Category: Human Rights

VIENNA, 13 December 2024 — The OSCE Troika, consisting of Malta, North Macedonia, and Finland, issued a strong statement today condemning the violent response by Georgian authorities to recent peaceful protests. These protests, led by civil society, independent media, and politicians, have expressed opposition to government actions that undermine democratic principles in the country. The […]

On December 6, I briefed the United Nations Security Council at its first informal meeting in five years on the protection of people with disabilities in armed conflict.  During the meeting, I shared evidence collected over a decade and a video from Ghazal, a 15-year-old girl with a disability from Gaza, to demonstrate that in conflict-affected […]

Few documents have had as profound and enduring an impact on global governance as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. UN Photo/Albert González Farran People return to their home village of Sehjanna, Sudan, after living seven years in a camp for internally displaced persons in Aramba in 2011. (file) Cornerstone of universal rights So central to […]

On December 9, 2024, human rights defender Edris Menbari was sentenced to two years in prison by the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court in Iran. Menbari, who was a board member of the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association, a group advocating for the socio-cultural rights of the Kurdish community, was convicted on charges of “forming groups and association with […]

The United States calls on the Government of Azerbaijan to free immediately Rufat Safarov, Sevinj Vagifgizi, Azer Gasimli, Farid Mehralizada, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, Gubad Ibadoghlu, recently detained associates of independent outlet Meydan TV, and many others arrested for their work on human rights.  The United States is deeply concerned not only by these detentions, but by the increasing crackdown on civil society and media […]

The United States has strongly condemned the detention of several Azerbaijani human rights advocates, urging the Azerbaijani government to immediately release these individuals and others who have been arrested for their work defending civil liberties and promoting accountability in the country. Among those detained are Rufat Safarov, Sevinj Vagifgizi, Azer Gasimli, Farid Mehralizada, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, […]

Afghan women artists are playing a vital role in the women’s movement resisting Taliban abuses, and their contributions—and art—should be recognized, Human Rights Watch said today in a new web feature. The feature, published at the end of the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, is titled “A human being is more delicate than […]

The plight of Oqba, an Egyptian university student, highlights the growing concern over the human rights situation in Egypt, particularly the treatment of individuals targeted due to their family connections or political beliefs. Oqba, the brother of Amr, a legal researcher and human rights activist, has been unlawfully detained since May 2019. Despite being held […]

On December 5, 2024, Atefeh Rangriz, a prominent Iranian human rights defender, was sentenced to an additional two years in prison for the charge of “spreading disinformation.” This new sentence was handed down by Branch 102 of the Damghan Criminal Court II, further compounding her already lengthy sentence for various charges related to her activism. […]

Samat Matsakov, a prominent human rights defender and lawyer in Kyrgyzstan, was arrested on November 29, 2024, after law enforcement raided his home in Bishkek. Matsakov, who has been an outspoken critic of human rights violations in the country, particularly cases of alleged torture by state security forces, is facing serious criminal charges, including large-scale […]