Author: Human Rights Watch

On August 23, I was aboard the Geo Barents, the rescue ship operated by the humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders or MSF), in the port of Salerno when the news arrived that the ship was to be detained by authorities for 60 days. Instead of witnessing lifesaving efforts in the Mediterranean Sea, […]

(Nairobi) – South Sudan’s parliament has approved two laws on transitional justice that advance accountability and justice for victims of abuses committed since the start of the country’s armed conflict which broke out in December 2013, Human Rights Watch said today. The bills, adopted on September 3, 2024, were sent to parliamentary committees that will […]

Last week, the Ethiopian government finally released seven long-detained senior members of the Oromo Liberation Front, an opposition political party. Abdi Regassa, Dawit Abdeta, Lammi Begna, Michael Boran, Kenessa Ayana, Gaada Oljira, and Gaada Gebissa should never have been arrested, let alone jailed. They spent four years in detention without charge while the government ignored […]

Last month, South Korea’s Constitutional Court held that the country’s current climate measures were insufficient for safeguarding citizens’ rights, particularly those of younger generations, who will bear the brunt of the effects of climate change. The ruling is the first of its kind in Asia, and could set a powerful example for the rest of the […]

(Jerusalem, September 10, 2024) – The Israeli military’s use of surveillance technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), and other digital tools to help determine targets to attack in Gaza may be increasing the risk of civilian harm, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing a question and answer document about the tools. These digital tools raise grave ethical, legal, […]

(Amman) – Libyan authorities are failing to provide adequate compensation and reconstruction support a year after devastating floods wrecked the eastern Libyan city of Derna and left thousands dead or missing, Human Rights Watch said today. Armed groups have yet to face accountability for emergency response failures that prevented people from seeking safety.  The slow […]

(Johannesburg) – Angolan President João Lourenco has signed into law two bills that fail to meet international human rights standards and will severely restrict freedoms of the media, expression, and association, Human Rights Watch said today. Angola’s National Assembly approved the Bill on the Crimes of Vandalism of Public Goods and Services on July 18, […]

(Beirut) – Iranian authorities have reportedly arrested on false charges, threatened, or harassed the family members of dozens of people killed, executed, or imprisoned during the protests over the last two years, Human Rights Watch said today. Two years after the outbreak of the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests, Iranian authorities continue to silence and punish family […]

Last week, the United Kingdom home secretary convened a summit with ministers, intelligence agencies, and law enforcement bodies to discuss small boat crossings, focused on stopping “smuggling gangs.” This followed the deaths of at least 12 people, including a pregnant woman and six children, attempting to reach the UK by boat, in what is believed to be […]

Limited and, at times, poor regularization and integration policies in Latin American countries have forced many migrants and asylum seekers into the dangerous Darién Gap. Over the last year and a half, over 700,000 migrants and asylum seekers have crossed the Darién Gap, where they are exposed to abuses, including sexual violence. As the crises […]