Category: Human Rights

Georgia’s new centralized health database law took effect on May 1, creating serious risks of privacy violations and discrimination, and potentially deterring people from seeking health care and mental health services. Parliament adopted the legislative package on December 9, 2025, mandating the establishment of a unified database covering people with mental health conditions and those diagnosed […]

Wilfredo, un niño venezolano de 10 años, compareció solo ante un tribunal de inmigración hace dos semanas, obligado a defenderse frente a su posible deportación a Ecuador mientras su madre permanecía detenida en un centro de ICE. Como miles de niños y niñas en procedimientos de deportación, Wilfredo no cuenta con representación legal.  “Tenía miedo porque […]

The violence, which erupted on 25 and 26 April, saw large-scale attacks launched on multiple cities and towns by various Islamist and separatist rebels who oppose the military government – including the capital, Bamako – resulting in heavy civilian casualties and forcing many to flee their homes. “We are deeply troubled by the worsening human […]

Wilfredo, a 10-year-old child from Venezuela, appeared in immigration court on his own two weeks ago, forced to fight his deportation to Ecuador while his mother remained imprisoned in an ICE facility. Like thousands of children in removal proceedings, Wilfredo does not have an attorney. “I was afraid because it was my first time ever going […]

Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, will visit Cyprus on 6-7 May 2026, where she will participate in the 3rd Euro-Mediterranean Workshop on Fire Risks, co-organised by the European Commission, Cyprus, on behalf of the Council of the EU, and the Union for the Mediterranean.  The workshop will focus on fire risk […]

(Bangkok) – The Malaysian government began a refugee registration system in January 2026 that has raised protection, rights, and privacy concerns for the hundreds of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. The new initiative, Dokumen Pendaftaran Pelarian (Refugee Registration Document, DPP), aims to replace the current registration system […]

A 2021 Ministry of Education directive—the Children’s Speech Harmonization plan—mandates the use of standard Mandarin Chinese for all preschool instruction and care, including in ethnic minority areas. By severely limiting Tibetan-language education in early childhood, and imposing ideological indoctrination on kindergarten children, the Chinese government is speeding up its erasure of Tibetan language and culture. […]

Volker Türk highlighted growing threats to the media in a message ahead of World Press Freedom Day, observed annually on 3 May.  “When attacks on the media are normalised, freedom itself begins to decay, and with it, the foundations of peace, security, and sustainable development,” he warned.  A dangerous job  The High Commissioner paid tribute to the courageous reporters and photographers across the world “who document horrific […]

(Johannesburg) – The Zambian government’s decision to postpone RightsCon 2026, effectively canceling the summit, raises concerns about the authorities’ commitment to free expression and assembly and about possible Chinese government interference, Human Rights Watch said today. The 14th edition of RightsCon was scheduled to be held in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, from May 5 to 8, […]

(Geneva) – Nepal’s recently elected Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) government, led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah, which came to power on a wave of popular demands for change, should use this opportunity to bring lasting protections for human rights and the rule of law, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Commission of Jurists said […]