Category: Human Rights

Police carried out a dawn raid on the widely watched, independent news channel Halk TV on October 14, signaling its takeover by a government-appointed administrator who promptly ordered the station to end its live broadcast. Halk TV is close to the main political opposition New Party (Yeni Parti). Its journalists have reported on the imprisonment […]

On the occasion of the International Day for Disaster Risk Management, the European Commission is convening the very first cross-regional dialogue ‘From Space to Grassroots: Strengthening Community Resilience to Natural Hazards through Space Technologies’. The dialogue marked the start of a process to further strengthen international cooperation to anticipate, prepare for and respond to disasters […]

Arrivals from Mali, Senegal, Guinea and The Gambia fell by 59 per cent in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year, to 4,566 people. But the drivers of migration persist. West Africans made up a growing share of arrivals on the Mediterranean routes, accounting for 21.9 per cent on the […]

During its October 6 review by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Kazakhstan pledged new legislation to make domestic violence a standalone crime – a timely commitment. Now the government should turn words into action. On September 23, Zhazira Adauova, a mother of two, died after her ex-husband stabbed […]

Images from ongoing student protests in France of heavily armed riot police using tear gas, stun grenades, batons, rubber bullets, and rough restraint techniques on children have sparked national and international concern. High schoolers across France have taken to the streets since September 21 frustrated with the government’s continued under-investment in their education, which has resulted in a […]

(Beirut) – The Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), which controls eastern and southern Libya, has executed at least 31 people since late August 2026 following grossly unfair military trials, Human Rights Watch said today. These are the first known executions in Libya since 2010, with at least 50 more people in Gernada military prison at imminent risk […]

A United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on October 7 calling for concrete action against systemic racism should have been an opportunity for governments to demonstrate their commitment to racial justice. Instead, the United Kingdom called for a vote, breaking from last year’s consensus on the annually tabled resolution. Citing concerns about the applicability of […]

France has confirmed that it has opened a “technical dialogue” with the Taliban authorities regarding forced returns to Afghanistan. The announcement marks a dangerous shift in policy that places Afghans in France at risk of persecution, torture and other grave abuses in contravention of France’s international human rights obligations. The “technical dialogue” follows in the wake […]

(Bangkok) – The Vietnamese authorities should immediately release three activists associated with the overseas Viet Tan organization who went missing in Cambodia, and drop all charges against them, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should also grant Norwegian and Australian consular officials and family members immediate access to the detained men. The Vietnamese police claim that […]

(Beirut) – A Saudi court has sentenced a Sri Lankan migrant worker to death over a Facebook comment that was deemed blasphemous, Human Rights Watch said today. Saudi authorities should reverse the judgment and release him immediately. The Saudi Court of Appeal in the Eastern Region handed down the death sentence to Anojan Sivarasa, 24, […]