Author: Human Rights Watch

(Nairobi) – Rwandan military forces and the M23 armed group carried out a campaign of forced recruitment and abusive detention of thousands of captured combatants and civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 78-page report, “‘Death Was Everywhere’: Arbitrary Detention, Killings, and Forced Recruitment by […]

(Brussels) – The new European Union Migration and Asylum Pact ushers in sweeping changes that undermine the right to asylum, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch released a question-and-answer document that explains the key changes to EU asylum laws and procedures and the risks for people’s rights. The Pact, adopted in 2024, comes […]

(Beirut) – The National Basketball Association (NBA) risks “sportswashing” the UAE’s egregious human rights record by expanding its financial partnership with its government, Human Rights Watch said today. The 2026 NBA Final series began on June 3, 2026, and is ongoing.  The UAE hosts high-profile sporting, entertainment, and cultural events to promote a public image of openness that […]

In recent weeks, several states have taken steps towards restoring the voting rights of people with felony convictions. Governor Wes Moore of Maryland signed on May 12 HB 115 and SB 241, legislation that will automatically register people to vote following the completion of their felony sentence. Similarly, the Missouri legislature passed on May 28 HB 1871, a […]

(Beirut) – Jordanian authorities should not contest the most recent application to review and annul the abusive conviction of Ayman Sandouka, the former head of a now-dissolved political party, and pave the way for his release, Human Rights Watch said today. Jordan’s State Security Court (SSC), a military institution that includes both military and civilian […]

In a living-room-sized hall of a political party’s Cairo headquarters, family members of prisoners gathered around a photo exhibition on May 12. There, they shared grievances and called on Egyptian authorities to release their loved ones. In the days that followed, the National Security Agency summoned several of the families for interrogation and detained a […]

A new UNESCO report illustrates how education can empower children and their communities to access their human rights. It also shows that education and justice can uphold the rule of law in contexts where it’s in decline and where children live in conditions of extreme injustice.  Human Rights Watch has long documented the consequences of […]

(Washington, DC) – The United States government is conditioning lifesaving health assistance on broad access to surveillance data and extractive rights to pathogen samples and data for pharmaceutical development, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch issued an assessment of seven bilateral health agreements signed in late 2025 with Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Liberia, […]

Hungarian prosecutors announced on June 4 that they had dropped charges against a mayor and a civic activist for their roles in organizing 2025 Pride events in Budapest and Pécs. The charges, which were brought under Fidesz-era anti-LGBT legislation, were part of the former government’s crackdown on civic space and LGBT rights. Prosecutors had filed criminal charges this […]

Tens of thousands of protesters marched simultaneously through central London on 16 May in two separate large-scale demonstrations. Though the protesters were from opposing sides of the political spectrum, the protests were, by and large, peaceful—calling into question the need for the cumulative disruption and house of worship provisions enacted as a part of the Crime and Policing Act […]