Author: Human Rights Watch

(Istanbul, November 7, 2024) – The Erdoğan government’s decision in recent days to remove from office four democratically elected mayors and dissolve municipal councils is a significant blow to Türkiye’s democratic credentials and violates the rights of over half a million voters, Human Rights Watch said today. The mayors in four constituencies, one in Istanbul and three […]

Countries concerned by incendiary weapons’ severe physical, psychological, socioeconomic, and environmental harm should work to strengthen the international law that governs them. Incendiary weapons cause excruciating burns, respiratory damage, and lifelong suffering. They have been used this year in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Ukraine, and Syria and in the past 15 years in Afghanistan, Iraq, […]

This week, Uganda’s appeals court is set to hear an important case on a government hospital’s use of seclusion and restraints on people with psychosocial disabilities. In 2015, Benon Kabale, a human rights and mental health care reform activist, together with the Centre for Human Rights and Development (CEHURD), sued the government for restraining and […]

The Mauritius government has ended its recent suspension of social media, which threatened voters’ access to information ahead of the general elections on November 10. On November 1, the Mauritius communications authority had directed internet service providers in the country to suspend access to all social media platforms until after the elections. Following swift and widespread […]

(New York) – Saudi Arabia’s World Cup bid fails to address the country’s widespread labor rights abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. FIFA, the international football organization, will formally certify the awarding of the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia on December 11, 2024. FIFA has reportedly completed its evaluation of the Saudi bid. On July […]

(Berlin) – Governments participating in the 29th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) should urgently commit to drastically reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, including by immediately and fairly phasing out of fossil fuels, Human Rights Watch said today. The climate conference will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11 to 22, 2024. “Governments preparing their […]

(Nairobi) – Kenyan security forces abducted, arbitrarily arrested, tortured, and killed perceived leaders of the anti-Finance Bill protests between June and August 2024, Human Rights Watch said today. Security officers held abductees, who they had detained without respecting their legal rights, in unlawful detention facilities, including in forests and abandoned buildings, and denied them access […]

Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, during a speech in Kisangani on October 23, proposed steps to change the country’s constitution, including floating the idea of a change to presidential term limits. Tshisekedi had previously pledged to “scrupulously respect constitutional obligations.” In Kisangani, Tshisekedi described the current constitution as “outdated” and “not adapted to the country’s […]

(Nairobi) – African leaders should prioritize rights-driven solutions to the crises in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan at the 23rd Summit of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) scheduled in Bujumbura, Burundi, on October 31, 2024, Human Rights Watch said today. Summit participants should discuss steps to end the atrocities in eastern […]

(Rome) – The Vatican’s renewal of its 2018 agreement with the Chinese government should be the basis for improvements in religious freedom and other human rights in China, Human Rights Watch said today. The Chinese government should immediately free forcibly disappeared Catholic bishops, including James Su Zhimin, Augustine Cui Tai, Julius Jia Zhiguo, Joseph Zhang Weizhu, Peter Shao […]