Category: Human Rights

On November 13, a European Parliament majority sold out rights protections to corporate interests in the course of negotiating amendments to the European Union’s landmark Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). It ripped through years of efforts to build comprehensive legislation that holds corporations accountable for human rights and environmental abuses in their global supply […]

(Berlin) – Last month a 29 year old man from Tajikistan, who had been living in central Germany since 2019, died under mysterious circumstances in prison in Tajikistan. Saidazam Rahmonov, who was married to a German woman, had travelled to Tajikistan in June to gather documents needed to extend his visa in Germany. Tajikistan authorities […]

Governments should act on recent political commitments to protect civilians from the bombing and shelling that devastates cities and towns around the world. Civilians make up the vast majority of casualties caused by the use of explosive weapons—such as aerial bombs, rockets, missiles, and artillery and mortar projectiles—in populated areas. Governments should maximize civilian protection […]

(Bangkok) – Foreign governments should reject the Myanmar junta’s plans to hold elections from late December 2025 through January 2026 because they will not be free, fair, or inclusive, Human Rights Watch said today. Since the February 2021 military coup, the junta has systematically dismantled the rule of law and the country’s nascent democratic systems, and […]

(Berlin, November 11, 2025) – Lawmakers in Kazakhstan should reject a draft law with amendments that would ban “propaganda of non-traditional sexual orientation,” seven international human rights groups said today. The groups are Access Now, Civil Rights Defenders; Eurasian Coalition on Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversity; Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights; Human Rights Watch; International […]

(Nairobi) – The authorities in Cameroon responded to widespread opposition-led protests following the October 12, 2025 elections with lethal force and mass arrests of protesters and other citizens, Human Rights Watch said today. The Constitutional Council announced on October 27 that the incumbent President Paul Biya, 92, had won the election with 53.66 percent of […]

The US government suspended funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for the first time on November 1, amid what became the longest-ever US government shutdown. While Congress has voted to reopen the government and restore SNAP funding, those who rely on the program have faced fear and uncertainty. Continued failures by the US government […]

Summary: Meta’s Oversight Board has overturned Facebook’s decision to leave up a post targeting a Peruvian human rights defender, ruling that the content constituted a veiled threat. The case underscores how digital platforms’ choices can either safeguard or endanger defenders working in fragile democracies. Earlier this year, the Oversight Board reviewed a Facebook post published […]

Summary: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Chinese authorities to release veteran journalist Dong Yuyu, after the Beijing High Court upheld his seven-year prison sentence for espionage. The ruling, delivered without explanation, is final under China’s judicial system. The CPJ issued a statement on Thursday condemning the decision, stressing that “speaking with […]

At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) is pressing negotiators to make climate mobility a core part of adaptation plans. “People and communities who choose to stay must be safe, and those who decide to move must have the option to do so with dignity,” Ugochi Daniels, IOM’s Deputy Director […]