Author: Human Rights Watch

On June 15, the Court of Appeal in London upheld the United Kingdom government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group. This damaging ruling, which overturns an earlier High Court decision against the government, will likely further inhibit the right to protest in the UK and globally. Palestine Action was established in 2020 […]

Niger’s junta leader, Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani, signed on June 11 a decree provisionally stripping Nigerien nationality from Mariama Djibrine, a leading opposition figure living in exile. The measure is based on a 2024 order that created a national database of people suspected of terrorism. Authorities accuse Djibrine of disseminating “information likely to disturb public order, inciting revolt, and […]

(São Paulo) – Brazilian judicial authorities in two important recent rulings, affirmed the rights of small landholders and Indigenous peoples in the Brazilian Amazon and called on federal authorities to remove illegal occupants, a major driver of illegal deforestation in the region, Human Rights Watch said today.  The decisions condemn federal authorities for their delays […]

As Hungary begins to close the chapter on its anti-LGBT era by dropping criminal charges against Pride March organizers, Türkiye is moving in a sharply opposite direction proposals to jail LGBT people.   Turkish media reported in recent days that the Erdoğan government has circulated a brief to its Justice and Development Party lawmakers proposing legal […]

(New York) – At least 8,500 attacks on education took place globally in 2024-2025, a more than 40 percent increase from the previous two-year period, according to Education Under Attack 2026, released today by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA). These attacks harmed over 10,600 students, teachers, and education personnel across 83 countries, […]

(Bishkek, June 15, 2026) – A harmful draft law before the Kyrgyzstan parliament would prohibit legal gender recognition, ban gender-affirming health care, and restrict information about gender diversity and the possibility of transitioning for children, Human Rights Watch said today. The bill, which passed its first reading on June 4, 2026, still requires approval at […]

Police in Sri Lanka have arrested a rapper on terrorism charges over the video of a song he posted online. It is the latest abuse of a draconian counterterrorism law still in use years after successive governments have promised to repeal it. Sangeethsan Ganeskumar, 24, known by his stage name Hiphop Sangee, was detained under the […]

Police in Sri Lanka have arrested a rapper on terrorism charges over the video of a song he posted online. It is the latest abuse of a draconian counterterrorism law still in use years after successive governments have promised to repeal it. Sangeethsan Ganeskumar, 24, known by his stage name Hiphop Sangee, was detained under the […]

(Beirut) – The Qatari authorities since March 2026 have ordered at least four people with roles in key institutions of the minority Baha’i religion to leave the country, Human Rights Watch said today, based on information from informed sources. The four were ordered to leave without due process and with no legal pathway to challenge […]

(Berlin) – Belarusian authorities are carrying out a countrywide intimidation campaign against former and current students of the European Humanities University (EHU), Human Rights Watch said today.  The authorities have searched the homes of dozens of students and their families and harassed, interrogated, and detained them. The actions violate their rights to freedom of thought, […]