Author: Human Rights Watch

In recent days, two Palestinian armed groups have released videos of hostages that underscore the horrendous conditions they are facing.  On August 1, Hamas’ armed wing published two videos showing an emaciated 24-year-old Evyatar David in a tunnel, first sitting next to a chart that he says tracks his extremely limited food intake and then […]

(Nairobi) – The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) armed group killed more than 40 people, including several children, with guns and machetes during a nighttime church gathering on July 26-27, 2025, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Human Rights Watch said today. Several other children were abducted and remain missing. The Ugandan-led ADF pledged allegiance to the […]

(New York) – The Vietnamese government should immediately release two wrongfully imprisoned activists who have developed serious health problems in prison, Human Rights Watch said today. Can Thi Theu, 63, a land rights activist, was recently hospitalized for abdominal pain and fever. Le Dinh Luong, 59, a pro-democracy campaigner, suffers from spinal degeneration and chronic stomach pain. […]

(New York) – Macao authorities should unconditionally release the former lawmaker and veteran pro-democracy activist Au Kam San (區錦新), who was arrested on national security charges, Human Rights Watch said today. This is the first time the draconian Law on Safeguarding National Security has been invoked in China’s Macao Special Administrative Region. On July 30, 2025, […]

US President Donald Trump is set to host Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the White House on August 8 to sign a memorandum of understanding that could lead to a peace deal between the two countries. President Trump is expected to hold bilateral meetings with both leaders as well. While […]

Israeli forces’ deadly attacks on schools sheltering Palestinian civilians highlight the absence of safe places for displaced people, the vast majority of Gaza’s population. Hundreds of Israeli attacks since October 2023 have struck over 500 school buildings, many used as shelters, killing hundreds of civilians and causing significant damage to nearly all of Gaza’s schools. […]

(Beirut) – Lebanese authorities have yet to deliver truth and justice for the victims and their families five years after the devastating Beirut port explosion on August 4, 2020, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. It is imperative to conduct a comprehensive and unobstructed investigation that establishes the full chain of responsibility. The blast, […]

Israeli forces occupied schools in southern Lebanon during hostilities between September and November 2024 and in the following weeks, used some of them as barracks, and appear to have intentionally vandalized, pillaged, and destroyed school property. The hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have had a devastating impact on children’s access to education and pillaging of […]

(New York) – The Taliban have deepened their repression since taking over Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, by intensifying restrictions on the rights of women and girls, detaining journalists, and silencing all dissent, Human Rights Watch said today. Afghanistan now faces one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, exacerbated by donor governments’ aid cuts and […]

Countries will resume negotiations in Geneva on August 5, 2025, on a global plastics treaty. Previous talks have stalled amid deep divisions over key issues. To make the treaty meaningful, countries need to tackle plastic pollution at its source by limiting production, including by phasing out fossil fuels and subsidies. Each year, more than 400 million tonnes of plastics […]