Author: Human Rights Watch

(London) – The Indonesian Constitutional Court’s ruling requiring reform of the military justice system so that military personnel accused of ordinary crimes can be tried in civilian courts is a major step for justice in Indonesia, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should immediately revise the 1997 Military Justice Law, which has long prevented civilian […]

(Nairobi) – Niger’s authorities should urgently disclose the whereabouts of the prominent journalist Moussa Kaka, who was forcibly disappeared two months ago, Human Rights Watch said today. They should ensure his safety and release him unless he has been charged with a valid criminal offense. On August 31, 2026, Kaka, the director-general of Radio Télévision Saraounia and […]

The Indian authorities’ removal of over 130 million names from the country’s electoral rolls was arbitrary and deeply flawed. Indian authorities first stripped millions of citizens of their right to vote and are now beating and jailing them for peacefully protesting these rights violations. The authorities should immediately scrap the voter roll revision process that has […]

(Beirut) – A long-running humanitarian crisis in Taizz, Yemen’s third-largest city, has drastically worsened since October 2026, when the Houthi armed group forces fully encircled the city and blocked and attacked the remaining major supply route, Human Rights Watch said today. Since then, there have been severe shortages of fuel, food, water, medicine, cooking gas, and access […]

(Washington, DC) – US states’ use of a tool to verify citizenship that is marred by inaccurate and incomplete data is creating new hurdles for the right to vote with the midterm elections only days away, Human Rights Watch said today. The Supreme Court ruled in late September 2026 that states could use the tool, Systematic […]

(New York) – The Sri Lankan government’s Prevention of Organised Crimes Bill, submitted to parliament on October 20, 2026, risks enabling arbitrary detention, torture, and other rights violations, Human Rights Watch said today. The proposed law, alongside the Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill submitted on October 6, reproduces abusive provisions in existing counterterrorism […]

One year after Tanzania’s contested 2025 elections, authorities have yet to make any arrests for human rights violations committed before and during the vote. In the months leading up to the elections, the government intensified its repression of the political opposition, government critics, and the media. Authorities also failed to account for a spate of […]

(Beirut) – Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, a long-serving UAE diplomat and foreign affairs official, has an extensive record of denying and whitewashing the country’s rights abuses in Sudan and Yemen, Human Rights Watch said today. On October 21, 2026, the UAE formally nominated Nusseibeh to be the new United Nations secretary-general. “For years, Lana Nusseibeh has […]

Syria and the World Bank Group announced on October 18 the creation of the Syria Recovery and Reconstruction Trust Fund, known as START. Run by the World Bank, the fund will pool donor money and private investment to help restore infrastructure and public services, strengthen state institutions, and finance reforms the Syrian government identifies as […]

Overwhelmed by threats—and fearing for her personal safety Satya Rhodes-Conway the current mayor of Madison, Wisconsin in the US, announced on October 23 that she was dropping her bid for reelection. “The price of being in public office has gotten too high,” she said. Globally, women in public life face alarming levels of political violence, […]