. Yagublu, 64, is a former journalist and a senior member […]

President Trump’s pick to lead the United States Department of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, will soon oversee the federal government’s response to labor rights issues across the US. One of her key priorities should be taking action to end hazardous child labor. In recent years, investigative reports from around the US showed children working harrowing overnight […]

(Beirut) – After months of legal and political wrangling, an amendment to Iraq’s Personal Status Law that entered into force on February 17, 2025, violates women’s and girls’ rights to equality before the law and puts them at risk of other abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. Persistent pressure and advocacy by women’s rights groups partly reduced the […]

Nine women journalists in Azerbaijan are marking International Women’s Day behind bars or under house arrest amid the government’s relentless crackdown on critics. Women journalists and civic activists who speak truth to power face unique risks in Azerbaijan’s patriarchal society. The authorities have a long record of subjecting them to gender-based smear campaigns and trolling in an […]