Category: Human Rights

India has intensified its crackdown on child marriages, particularly in Assam, where nearly 5,000 people have been arrested as part of a broad campaign aimed at ending the practice. In a recent police operation, 416 individuals were detained, including parents, registrars, and other facilitators of underage marriages. Assam’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma vowed that […]

OHCHR Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani described the new directive, which reportedly took effect on Tuesday, as “yet another direct blow” by the de facto authorities against Afghan women and girls. “It is profoundly discriminatory, short-sighted and puts the lives of women and girls at risk in multiple ways.” Afghanistan already suffers from one of the highest […]

Recent reports reveal that the Serbian government has been using spyware to monitor activists, journalists, and critics of President Aleksandar Vučić’s regime. According to a detailed investigation by Amnesty International, the Serbian intelligence agency, BIA (Security Information Agency), has installed spyware on the phones of those involved in protests and political opposition, marking a significant […]

This week, Brazil’s National Data Protection Authority banned the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, from using the personal data of its child users in Brazil to train its artificial intelligence (AI). The data regulator also banned X from sharing children’s personal data with third parties to train generative AI and ordered the company to amend […]

Venezuela’s ongoing political unrest following the disputed July 2023 presidential election has led to continued violence and human rights violations. A recent report from the Venezuelan Prison Observatory, a rights group monitoring detainee conditions, confirmed the third in-custody death of an individual involved in the post-election protests. This tragic incident comes at a time when […]

The European Commission is providing new emergency aid to support communities devastated by Cyclone Chido across Mayotte and Mozambique. Responding to France’s request for assistance, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Sweden have offered shelter and other items via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The EU also stands ready to mobilise additional support via its rescEU stockpiles. […]

A team from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on Syria visited former prisons and detention centres, including the notorious Sednaya and the Military Intelligence Branch 235 prisons. It is the first time the team has been able to access Syria, as the former regime denied all previous requests to gather evidence. The team […]

In a notable legal development, the Ekiti State Magistrate Court has granted bail to prominent human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, following his detention in connection with charges of defamation. Farotimi, a vocal advocate for civil rights in Nigeria, was arrested earlier this week after making statements that allegedly defamed public figures, including Chief Aare Afe […]

Liberia’s Prince Y. Johnson, who rose to prominence first as a warlord and then politician, was implicated in serious abuses during the country’s two civil wars between 1989 and 2003. His death on November 28, without ever being prosecuted, highlights the need to bring those responsible for international crimes to account and uphold the promise […]

(Nairobi) – Cameroon’s authorities should immediately reverse the suspension of a prominent human rights group, Human Rights Watch said today. The arbitrary suspension lacks a lawful basis and violates the right to freedom of association under both Cameroonian law and international human rights law.  On December 5, 2024, the minister of territorial administration, Paul Atanga Nji, […]