Author: Human Rights Watch

(Beirut) – A law that Lebanon’s parliament adopted on July 31, 2025, includes positive reforms for Lebanon’s judiciary but falls short of guaranteeing judicial independence, Human Rights Watch said today.  The law includes some advances in terms of judicial independence, including greater judicial self-governance and the expansion of elections of judges by other judges. But […]

(Washington DC) – Peruvian President Dina Boluarte has signed into law an amnesty bill that grants impunity for serious crimes committed during the country’s internal armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said today. Peru’s Congress passed the law on July 9, 2025, and President Boluarte signed it into law on August 13. It provides blanket amnesty to members of […]

(Nairobi) – The guilty verdict and 20-year sentence imposed on August 9, 2025, on Succès Masra, leader of Chad’s main opposition party, is the culmination of a trial based on politically motivated charges, Human Rights Watch said today. Masra, the former prime minister, is an ardent critic of President Mahamat Idriss Déby. The criminal court in […]

On August 5, Cameroon’s Constitutional Council backed the electoral commission’s decision to bar Maurice Kamto, a key opposition leader and challenger to incumbent President Paul Biya, from the country’s upcoming presidential elections. The move threatens the credibility of the electoral process and has triggered yet another crackdown on political opposition. Cameroon’s electoral commission rejected Kamto’s candidacy last month, […]

(Sydney, August 11, 2025) – Australia should press the Vietnamese government on human rights by seeking clear, concrete, and measurable benchmarks for progress, Human Rights Watch said today in a recent submission to the Australian government. The 20th Australia-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue will take place tomorrow on August 12, 2025, in Vietnam. Vietnam has incarcerated more […]

(Beirut) – Saudi authorities have been carrying out an unprecedented surge in executions in 2025 without apparent due process, Human Rights Watch and the Middle East Democracy Center said today. The June 14 execution of Turki al-Jasser, a journalist known for exposing corruption within the Saudi royal family, raises concerns that the Saudi government is using […]

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, […]