Author: Human Rights Watch

Last Friday, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a law making, among other provisions, one year of pre-primary education compulsory, further strengthening the right to education for South Africa’s children. From a human rights perspective, compulsory education is primarily an obligation on governments to ensure quality education is free, accessible, and inclusive. The law also […]

(Berlin) – Uzbek authorities should immediately quash the convictions and release two wrongfully imprisoned activists, Human Rights Watch and Uzbek Forum for Human Rights said today. An appeals court in Qarshi is scheduled to resume hearings in the case of Nargiz Keldiyorova and Dildora Khakimova on September 18, 2024. A court in Kashkadarya on July […]

September 17 marks three years since the Taliban banned secondary education for girls in Afghanistan, shortly after their return to power in August 2021. While the issue of Afghan girls’ secondary education has generated much discussion globally, governments and international institutions have yet to take meaningful action to reverse the Taliban’s ban. The Taliban are […]

Far from the front lines where bulldozers tear down tropical forests, European Union officials are preparing to implement a crucial law that will require EU-based companies to ensure their imports and exports are “deforestation-free” and not driving human rights abuses. With 10 football field-sized tracts of climate-critical forest razed per minute globally in 2023, the […]

(Brussels) – The explosion on the oil tanker MT Suvarna Swarajya on September 7, 2024, in Bangladesh underscores the lack of adequate international and national regulations, oversight, and labor rights protections in the shipbreaking industry, Human Rights Watch and the NGO Shipbreaking Platform said today. Six workers have died and four remain in critical condition. Shipowners frequently use […]

(Johannesburg) – Islamist armed groups in Burkina Faso have escalated their attacks on civilians, massacring villagers, displaced people, and Christian worshipers, Human Rights Watch said today. Since February 2024, the armed groups have killed at least 128 civilians across the country in seven attacks that violated international humanitarian law and constitute war crimes. Government forces have […]

Police officials in Kyrgyzstan continue to evade accountability for inaction that may have contributed to the death of Aizada Kanatbekova at the hands of her “bride kidnapper” in April 2021. On September 13, the Bishkek City Court upheld a May 2024 district court acquittal of the then-Bishkek police chief, Bakyt Matmusaev, of negligence charges in […]

(New York) – Iranian authorities’ brutal repression against women has only continued in the two years since the death in morality police custody of Mahsa Jina Amini sparked nationwide protests, a dozen human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch said in a statement released today. Iranian authorities have continued their brutal repression of peaceful dissidents, civil society, […]

In recent days Israeli security forces in the West Bank have reportedly blocked medical workers from getting to people in need, dug up roads making them impassable, and used airstrikes and drones launching missiles to kill dozens of Palestinians, including children. Taken together, these moves represent a worrying escalation of the use of force in […]

Olaf Scholz will make history on September 17 as the first German chancellor to visit Central Asia for a summit with the region’s five heads of state. The summit aims to promote closer ties on economic, energy, and development issues. The initiative highlights the significance Germany attaches to relations with Central Asia, especially following Russia’s […]