Author: Human Rights Watch

(Nairobi) – African leaders should prioritize rights-driven solutions to the crises in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan at the 23rd Summit of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) scheduled in Bujumbura, Burundi, on October 31, 2024, Human Rights Watch said today. Summit participants should discuss steps to end the atrocities in eastern […]

(Rome) – The Vatican’s renewal of its 2018 agreement with the Chinese government should be the basis for improvements in religious freedom and other human rights in China, Human Rights Watch said today. The Chinese government should immediately free forcibly disappeared Catholic bishops, including James Su Zhimin, Augustine Cui Tai, Julius Jia Zhiguo, Joseph Zhang Weizhu, Peter Shao […]

(New York) – A flawed human rights assessment of Saudi Arabia’s FIFA 2034 World Cup bid by AS&H Clifford Chance, part of the global partnership of London-based law firm Clifford Chance, leaves the global firm at risk of being linked to abuses which result from the tournament, 11 organizations, including Human Rights Watch, said today. AS&H […]

(Johannesburg) – Mozambique security forces killed at least 11 people and injured dozens of others using live bullets and tear gas during post-election protests across the country on October 24 and 25, 2024, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should promptly and impartially investigate the apparently excessive use of force. On October 24, the […]

An Islamist armed group massacred at least 133 people in the town of Barsalogho, Burkina Faso, on August 24, 2024, largely civilians forced to build a trench to protect the town with a military base. The massacre is the latest example of atrocities by Islamist armed groups against civilians whom the government has put at […]

(Beirut) – The Israeli military has repeatedly attacked medical workers and healthcare facilities in Lebanon, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch documented three attacks, involving apparent war crimes, in which Israeli forces unlawfully struck medical personnel, transports, and facilities, including paramedics at a civil defense center in central Beirut on October 3, 2024, and an […]

On October 16, police in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, arrested investigative journalist Thomas Zgambo and detained him without charge for nearly two weeks. Zgambo writes for the online news outlet Zambian Whistleblower, which has exposed alleged corruption, human rights abuses, and abuse of power under President Hakainde Hichilema. A day into his detention, Zgambo, 52, wrote on Facebook that […]

(Istanbul, November 2, 2024) – Türkiye’s parliament should reject a proposed legislative amendment that seeks to expand the definition of espionage in such a vague manner that it could criminalize legitimate work by human rights defenders, journalists, and other civil society actors in the country, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) […]

(Kyiv, October 30, 2024) – Ukraine’s new law banning religious organizations with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church is overly broad and could have far-reaching consequences for Ukrainians’ right to religious freedom, Human Rights Watch said today. The law could effectively ban congregations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ukraine’s largest religious body. The law, adopted […]

(Beirut) – Syrians fleeing violence in Lebanon face risks of repression and persecution by the Syrian government upon return, including enforced disappearance, torture, and death in detention, Human Rights Watch said today. Since late September 2024, intensified Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have compelled hundreds of thousands of Syrians to flee back to Syria, with strikes killing at […]