Kazakhstan: Reject ‘LGBT Propaganda’ Legal Proposals

(Berlin, November 11, 2025) – Lawmakers in Kazakhstan should reject a draft law with amendments that would ban “propaganda of non-traditional sexual orientation,” seven international human rights groups said today. The groups are Access Now, Civil Rights Defenders; Eurasian Coalition on Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversity; Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights; Human Rights Watch; International […]

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Cameroon: Killings, Mass Arrests Follow Disputed Elections

(Nairobi) – The authorities in Cameroon responded to widespread opposition-led protests following the October 12, 2025 elections with lethal force and mass arrests of protesters and other citizens, Human Rights Watch said today. The Constitutional Council announced on October 27 that the incumbent President Paul Biya, 92, had won the election with 53.66 percent of […]

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US Food Assistance Cuts Undermined Rights

The US government suspended funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for the first time on November 1, amid what became the longest-ever US government shutdown. While Congress has voted to reopen the government and restore SNAP funding, those who rely on the program have faced fear and uncertainty. Continued failures by the US government […]

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Online Threats, Real-World Harms: Meta Oversight Board Steps In to Protect Human Rights Defenders

Summary: Meta’s Oversight Board has overturned Facebook’s decision to leave up a post targeting a Peruvian human rights defender, ruling that the content constituted a veiled threat. The case underscores how digital platforms’ choices can either safeguard or endanger defenders working in fragile democracies. Earlier this year, the Oversight Board reviewed a Facebook post published […]

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CPJ Urges China to Release Journalist Dong Yuyu After Espionage Conviction Upheld

Summary: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Chinese authorities to release veteran journalist Dong Yuyu, after the Beijing High Court upheld his seven-year prison sentence for espionage. The ruling, delivered without explanation, is final under China’s judicial system. The CPJ issued a statement on Thursday condemning the decision, stressing that “speaking with […]

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From Haiti to Ethiopia: voices of climate displacement at COP30

At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) is pressing negotiators to make climate mobility a core part of adaptation plans. “People and communities who choose to stay must be safe, and those who decide to move must have the option to do so with dignity,” Ugochi Daniels, IOM’s Deputy Director […]

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Tunisia: Overturn Unjust ‘Conspiracy’ Trial Convictions

(Beirut) – A Tunisian Court on November 17, 2025, is scheduled to hear the appeal of 37 people unjustly sentenced to heavy prison terms in a politically motivated “Conspiracy Case” from April, Human Rights Watch said today. Four of those detained are on hunger strike, including one who, according to his lawyers, was subjected to physical […]

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EU hosts ‘Day of Dialogue’ in Damascus in support of Syrian civil society

The European Union is tomorrow, 15 November, organising the 9th edition of the ‘Day of Dialogue’, which will be held for the first time in the Syrian capital, Damascus. This event reflects the EU’s longstanding commitment to support the Syrian people. This year’s edition focuses on Syrian civil society in the country and has been […]

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Sudan war: Aid teams plead for access to thousands trapped in El Fasher

That ordeal reduced people to eating peanut shells and animal feed, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Friday, before condemning the reported mass killings of civilians, executions based on ethnicity and other atrocities, which are likely continuing. At the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Mr. Türk told Member States that bloodstains on the […]

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Ending UNWRA services would imperil political way forward: Lazzarini

Speaking to the General Assembly, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, argued that the agency is indispensable for the stability and rebuilding of the shattered Gaza Strip – and the wider region. He underlined that a “virulent” disinformation campaign has tarnished its reputation and strangled its funds. “Curtailing or ending UNRWA’s services will have grave consequences for […]

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