Author: Human Rights Watch

The UN Human Rights Council on October 6 extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Russia for another year. Russia withdrew its amendment that attempted to delete renewal of the mandate. The extension is welcome news. The Russia mandate provides an essential independent voice to document the Russian government’s […]

Three weeks ago, 26-year-old Lao activist Khieo Lapchanh, an asylum seeker in Thailand, vanished in Samut Sakhon province following his shift at the restaurant where he worked. Khieo’s disappearance in the early hours of September 15 came one day before his first interview with the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) in Bangkok. Thai authorities have […]

(Beirut) – The Houthi de facto authorities in Yemen have sent at least eight people involved in human rights and humanitarian work for criminal prosecution, on espionage-related charges punishable by death, since August 18, 2026, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. They include two United Nations employees, a UN consultant, and five people who […]

(Beirut) – Tunisian authorities failed to ensure an adequate supply of electricity and water during two months of extreme summer heat, undermining the right to health and endangering lives, Human Rights Watch said today. President Kais Saied blamed the shortages on sabotage, yet authorities failed to provide transparent information and instead cracked down on protesters.  Rolling […]

(Brussels) – The Sri Lankan government’s latest attempt to replace its abusive Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) retains numerous provisions that have enabled serious human rights violations, Human Rights Watch said today. The proposed Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill (PSTB), which will be sent to Parliament on October 6, 2026, includes an overbroad definition […]

Today, Christa Pike remains unconscious on a ventilator, and in critical condition after the Tennessee government’s failed execution attempt.   Doctors had warned that her medical condition could make the state’s execution method, lethal injection, exceptionally painful and cruel. In fact, it was barbaric. Authorities tried to insert an IV line for an hour on September 30, using […]

The mass arrest of attendees at a small left-wing party’s meeting in Dhaka on September 26 is the latest incident in the Bangladesh authorities’ ongoing assault on civil and political rights. Police took around 290 supporters of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal into custody after members of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s youth wing – the Jubo […]

Nearly 5,700 men and boys held as alleged Islamic State (ISIS) members and transferred to Iraq in early 2026 are at risk of abuse including imminent prosecution for adults in unfair trials, followed by execution. Dozens of countries are stalling on repatriating and providing aid to their nationals detained in Iraq amid allegations of torture, […]

(Washington, DC) – The United States and coalition countries have yet to provide genuine justice or redress for war crimes and other grave abuses in Afghanistan in the 25 years since the war began on October 7, 2001, Human Rights Watch said today, issuing a timeline of its reporting of the conflict.  After Al-Qaeda’s September […]

(Athens, October 3, 2026) – The ongoing prosecution of two prominent human rights defenders in Greece is a politically-motivated attempt to silence their efforts to expose abuses against migrants, Human Rights Watch said today. The trial of the two activists, Panayote Dimitras and Tommy Olsen, is set to begin on the Greek island of Rhodes on October 6, […]