Author: Human Rights Watch

The Swedish government has dropped its proposal to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13 for serious crimes, Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer said on June 11. Instead, officials will present parliament with a proposal to lower the age from 15 to 14. While that is better than 13, it would still be the wrong […]

Azerbaijani authorities’ renewed detention of exiled journalist Afgan Sadigov raises serious concerns about transnational repression and the apparent manipulation of legal procedures across borders to silence a government critic.  Several masked men in civilian clothing detained Sadigov in the Azerbaijan capital of Baku on June 8, according to Sadigov’s family and lawyer. Later that day, a […]

In recent weeks, Islamabad’s Capital Development Authority (CDA) completed the first wave of demolitions of informal settlements across the city. Muslim Colony in Bari Imam, in existence since the 1960s, is now entirely leveled. Allama Iqbal Colony in Sector G-7, home to more than a thousand families, many of them who work as sanitation workers for the […]

Play Video Read a text description of this video Soundbite: I cannot live without fear because discrimination is very widespread here in Malawi against us, people with albinism.  Soundbite: We walk around in fear, especially when we are in public places because, according to the beliefs people have, if they take our bones, they will […]

The US government wants big investments in critical minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while asserting that US companies will contribute to the region’s “peace, prosperity, and dignity.” But any meaningful contribution to economic development will need the US and Congolese governments to address persistent patterns of corruption and human rights abuses in the […]

Israeli killings of civilians and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians have continued unabated, despite the declaration of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah on April 17. On June 7 and June 9, Israel ordered all residents of the southern Lebanese city of Tyre and its surrounding towns and refugee camps to leave […]

(New York) – The FIFA Men’s World Cup corporate partners and sponsors should join calls for an “ICE Truce,” a public commitment from United States federal officials to refrain from immigration enforcement operations at all World Cup events and venues, Human Rights Watch and the Sport & Rights Alliance said today. The 2026 World Cup, […]

The European Union’s Pact on Migration and Asylum, a sweeping overhaul of the EU’s migration rules that entering into force on June 12, risks weakening protection for migrants and asylum seekers with disabilities. Disability rights groups warn that the Pact lacks clear safeguards to ensure disability-inclusive screening, reception and full and fair asylum procedures.  In […]

(New York) – Taliban security forces in Afghanistan used excessive force against protesters in the city of Herat on June 9, 2026, Human Rights Watch said today. They beat protesters and shot toward the crowds, killing a child and injuring others, and detained an unknown number of people. The protest followed recent arrests of women in […]

On May 23, the well-known Indonesian activist Yasinta Moiwend went missing from her home in Merauke, South Papua, according to her family. Mama Yasinta, as she is known, has long defended the rights of Papua’s Marind-Anim Indigenous community. She features prominently in a widely celebrated documentary on abuses and land grabs targeting Papuans called Pig Feast: Colonialism in […]