Category: Human Rights

17 September 2025 — A report presented to the UN Human Rights Council by the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances has raised alarm over the increasing use of enforced disappearances against land and environmental defenders worldwide. The report identifies a disturbing pattern in regions with weak governance, where activists opposing powerful economic interests […]

Profiting from Unjust Punishment, and Failing Justice Across the globe, a shadow economy thrives behind prison walls—one that profits not only from incarceration but from the very systems that push people into crime. While governments spend hundreds of billions annually to detain over 11.5 million people, the deeper cost is borne by the vulnerable, the […]

The United States has ceased all Frameworks to Counter Foreign State Information Manipulation and any associated instruments implemented by the former administration. On April 16, Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed the closure of the Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI) Hub, formerly known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC). The Framework, initially […]

September 17 marks four years since the Taliban banned secondary education for girls in Afghanistan. It is a devastating anniversary that should make everyone angry – furious even. The ban is cruel, harmful, and unlawful. It tells girls their dreams end when the classroom door slams shut when they reach age 12, simply because of their […]

Thousands gathered in Ankara on Sunday to protest a looming court decision that could reshape Türkiye’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP). The court is set to rule Monday on whether to annul the party’s 2023 congress and remove its current leader, Özgür Özel, amid allegations of procedural irregularities. Özel, addressing demonstrators, accused […]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on governments worldwide to reinforce the international ban on cluster munitions, following the release of the Cluster Munition Coalition’s (CMC) 2025 annual report. The organization urged states still using or producing these weapons to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions without delay. Mark Hiznay, HRW’s associate director for crisis, […]

Based on two years of independent investigations and analysis, the report reveals how oil and non-oil revenues are siphoned off through opaque schemes and politically connected contracts. Meanwhile, millions of South Sudanese are denied basic services. “Our report tells the story of the plundering of a nation: corruption is not incidental, it is the engine […]

(Beirut) – Qatari authorities should set aside the baseless conviction of Remy Rowhani, the chair of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is in Qatar, and reject the prosecution’s attempt to increase his sentence, Human Rights Watch said today. Qatari authorities should immediately and unconditionally release him. A Doha court sentenced Rowhani, 71, to five […]

(Beirut) – Lebanon’s parliament should ensure that a draft media law it is considering upholds the right to freedom of expression, 14 Lebanese and international rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, said today.  This includes decriminalizing defamation, blasphemy, insult, and criticism of public officials; prohibiting pretrial detention in speech-related violations; and removing onerous restrictions on […]

The European Commission is allocating an extra €40 million in humanitarian funding to help Ukrainians endure a fourth winter of Russia’s war of aggression. This new support will strengthen the country’s preparedness for winter and protect civilians against extreme cold. EU humanitarian aid partners will deliver shelter materials, repair damaged homes and centres for displaced […]