Author: Human Rights Watch

On October 25, 10-year-old Sern Sovann died from an explosion after reportedly bringing home an item from a nearby field in Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province near the border with Thailand. The blast also seriously injured his father.  The Cambodian Mine Action Centre found that the explosion was caused by an unexploded M-85 artillery-delivered submunition fired into Cambodia […]

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto declared 10 people “national heroes” on November 10, which Indonesia celebrates as Heroes Day. Among them was the late President Soeharto, who ruled Indonesia from 1965 to 1998.  More than 80 public figures, including historians, have written a letter protesting the “hero” title for Soeharto, who presided over three decades of military dictatorship […]

On the afternoon of October 25, Cheick Oumar Diallo chatted with companions on a street in Mali’s capital, Bamako. Suddenly, four gendarmes arrived in a pickup truck and motorbikes, arrested him, and drove off. A week later, Diallo—a 43-year-old former trade union member and prominent critic of Mali’s military junta—has not been seen and his […]

Chinese authorities harassed several dozen Chinese film directors and producers, as well as their families in China, causing them to pull films from the inaugural IndieChina Film Festival in New York City, Human Rights Watch said today. On November 6, 2025, the festival’s organizer, Zhu Riku, announced that the film festival, scheduled for November 8-15, […]

The Australian state of Victoria on October 30 passed a landmark legislation to establish the nation’s first treaty with First Nations people. The Statewide Treaty Bill sets up a democratically elected body to represent First Nations people in Victoria and advise the state government on laws and policies impacting their rights and interests. Victoria’s treaty is the […]

(Nairobi, November 6, 2025) – Kenya’s newly enacted Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendments) Act, 2025, risks criminalizing legitimate online speech and its overbroad provisions should be repealed, Human Rights Watch said today. The amendment was passed by Parliament and assented to by President William Ruto on October 15. The Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act was initially enacted in […]

On November 7, the United States failed to participate in its UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a process where the human rights record of every member state is reviewed by other states. No UN member state has failed to be reviewed since its creation in 2006. The US decision to disengage from this vital process is particularly […]

At the second United Nations Social Summit in Qatar this week, dozens of governments adopted the Doha Political Declaration, renewing their commitments to tackle poverty, create decent work, combat discrimination, expand access to social security, and fulfill human rights. Governments should now match their words with action by enabling the necessary resources to realize these commitments, […]

On November 6, a court in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, gave the go-ahead for the trial of twelve activists, eight of whom are students. The group faces charges stemming from their protests against the planned East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), one of the largest fossil fuel infrastructure projects currently under development globally. The activists were […]

Share an invitation to a state-sponsored press briefing in Niger and face jail time. That’s the reality for six Nigerien journalists who were arrested last month in the military junta’s latest assault on media freedom. On October 30, police in Niamey, Niger’s capital, arrested Moussa Kaka and Abdoul Aziz of Saraounia TV; Ibro Chaibou and […]