Author: Human Rights Watch

(Berlin) – A Tashkent regional appeals court on August 21, 2024, upheld a woman’s 30-month restricted freedom sentence for alleged anti-constitutional activity in gross violation of her right to freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said today. Sevara Shaydullaeva, 31, had sent her mother a video clip of Uzbekistan’s late President Islam Karimov speaking to […]

Teams of prominent scientists and ethicists have called for the end of medically unnecessary nonconsensual surgeries on intersex children in two new papers.   On the heels of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s first-ever resolution affirming the rights of intersex people, the papers signal growing international resolve to address rights violations experienced by people born with […]

This month, Netflix released “The Goat Life,” a movie centered on the experiences of an Indian migrant worker, Najeeb Muhammed, who worked in Saudi Arabia in the early 1990s and, after being stranded in the desert, was forced to work as a goat herder. It is based on the 2008 bestselling book, “Goat Days,” which […]

Last week, a 17-year-old boy died by self-harm in his cell at Banksia Hill Detention Centre in Western Australia. This tragic event was the second death of a child within the state’s youth detention system in less than a year. In October 2023, Cleveland Dodd, a 16-year-old, lost his life by self-harm in Unit 18, a repurposed […]

North Korean athletes who took selfies with their South Korean and Chinese counterparts at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games are reportedly facing intense scrutiny and possible punishment upon their return home. In North Korea, even an innocent selfie can have stark implications, given the government’s strict ideological controls and repression. While the athletes’ selfies were celebrated by […]

The Bangladeshi people have shown enormous courage over the past few months, paying a very high price to secure an opportunity for democratic transition and progress on human rights. The European Union should stand by their side and take concrete actions to support them. The authoritarian rule of Sheikh Hasina’s government ended when she resigned […]

  (Istanbul) – Türkiye’s Environment Ministry should not approve the planned addition of two more units at Afşin-Elbistan coal power plant A in the southeastern  Kahramanmaraş province in view of the serious harm the plant has caused the surrounding community, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch research found that air pollution levels near plant […]

Mongolia should deny entry to Russian President Vladimir Putin or arrest him if he enters the country. The Kremlin announced that Putin is planning to travel to Mongolia on September 3, 2024, following an invitation by Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh to attend a military anniversary event. President Putin has been wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) […]

In the wake of recent racist and Islamophobic riots in the United Kingdom, the United Nations’ anti-racism body has issued a report on the UK’s record addressing racial discrimination. In it, the UN  urged the UK government to finally right the wrongs committed against Black Britons from the Windrush generation and the Chagossian people as […]

This week, Mexico’s Aguascalientes state took an alarming step backwards on access to abortion in violation of Mexico’s legal obligations. One year ago, in August 2023, Mexico’s Supreme Court ordered the decriminalization of abortion in Aguascalientes, after five civil society organizations – GIRE, CECADEC, Cultivando Género, Morras Help Morras, and TERFU A.C. – challenged the abortion prohibition […]