Author: Human Rights Watch

The first hearing in the trial of a Turkish environmental activist, who faces charges stemming from a peaceful protest against new coal mining near her home, will begin on April 27. Meanwhile, the court is holding her in detention to prevent her from protesting. The detained activist, 26-year-old Esra Işık, has been campaigning against a […]

While corresponding with a local journalist in Afghanistan around a recent report I had authored, I received a shocking request: “Can we please have a video clip on your new report—not from you, but from a man from Human Rights Watch?” I reread the message in anger. Although I was the report’s author as Human Rights […]

At his first international press conference, Hungary’s prime minister-elect Péter Magyar pledged to reverse his country’s move to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC). Magyar won a landslide victory in Hungary’s April 12 election, where he campaigned, among other things, on restoring rule of law and ties with the EU, opposing former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Today, […]

(Bangkok) – Thai authorities will prosecute 44 opposition politicians for sponsoring a bill to reform Thailand’s lèse-majesté (insulting the monarchy) law, which could result in a lifetime ban from politics, Human Rights Watch said today. On April 24, 2026, the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Position accepted a case from the National […]

(Johannesburg) – Zimbabwean authorities have harassed, abducted, and arbitrarily detained student leaders protesting a proposed constitutional amendment to extend presidential terms, Human Rights Watch said today. Constitutional Amendment No 3 would extend the terms of office for the president and members of parliament from five to seven years, effectively postponing the 2028 elections until 2030. […]

(Nairobi) – A bill before Uganda’s parliament that proposes sweeping controls over “foreign funding” and political activity threatens fundamental rights and could be used to shut down civil society, Human Rights Watch said today. The bill emulates laws adopted in recent years by other rights-abusing governments, which have been deemed to violate international law. On […]

(Berlin) – A new governmental decree undermines the independence of lawyers in Vietnam and will impede efforts to hold officials accountable, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should repeal the decree. Decree 109/2026, which takes effect May 18, 2026, empowers the police and government officials at the local (commune) level to revoke lawyers’ licenses and […]

(The Hague) – The International Criminal Court (ICC)’s confirmation on April 23, 2026, of all crimes against humanity charges against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is a major step toward justice for the victims of the country’s “war on drugs,” Human Rights Watch said today. Three pretrial judges unanimously found substantial grounds to believe that Duterte committed the […]

Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow visited Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar, on Wednesday. Thailand has been acutely affected by the situation in neighboring Myanmar, and is seeking solutions to the influx of refugees, mushrooming transnational crime, and worsening pollution. But it is hard to know what the visit accomplished. Sihasak, a veteran diplomat, has been […]

Authorities and security forces in Ethiopia’s contested Western Tigray Zone are arbitrarily detaining ethnic Tigrayans and severely restricting their movements, employment, and access to services. The Ethiopian government and their international partners seem determined to ignore the treatment of Tigrayans as effectively second-class citizens. The Ethiopian government should end the discriminatory system in Western Tigray […]