Author: Human Rights Watch

On December 6, I briefed the United Nations Security Council at its first informal meeting in five years on the protection of people with disabilities in armed conflict.  During the meeting, I shared evidence collected over a decade and a video from Ghazal, a 15-year-old girl with a disability from Gaza, to demonstrate that in conflict-affected […]

Afghan women artists are playing a vital role in the women’s movement resisting Taliban abuses, and their contributions—and art—should be recognized, Human Rights Watch said today in a new web feature. The feature, published at the end of the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, is titled “A human being is more delicate than […]

(New York, December 9, 2024) – The United Nations Security Council should urgently authorize and rapidly deploy a full-fledged United Nations mission to Haiti, Human Rights Watch said today in publishing a briefing paper on the subject. The mission should ensure a human rights-based response to restore security, the rule of law, and democratic governance. Haiti’s crisis […]

(Washington, DC) – The government of Argentina should refrain from appointing Supreme Court justices by presidential decree and should nominate candidates based on their qualifications, experience, diversity, and integrity, Human Rights Watch said today. In November, President Javier Milei’s chief of staff said that the administration was considering naming two Supreme Court justices by decree. Argentina’s five-member […]

Over the past six months, the Houthis in Yemen have arbitrarily detained and disappeared at least 17 United Nations staff as well as scores of employees of nongovernmental, civil society organizations, and private companies. Despite calls from the United Nations and governments for their release, the Houthis continue to detain these people without charge and, in most […]

United States Border Patrol agents are denying asylum access to families fleeing violence in Mexico, treating them abusively and dismissively, and returning them to the country they fled in fear. Current practices violate US and international human rights law, and border patrol agents violate both the right to seek asylum and to receive humane treatment […]

Some provisions of Ukraine’s anti-collaboration legislation make it possible to criminally prosecute Ukrainian civilians for legitimate activities essential to civilian life in occupied areas. These provisions have led to unjust prosecution of many Ukrainian civilians. Ukrainian authorities should revise the legislation, in close consultation with civil society, to ensure compliance with international humanitarian and human […]

(Beirut) – The outbreak of major hostilities in northern Syria beginning on November 27, 2024, raises concerns that civilians face a real risk of serious abuses at the hands of opposition armed groups and the Syrian government, Human Rights Watch said today. All parties to the conflict should abide by their obligations under international humanitarian […]

Volkswagen’s decision last week to cease operations in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region after 12 years is significant, though long overdue. The German automaker’s exit demonstrates the near impossibility of operating responsibly in a region where the Chinese government is committing crimes against humanity, and subjecting Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims to state-imposed forced labor. Volkswagen was among the […]

A new Belgian law addressing sexual and labor exploitation came into force on December 1. The law follows years of human rights advocacy by community experts Utsopi, Violett, and Espace P, and responds to some of the worst forms of violence and discrimination faced by people who sell sexual services. First, the law provides access to social security […]