Author: Human Rights Watch

(Nairobi) – Abuses against civilians by government forces and armed groups have become rampant in the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2026. The Central African governments of Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, and the Central African Republic have further restricted civil and political rights. “People […]

(London, February 4, 2026) – The Labour government in the UK, during its first full year in authority has carried out punitive immigration policies that have emboldened the far right, an authoritarian crackdown on protest rights, and a failure to adequately address an ongoing and worsening cost of living crisis, Human Rights Watch said today […]

(Bangkok) – The Thai government of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has done little to improve respect for human rights in the country, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2026. A new election was scheduled for February 8, 2026. Major concerns include judicial intervention in politics, repression of free expression, and a mixed […]

(Brussels, February 4, 2026) – In the fourth year of its full-scale war against Ukraine, the Kremlin further escalated the crackdown on Russian civil society, targeting critics both inside the country and in exile, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2026. Aiming to stifle all forms of dissent, authorities expanded censorship and surveillance, increasingly used […]

(Nairobi) – Leaders in several West African countries increased crackdowns on freedoms as they strengthened their hold on power in 2025, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2026. In Nigeria and the Sahel, Islamist armed groups and government forces and their allies repeatedly attacked civilians and civilian infrastructure at a time when […]

(Nairobi) – Civilians in Sudan, South Sudan, and Ethiopia are bearing the brunt of abusive armed conflicts in which the warring parties frequently and often deliberately target them, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2026. Governments across the region have clamped down on already restricted civic and political space around protests and ahead of elections. “Brutal […]

(São Paulo) – Brazilian authorities should adopt new public security strategies that dismantle criminal organizations and their alleged links with state agents, enhance independent criminal investigations, and spur reforms to make police more effective at upholding the law, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2026. In the 529-page World Report 2026, its 36th […]

The Australian government expanded its abusive refugee and migrant policies in 2025, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2026. Despite 2025 election pledges to uphold international refugee law, the government initiated a plan to deport refugees and migrants it labels “noncitizens” to the Pacific island of Nauru and passed new laws that deny them […]

On January 29, the junta’s Council of Ministers approved a decree dissolving all political parties in the country and a draft law repealing the legislation governing their operations and financing. The minister of territorial administration, Émile Zerbo, said the action is part of a broader effort to “rebuild the state,” following what the junta describes as […]

In the wake of the Bondi Hannukah attack, the deadliest mass shooting in Australia in three decades, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese invited Israeli President Isaac Herzog to visit, to “engage with members of the Jewish community who are grieving the loss of 15 innocent lives.” President Herzog is Israel’s head of state, with a constitutional and […]