Author: Human Rights Watch

(Kinshasa) – The Human Rights Watch executive director, Philippe Bolopion, urged senior Congolese officials to respect freedom of expression, end arbitrary arrests and detentions, and ensure accountability for abuses during his visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo from May 17 to 21, 2026, Human Rights Watch said today. The visit took place against a backdrop of […]

Against the backdrop of Mental Health Awareness Month and the advancement of Congress’ budget reconciliation bill, hundreds of immigrants, community members, and allies gathered in the nation’s capital on May 20 for a peaceful march from Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) headquarters to the Capitol. The demonstration was held to protest the budget reconciliation bill’s […]

(Istanbul) – A court decision ordering the removal of the party chair and leadership of Türkiye’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), is the latest deeply damaging blow to the rule of law, democracy and human rights in Türkiye, Human Rights Watch said today. On May 21, 2026, the 36th Ankara regional court of appeal […]

There is growing recognition that current economic metrics fail to capture much of what really matters. Gross domestic product (GDP), which measures total economic activity and is a cornerstone of economic decision-making, is blind to issues such as whether children have quality public schools, people have access to health care, or government institutions are accountable […]

(Bangkok) – Two journalists were arrested in the Maldives in the second week of May, 2026, the first journalists jailed on criminal charges since the country adopted a democratic constitution in 2008, Human Rights Watch said today. The Maldives authorities should immediately release the arbitrarily imprisoned journalists, Leevan Ali Naseer, 29, and Mohamed Shahzan, 31, […]

The death of Armen Hovhannisyan by suicide on May 16, hours after Armenian police transferred him to a psychiatric institution, should prompt urgent scrutiny of how authorities respond to people in psychosocial distress.   Police in Artashat, about 30 kilometers from Yerevan, detained Hovhannisyan after he allegedly tore down an election campaign poster. Authorities opened criminal […]

(Jakarta) – An Indonesian official announced on April 30, 2026, that the government would seek to amend the country’s 1999 Human Rights Law to allow authorities to determine who is a recognized human rights defender, Human Rights Watch said today. Adopting such revisions would violate fundamental rights to freedom of expression and association and put rights […]

The M23 armed group and Rwandan military forces carried out an abusive month-long occupation of an eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city beginning in December 2025. During this time, these forces shot fleeing civilians, summarily executed more than 50 people during door-to-door searches, raped at least 8 women, and forcibly disappeared at least 12 people. […]

Ukraine’s parliament on April 28 advanced a bill to make sweeping reform of the national civil code, which raises significant human rights concerns. The draft, which was adopted in the first reading, does not include same-sex partnerships in the definition of “marriage.” A recent landmark ruling from Ukraine’s Supreme Court recognized that a same-sex partnership constituted “family,” […]

One year after Chadian authorities arrested and later sentenced Succès Masra, the prominent opposition leader and former prime minister, his continued imprisonment on politically motivated charges underscores the government’s intolerance of dissent. Masra, leader of the opposition party Les Transformateurs (The Transformers), was arrested at his residence in N’Djamena early on May 16, 2025. He was accused of […]