Author: Human Rights Watch

Global critics of the international financial architecture say the system is broken. As Brazilian President Lula da Silva said today addressing the United Nations General Assembly, it’s become “the Marshall Plan in reverse where the poorest finance the richest.” From realizing people’s socioeconomic rights to tackling climate change, the laws and institutions that make up the global […]

Academic freedom in Hong Kong has severely declined since the Chinese government imposed the draconian National Security Law on the city on June 30, 2020. Students and faculty accustomed to academic freedom must now tread carefully to avoid retribution for what they teach, research, and publish, and even with whom they associate. Concerned governments and […]

Uruguay is among the first countries in the Americas to provide personal assistance for people with disabilities in their care system, but has yet to provide services for everyone who require them for independent living. The program is riddled with gaps that leave many people with disabilities unable to access the support they need because […]

(Beirut) – More than a thousand Israeli strikes across Lebanon that have killed hundreds of people and injured thousands since September 23, 2024, are placing civilians across the country at grave risk of harm, Human Rights Watch said today. The UN should urgently establish, and UN member countries should support, an international investigation into the recent hostilities […]

(Austin, TX) – The Texas National Guard has repeatedly fired pepper spray projectiles at arriving migrants, Human Rights Watch said today. The Texas legislature should deny additional funds for the Texas Military Department, which oversees the Texas National Guard, until this practice ends. In several incidents, including one newly documented by Human Rights Watch, Texas […]

(New York) – The Chinese government should quash the conviction and release Ilham Tohti, the prominent Uyghur economist and government critic, on the 10th anniversary of his sentencing, Human Rights Watch said today. In 2014, the Xinjiang People’s High Court convicted Professor Tohti on politically motivated charges of “separatism” and sentenced him to life in prison. His family has not been allowed to visit him since early […]

(Brussels) – The European Union should classify Malaysia’s state of Sarawak as high risk under its new anti-deforestation regulation, a coalition of environmental, human rights, and Indigenous organizations said today. Sarawak, whose millions of hectares of ancient rainforests are at risk of being razed for timber and oil palm plantations supplying international markets, is a […]

(Taipei) – Taiwan’s top court on September 20, 2024, ruled that the death penalty was constitutional with greater protections, Human Rights Watch said today. The ruling addressed some concerns with the country’s death penalty, but permits the continued use of the inherently cruel punishment. Following a legal challenge by all 37 inmates currently on Taiwan’s death […]

(Baku) – Governments participating in the 29th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) should fulfill their human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said in a question-and-answer document released today. This includes transitioning away from fossil fuels in an equitable, time-bound, and rights-respecting manner. The conference will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11 to […]

(Sydney) – The Australian government’s human rights sanctions process should be strengthened through better civil society engagement and bolder steps to sanction corrupt or rights-violating individuals and entities in Asia, Human Rights Watch said in a recent submission to the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee. The Committee is currently reviewing the Australian government’s […]