Author: Human Rights Watch

A quiet desert night in northern Mali turned deadly when an apparent military drone launched its explosive munition on a tent, leaving an entire family dead. The strike was a recent example of Malian military operations killing civilians and may amount to a war crime. The November 13 strike at about 9:30 p.m. on the village […]

Conflicts and crises cause harm based on gender. Because women and girls across the globe experience legal, economic, and cultural discrimination, they also experience the impacts of conflict in distinct and often more profound ways than others. With data underscoring escalating conflict globally, reaching a level not seen since the post-World War II era, creating better […]

(Beirut) – Bahraini authorities have detained Ebrahim Sharif, a prominent political activist, for peaceful comments he made in Beirut, Human Rights Watch and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) said today. Yusuf al-Jamri, a blogger, said that the authorities detained Sharif, former secretary general of Bahrain’s National Democratic Action Society, due to comments he made […]

(New York) – The Dominican Republic’s Constitutional Court has struck down provisions in the Codes of Justice of the National Police and the Armed Forces that criminalized consensual same-sex conduct by officers, Human Rights Watch said today. The ruling, made public on November 18, 2025, is a landmark victory for equality, ending a regime of state-sanctioned discrimination […]

(Nairobi, November 21, 2025) – The African Union (AU) and European Union should put respect for human rights and international humanitarian law at the center of their partnership, Human Rights Watch said today ahead of the blocs’ seventh summit on November 24-25, 2025, in Luanda, Angola. Both regional blocs should redouble efforts to tackle conflict-related atrocities and […]

The fragile truce largely insulating civilians in northern Ethiopia from war crimes and other abuses may be unraveling. With many countries focused elsewhere, it is increasingly important that influential governments mobilize swiftly to prevent a resurgence of atrocities in the northern Tigray region that could spread further. In recent weeks, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed […]

This year’s United Nations climate summit (COP30) is taking place in Belém, gateway to Brazil’s Amazon rainforest. Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva began the summit by announcing a global investment fund to pay tropical forest countries to keep trees standing. Indigenous peoples have made their presence felt throughout, demanding recognition for their contributions […]

Security forces in Nepal used disproportionate force against youth-led protests on September 8, 2025, indiscriminately firing on protesters multiple times. On a second day of violence, people, some apparently not linked to the “Gen Z” protest, set fire to prominent government buildings; assaulted politicians, journalists, and others; and attacked schools, businesses, and media companies. A […]

(Beirut) – The African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights should act decisively to address the dire, protracted human rights crisis in Egypt following its review of the situation in the country, 22 organizations said today. The commission has found Egypt in breach of numerous articles of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights but […]

The Israeli government’s forced displacement of the populations of three West Bank refugee camps in January and February 2025 amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Geneva Conventions prohibit displacement of civilians from occupied territory except temporarily for imperative military reasons or the population’s security. Displaced civilians are entitled to protection, accommodation, and […]