Author: Human Rights Watch

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s scheduled January 25-28 visit to China, accompanied by over 20 Finnish business leaders, is the latest in a wave of trips by democratic governments seeking closer trade relations with Beijing. Recent visits by leaders from Ireland, Sweden, France, Germany, and Canada follow a familiar script: trade and investment dominate the agenda while human rights concerns […]

(Beirut) – Both sides in the conflict between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Northeast Syria need to protect civilians and respect human rights in their operations, Human Rights Watch said today.  The parties should not arbitrarily block aid delivery or destroy or block access to critical infrastructure. They should fully support […]

On January 19, International Criminal Court (ICC) Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan briefed the United Nations Security Council on her office’s ongoing investigation in Darfur, Sudan. Deputy Prosecutor Khan had to attend the briefing remotely after not being granted a visa to brief the Council in person in New York City. That decision came in the wake of […]

In a January 26 ruling, a Japanese district court held the North Korean government liable for grave human rights violations against Koreans and Japanese citizens lured to North Korea through its “Paradise on Earth” campaign, ordering it to pay 22 million yen (US$142,000) to each plaintiff. Eiko Kawasaki, now 83, and three others filed the lawsuit […]

As Bhutan’s prime minister Tshering Tobgay tours Europe this week seeking investments in the “Gelephu Mindfulness City” mega-project, European leaders should urge him to release the 30 remaining political prisoners from his country’s notorious jails. The 30 men have been held in cruel conditions for decades, after convictions for “treason” following unfair trials that included […]

Another Trump administration rollback on abortion access goes into effect on February 1, this time for US veterans, including 2.1 million women. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has reversed a Biden administration reform that allowed veterans to access abortion care as part of their health benefits package. The rule, published at the end of December 2025, means […]

(Washington, DC) – Federal immigration enforcement agents shot and killed a man in Minneapolis, Minnesota this weekend, marking the second killing by immigration enforcement agents in the city this month. Federal officials reportedly blocked state officials from accessing the scene, raising concerns that the federal government is not acting in good faith to ensure an […]

(Milan, January 27, 2026) – The trial, due to start this week, of 6 Italian officers for a 2023 shipwreck in which at least 94 people died is an important opportunity for justice for deaths of migrants and asylum seekers at sea, Human Rights Watch said today. The trial, following a postponement, is scheduled for […]

On January 29, the three-week hearings on the merits of Gambia’s genocide case against Myanmar before the International Court of Justice came to a close. The case, filed in 2019, alleges that Myanmar’s atrocities against ethnic Rohingya in 2016 and 2017 violate the Genocide Convention of 1948. During the hearings, Gambia argued that the extreme brutality, pervasive sexual […]

(Washington DC) – The Trump administration has issued sweeping new rules that use foreign aid as a cudgel to force recipients to abandon work on reproductive rights, transgender rights, and diversity initiatives, Human Rights Watch said today. The rules, set to take effect in 30 days, will undermine important work to uphold the rights of […]