Author: Human Rights Watch

The French government announced a new national plan last week aimed at combating racism, antisemitism, and discrimination. Unfortunately, the plan fails to tackle the systemic and institutional nature of racism in France. Adopted on July 6 and extending from 2026 through 2029, the action plan lists 55 measures focused on education and training to strengthen […]

(Bangkok) – The deadly risks facing Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh were evident from landslides in July 2026, that killed at least 17 people and displaced more than 3,000, Human Rights Watch said today.  Bangladesh has been hosting over a million Rohingya refugees for nearly a decade, with expanding families crammed into bamboo and tarp shelters on steep, deforested […]

In June, a working group at Japan’s Internal Affairs Ministry declined to endorse a blanket age-based social media ban for children, saying it was “not desirable.” Although the group’s report is not yet final, its rejection of a blanket ban suggests a willingness to consider alternative approaches to protecting children online. As Human Rights Watch […]

The European Parliament adopted a milestone resolution on July 8 that addresses the armed conflict in Sudan and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacks in El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan. Civilians in El Obeid continue to suffer from unlawful attacks. “Drones strikes are daily,” one resident said. “They’re targeting infrastructure like water, fuel and […]

Five years ago, on July 11, 2021, Cuba experienced its largest nationwide demonstrations since the 1959 Revolution, as thousands took to the streets amid severe shortages and calls for greater rights and freedoms. The government responded with a wave of repression, deepening decades of restrictions on dissent. Rights groups Justicia 11J and Prisoners Defenders estimate […]

Governments should disregard the statement from the US President Donald Trump-chaired Board of Peace that “UNRWA has no place in the new Gaza,” the latest salvo in the US and Israeli government’s long-running campaign to destroy the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. Even before October 2023, UNRWA provided lifesaving humanitarian aid and […]

The French government is expected at any moment to unveil troubling draft legislation to address so-called entryism: the idea that certain groups seek to infiltrate state institutions to influence and promote an ideological agenda. If adopted, the bill would further erode the country’s already shrinking civic space. The entryism bill would aim to strengthen the 2021 […]

Following France’s July 4 victory over Paraguay, Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla attacked French player Kylian Mbappé with dehumanizing remarks. The Dutch and German national teams’ elimination from the round of 32 prompted racist posts online. An Argentina fan was reportedly caught on video on July 7 making racist gestures at American YouTuber IShowSpeed (Darren Watkins Jr.). FIFA released analysis on July […]

A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas on July 7. This is the latest in a string of shooting incidents involving federal immigration agents over the past two years. Salgado, who had reportedly lived in the United States for nearly 35 years, leaves behind a wife […]

(Berlin, July 9, 2026) – Civilians trapped in front-line areas of the Russian-occupied Khersonska region in southern Ukraine face dire humanitarian conditions and have no safe way to leave, Human Rights Watch said today. Civilians who wish to evacuate should be allowed to do so safely. Residents who escaped the city of Oleshky, on the east bank […]