Author: Human Rights Watch

Ethiopian authorities are resorting once again to the authoritarian playbook. On February 24, three months ahead of scheduled national elections, Ethiopia’s Media Authority announced the revocation of the Addis Standard’s operating license. The action risks silencing one of the last independent media outlets in the country. Since its establishment in 2011, the Addis Standard has been […]

The Trump administration is framing its new forthcoming online portal, freedom.gov, as a bold defense of free expression. According to Reuters, the goal is to help users bypass European content restrictions and “counter censorship” in Europe and “elsewhere.” But the European rules freedom.gov wants to help people circumvent are not about censorship at all. Europe’s regulatory framework is […]

Last February, Thai authorities in Bangkok loaded 40 Uyghur men into blacked-out trucks and forcibly returned them to China. Their fates remain unknown. The men had spent over a decade in Thai immigration detention after having fled repression in Xinjiang in northwest China. Because the men faced grave risks of torture and other abuses in China, Thailand’s […]

Syria is at a pivotal moment. After years of devastating conflict and decades of repression, the country’s transitional phase will determine whether it breaks with entrenched patterns of abuse or merely reproduces them. Decisions taken now about accountability and oversight will shape Syria’s human rights landscape and overall stability for generations. As the United Nations […]

Last week marked six years since Rwandan gospel singer and peace advocate Kizito Mihigo died in police custody. While his suspicious death remains unexplained, it clearly signaled the government’s deepening repression of free speech. A survivor of the 1994 genocide, Mihigo’s music centered on forgiveness and compassion. He was arrested in 2014 on charges of offenses against […]

(Beirut) – The Lebanese government should take immediate, concrete steps to help secure access to justice, truth, and reparations for thousands of civilian victims of abuses stemming from the armed conflict with Israel, five Lebanese and international human rights organizations said today in a letter to Lebanon’s justice minister and deputy prime minister, who heads Lebanon’s National […]

(Nairobi) – The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), one of Sudan’s two main warring parties, targeted, abused, and killed people with disabilities during and after their October 26, 2025, takeover of El Fasher, North Darfur’s capital, Human Rights Watch said today. The Rapid Support Forces singled out people because of their disabilities, accused people with physical […]

(Johannesburg) – A bill passed by Angola’s parliament on January 22, 2026, to regulate nongovernmental organizations would significantly expand government control over civil society and undermine fundamental freedoms, Human Rights Watch said today. President João Lourenço should not sign the bill into law but return it to parliament for revisions that ensure compliance with Angola’s international human […]

(New York) – Israeli authorities plan to bar 37 international nongovernmental organizations from operating in Gaza and the West Bank on March 1, 2026 for refusing to provide the government with lists of their staff and their biodata as part of new registration requirements, Human Rights Watch said today. The organizations say that these requirements violate the […]

Just months before the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off, the world of football is again rocked by cases of discrimination both off and on the pitch. Members of the football community, including footballers and fan groups, have long warned of pervasive discrimination in the sport. During a UEFA Champions League match this month, Real […]