Category: Human Rights

Japanese lawmakers and Uyghur activists gathered on February 25 at an event hosted by the Japan Uyghur Association in Tokyo to address the Chinese government’s atrocity crimes in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. “It’s important to send a big message to the world” about the Chinese government’s rights abuses against Uyghurs, said Keiji Furuya, a […]

(New York) – Pakistani authorities should quash the unjust conviction of Junaid Hafeez, who was sentenced to death in 2013 under Pakistan’s draconian blasphemy laws, Human Rights Watch said today. Hafeez’s 13 years in prison raise grave concerns about the lack of due process and the broader misuse of the country’s blasphemy laws. Police in Punjab […]

A Cambodian government-controlled court sentenced two journalists to 14 years in prison for treason after they appeared in a photograph with Cambodian soldiers near the disputed Thai-Cambodian border. The journalists, Phorn Sopheap of the Battambang Post TV Online and Pheap Pheara of TSP 68 TV Online, were arrested last July and charged with “supplying a […]

More than a year after Ukrainian forces captured two North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region, the men’s future remains undecided. Under the Third Geneva Convention applicable to the armed conflict in Ukraine, prisoners of war (POWs) may be held until the end of active hostilities, but they can be repatriated or transferred to a […]

“This situation calls for urgent political dialogue, rather than escalating the use of force,” said the High Commissioner for Human Rights, following a sharp increase in civilian casualties in cross-border clashes with Pakistani military forces, who have been reportedly targeting armed militants sheltering in Afghanistan. According to the UN Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, 70 civilians […]

The European Union has announced €63 million in humanitarian funding to support the most vulnerable communities across Somalia impacted by ongoing conflict and displacement in the country, as well as worsening drought and soaring food prices. This announcement comes as drought related food insecurity and malnutrition rates are surging nationwide in Somalia, with 6.5 million […]

OTTAWA — In a critical intervention for Canada’s refugee system, the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) has issued an urgent public letter calling on the Senate to freeze or fundamentally amend Bill C-12. Representing over 40,000 legal professionals, the CBA warns that the proposed “Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act” risks violating the Canadian Charter […]

On February 20, Indonesia and the United States agreed to a new trade deal, with US$15 billion specifically allocated for fossil fuel imports. This deal is part of a broader series of global fossil fuel agreements promoted under the US “Energy Dominance Agenda,” which aims to expand domestic fossil fuel production and boost exports. Key provisions of the […]

EL FASHER — In a damning assessment of the deteriorating conflict in Sudan, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has documented a systematic campaign of violence directed at people with disabilities during the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) takeover of El Fasher. The report, released this week, warns that the paramilitary group’s actions—including summary executions and torture—likely constitute […]

Mr. President, We thank the Special Rapporteur for his comprehensive report on the Taliban’s systematic violation of women’s rights, including the right to health. The Taliban have recently passed a new criminal procedure code that further deepens repression and discrimination in Afghanistan. The new law defines Muslims exclusively as adherents of the Hanafi jurisprudence and […]