Category: Human Rights

(Berlin) – Georgian authorities are using newly adopted restrictions on public assemblies to arbitrarily detain and harass peaceful demonstrators, effectively making the right to protest in Georgia increasingly difficult and dangerous, Human Rights Watch said today. Amendments adopted on December 12, 2025, to the Law on Assemblies and Manifestations grant police sweeping discretion to restrict protests […]

2026-2027 Henigson Fellowship Application Now Open The Human Rights Program is pleased to announce that the application for the 2026-2027 Henigson Fellowship is now open.  The post-graduate fellowship is open to Harvard Law School graduates only. The application deadline is on March 16, 2026. Prospective applicants must email HRP Associate Director Abadir M. Ibrahim ([email protected]) before March 2, 2026, to discuss […]

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s scheduled January 25-28 visit to China, accompanied by over 20 Finnish business leaders, is the latest in a wave of trips by democratic governments seeking closer trade relations with Beijing. Recent visits by leaders from Ireland, Sweden, France, Germany, and Canada follow a familiar script: trade and investment dominate the agenda while human rights concerns […]

Prolonged heavy rains have caused deadly flooding across Southern Africa. Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed, most of them in Mozambique, where more than half a million have already been displaced. Gender inequality already leads to women being disproportionately affected by climate disasters.  This week, I visited some of the school buildings that are being used as accommodation […]

Last week, Mali’s military junta moved to limit the ability of everyday people to get information from one of the most influential news outlets covering African affairs. On January 16, the Ministry of Territorial Administration issued a decree banning the circulation and distribution of Jeune Afrique “in all its forms,” citing “the need to preserve public order.” The […]

In a statement issued this week, UNESCO said governments are increasingly cutting internet access during protests, elections and times of crisis, despite the central role online connectivity plays in democratic participation and the exercise of basic rights. The agency noted that 2024 was the worst year on record for internet shutdowns since 2016, citing data […]

The Cambodian government has issued formal instructions that will allow it to arbitrarily strip Cambodians of citizenship without any judicial review or appeal. The government’s longtime crackdown on peaceful dissent and the political opposition heightens concerns that these new powers will be abused. The instructions, the “Sub-Decree on Implementing the Law on Nationality,” were posted on […]

GENEVA — In an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council on Friday, High Commissioner Volker Türk delivered a searing indictment of the Iranian government’s response to nationwide unrest, warning that “brutal repression” has failed to resolve the country’s deep-seated grievances. His appeal comes as the Islamic Republic navigates its deadliest internal crisis in […]

In a news release on Friday, High Commissioner Volker Türk said individuals suspected of being undocumented migrants are being surveilled, arrested and detained – sometimes violently – in locations ranging from hospitals and places of worship to courthouses, schools, markets and private homes. The UN rights chief said he was “astounded by the now-routine abuse […]