Author: Human Rights Watch

(New York) – The interim government in Bangladesh should ensure that security forces act with neutrality and respect the rule of law to prosecute political violence, Human Rights Watch said today. A United Nations report has found that law enforcement agencies, including the police, border guards, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and intelligence agencies, had engaged in serious […]

Today, the United Nations Human Rights Council held a session exploring reforms of global economic rules to better align with human rights. Specifically, experts discussed developing indicators to measure progress other than Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The shortfalls of measuring a country’s headway using GDP is an issue of rising importance on global agendas and […]

Content and datasets essential for research, policy making, transparency, and accountability began to disappear from US government websites beginning late Friday, January 31, with little information as to why or whether there would be future accessibility. An unknown number of pages and datasets from agencies across the government have been removed, including from the US Census Bureau, […]

The United Nations leadership and its member countries need a backup plan to ensure lifesaving UN humanitarian aid and human rights work continue. This is necessary because the UN’s top financial contributor—the United States—cannot be trusted to honor its commitments. Since taking office, President Donald J. Trump has issued a flurry of executive orders with […]

On February 6, 2023, Türkiye’s southern provinces were hit with devastating earthquakes that left more than 53,000 people dead and over 107,000 injured. The earthquakes exposed the decades’ long failure of municipalities, and other public authorities to ensure builders’ compliance with safe building standards. Yet two years on, there is little sign of accountability for […]

The Italian government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is pushing a security bill through parliament that, if enacted, could have a devastating impact on fundamental rights, including the rights to peaceful protest and freedom of expression. The draft law, approved by the Chamber of Deputies in September and currently under discussion in the senate, would introduce several […]

Millions of Syrians in the diaspora are closely watching the exhilarating and tumultuous developments in their homeland. With misinformation rampant and being deliberately spread, Syrians abroad, including asylum seekers and refugees, are struggling to make informed decisions about permanently returning to a country ravaged by over 12 years of war that has just started navigating […]

(Nairobi) – Uganda’s Supreme Court ruling declaring military trials of civilians unconstitutional is a victory for human rights, Human Rights Watch said today. On January 31, 2025, the Supreme Court held that military courts lack jurisdiction to try civilians and ordered officials to halt all ongoing military trials of civilians and transfer them to the […]

(Nairobi) – Rwandan forces and the abusive M23 armed group should urgently ensure access to and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the population of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Human Rights Watch said today. Recent fighting and the shelling of medical infrastructure in the city, which the M23 captured on January […]

In a significant boost to recognizing transgender people’s rights, the Thai government announced this week that it will invest 145 million baht (US$4.3 million) in providing hormone therapy to transgender people. Thailand has a growing international reputation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights, especially since it passed marriage equality last year. The country is […]