Category: Human Rights

(Beirut) – The United States transferred 5,700 detainees held for alleged ISIS affiliation from Northeast Syria to Iraq, where they are at risk of enforced disappearance, unfair trials, torture, ill-treatment, and violations of the right to life, Human Rights Watch said today.  The United States began transferring the detainees, including Syrians, Iraqis, and third country nationals, on January […]

The Philippine authorities have sought to permanently move entire communities from various areas to sites deemed safer, without adhering to international standards aimed at protecting the rights of those affected. Past failures in the region underscore the urgent need for authorities to ensure inclusive, rights-based solutions, including through fully consulting those affected. The Philippines government should […]

Covering the period from January 2024 to December 2025, the report documents what it calls an “exploitative model preying on migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees in situations of heightened vulnerability”, describing it as a “brutal and normalised reality” that has become business as usual in Libya.  ‘Journey of hell’  Based on interviews with nearly 100 migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees […]

According to government reports, more than 800 people have been injured and nine remain missing. The cyclone has caused widespread damage: more than 470,000 people have been affected and over 35,000 people continue to be displaced.  Combined with the impact of Tropical Cyclone Fytia, which made landfall on 31 January, the total number of people […]

On February 13, Myanmar’s military junta ordered the head of Timor-Leste’s embassy in Yangon to leave the country within seven days. The expulsion comes after Timorese authorities opened legal proceedings against Myanmar junta officials earlier this month for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The case, filed by the Chin Human Rights Organisation in January, accuses […]

The recent detention of 12 men in Senegal using homophobic laws have intensified concerns over the country’s criminalization of same-sex relations and the safety of people living with HIV and/or AIDS. On February 9, gendarmes in Dakar arrested 12 men on various charges, including “acts against nature” and the alleged intentional transmission of HIV. The men […]

(Paris) – Chinese authorities have attempted to pressure two ethnic Uyghur activists living in Paris, including by asking one to spy on France’s Uyghur diaspora, Human Rights Watch said today. The case highlights the Chinese government’s increasing harassment of critics abroad and members of diaspora communities, abusive acts beyond China’s borders known as “transnational repression.” “The […]

(Washington, DC) – Venezuelan authorities should take prompt measures to reform key judicial and electoral institutions and repeal abusive laws, Human Rights Watch said today. Following US military strikes in Venezuela and the arrest of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3, 2026, Venezuelan authorities have released hundreds of political prisoners and said that […]

In a watershed moment for same-sex couples in the Philippines, the Supreme Court ruled on February 5 that a cohabiting same-sex partner has co-ownership rights to property they helped acquire during the relationship. The case involved a lesbian couple who bought property together but registered it under one partner’s name to facilitate the sale. When they […]

In a statement on Monday, the independent experts – who serve in their individual capacities under mandates from the UN Human Rights Council and are not UN staff – warned that the alleged acts documented in the files could amount to some of the gravest crimes under international law. The reported conduct could amount to […]