Author: Human Rights Watch

(Bangkok) – Lao authorities should urgently and impartially investigate the suspicious death of an outspoken critic of the government and appropriately prosecute those responsible, Human Rights Watch said today. On February 20, 2026, the body of Sisay Luangmonda, widely known by his social media name Bao Mor Khaen, 32, was found on a roadside in […]

Two unknown assailants shot and killed housing rights activist Zweli ‘Khabazela’ Mkhize on February 12. Treasurer of the eNkanini branch of Abahlali baseMjondolo, a shack dwellers’ movement that has faced significant threats and violence from both state and non-state actors, Mkhize was killed while visiting a friend near Midrand in Johannesburg. Abahlali baseMjondolo, comprised of urban […]

In an important judgment for media freedom, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on February 26 ruled that Hungary violated EU law when it stripped independent radio station Klubrádió of its FM frequency in 2021.  The court found that Hungarian authorities used disproportionate and discriminatory grounds in refusing to renew the station’s license and […]

(Beirut) – Civilians are at grave risk of abuse as the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalates, Human Rights Watch said today. In the early hours of March 2, 2026, Hezbollah fired rockets and drones into northern Israel, after which the Israeli military carried over 70 strikes across Lebanon, including on southern and eastern […]

An Athens court in a landmark ruling on February 26 delivered the first convictions in Greece’s “Predatorgate” scandal. The court found three executives of the Greek spyware company Intellexa, and another prominent businessman, all guilty of unlawfully accessing information systems, violating communications privacy, and interfering with personal data systems, using spyware. The ruling is an important step […]

(Sydney) – Australia’s government should invest in community-based alternatives to immigration detention rather than spending millions of dollars per person each year on its abusive offshore regime, Human Rights Watch said in a recent submission to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee of the Australian Senate. Since November 2025, the committee has been holding […]

On Thursday, the European Union Commission announced that the European Social Fund can be used by member states to fund safe abortions and improve access to abortion. This is in response to the European Citizens’ Initiative—My Voice, My Choice—which requested that “the EU does what is in its power to ensure safe and accessible abortion for […]

In an overdue but welcome step, Egypt’s Ministry of Finance has published data showing state owned enterprises, following 2024 tax reforms to remove their tax exemptions, contributed 67 billion pounds (US$1.4 billion) in tax revenue in FY2024/25 and is expected to raise 87 billion pounds (US$1.7 billion) in FY2025/26.  While Human Rights Watch cannot verify the […]

United Nations human rights experts issued a damning public critique of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) plans to “sex test” all women athletes.  Last year, the IOC started a secret process to “protect the female category,” and it appears the result is an impending announcement that all women athletes will undergo genetic sex testing for the Los […]

Japanese lawmakers and Uyghur activists gathered on February 25 at an event hosted by the Japan Uyghur Association in Tokyo to address the Chinese government’s atrocity crimes in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. “It’s important to send a big message to the world” about the Chinese government’s rights abuses against Uyghurs, said Keiji Furuya, a […]