Author: Human Rights Watch

[ad_1] Countries will resume negotiations in Geneva on August 5, 2025, on a global plastics treaty. Previous talks have stalled amid deep divisions over key issues. To make the treaty meaningful, countries need to tackle plastic pollution at its source by limiting production, including by phasing out fossil fuels and subsidies. Each year, more than 400 million tonnes of […]

[ad_1] The United Kingdom’s announcement on July 22 that it would use AI face-scanning technology to evaluate whether an asylum seeker is under age 18 threatens to harm children seeking refuge. The asylum minister, Angela Eagle, said that the decision was because this experimental technology is likely to be the cheapest option. Experimenting with unproven technology […]

[ad_1] (Beirut) – Iranian authorities used a “guillotine machine” to amputate fingers of three detained men in the late hours of July 30, 2025, Human Rights Watch said today. The three men, Hadi Rostami, 38, Mehdi Sharifian, 42, and Mehdi Shahivand, 29, had been convicted of theft after grossly unfair trials.  An informed source told Human Rights […]

[ad_1] US-backed Israeli forces and private contractors have put in place a flawed, militarized aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths. The dire humanitarian situation is a direct result of Israel’s use of starvation of civilians as a weapon of war—a war crime—as well as Israel’s continued intentional deprivation of aid and basic services, which […]

[ad_1] This week, a Tanzanian court postponed the politically motivated treason trial of political opposition leader Tundu Lissu for the fifth time. Since treason is a capital offense, Lissu, who was arrested in April, cannot be released on bail and will remain in custody until the trial, now scheduled for August 13, is completed. This postponement comes amidst growing concerns […]

[ad_1] Videos released by the Houthis on July 27, 2025, showing several crew members from a sunken ship who apparently have been detained for weeks is an outrage on their personal dignity, an apparent war crime. The Houthis, who control much of Yemen, attacked and sunk the Eternity C, a commercial ship, earlier in July. […]

[ad_1] (Berlin) – Two Turkmen dissident bloggers have been missing since July 24, 2025, when they were reportedly released from a Turkish deportation center, Human Rights Watch said today. Turkish authorities should ensure that the bloggers, Alisher Sakhatov and Abdulla Orusov, are not returned to Turkmenistan, where they would be at grave risk of torture and arbitrary […]

[ad_1] (Sydney, July 30, 2025) – The Australian government should create a dedicated Whistleblower Protection Authority to support and protect public-interest whistleblowers, Human Rights Watch said in a recent submission to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee of the Australian Senate. Since February 2025, the committee has been considering the proposed Whistleblower Protection Authority Bill 2025. […]

[ad_1] (Beirut) – Drone strikes on five oil fields in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) by unknown groups between July 14 and 16, 2025, significantly damaged the region’s energy production, Human Rights Watch said today. The drone strikes mark a dangerous escalation in a long-running dispute between Baghdad and Erbil over the control and […]

[ad_1] (Washington, DC) – Venezuelan authorities are carrying out widespread abuses against critics through politically motivated arrests, a year after the presidential election, Human Rights Watch said today. Hours after polls closed on July 28, 2024, the Electoral Council declared that Nicolás Maduro had been re-elected. International observers criticized the process for lacking transparency and integrity, and questioned the […]