Baku, Azerbaijan / Washington — Human rights organizations and Western governments have condemned the recent detention of Rufat Safarov, a prominent Azerbaijani human rights advocate, calling for his immediate release. Safarov, the head of the Defense Line human rights organization, was arrested on Tuesday on charges of fraud and hooliganism. He was placed in pretrial […]
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Ankara, Turkey – December 6, 2024 – Nimet Tanrıkulu, a prominent woman human rights defender and feminist, was arrested on November 30, 2024, following a prolonged detention. Tanrıkulu, a founding member of the Human Rights Association (HRA) and Women for Peace Initiative, has been a vocal advocate for human rights in Turkey for decades. Her […]
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The Trump administration has identified several countries to which it aims to deport migrants when their home countries refuse to accept them. Among those countries is The Bahamas, which has firmly rejected participation in the scheme. The move has raised significant concerns about the potential violation of international human rights standards, particularly the Universal Declaration […]
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(New York, December 9, 2024) – The United Nations Security Council should urgently authorize and rapidly deploy a full-fledged United Nations mission to Haiti, Human Rights Watch said today in publishing a briefing paper on the subject. The mission should ensure a human rights-based response to restore security, the rule of law, and democratic governance. Haiti’s crisis […]
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Local activist Norma Andrade, who was recently at the UN Office in Geneva to raise awareness about femicide, knows the issue first-hand. Her own daughter, Lilia Alejandra, was murdered in that same city in 2001. “As my granddaughter would sum it up: we are worth a peanut – which in other words means that a woman […]
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(Washington, DC) – The government of Argentina should refrain from appointing Supreme Court justices by presidential decree and should nominate candidates based on their qualifications, experience, diversity, and integrity, Human Rights Watch said today. In November, President Javier Milei’s chief of staff said that the administration was considering naming two Supreme Court justices by decree. Argentina’s five-member […]
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As reports continued to emerge from the Syrian capital, Damascus, where opposition forces declared victory overnight on State television, the UN chief said in a statement: The future of Syria is a matter for the Syrians to determine. There is much work to be done to ensure an orderly political transition to renewed institutions, Mr. […]
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The Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (R4V), co-led by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced the 2025-2026 regional response plan to support over 2.3 million vulnerable individuals, including host communities, in 17 countries. “The integration of refugees and […]
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Over the past six months, the Houthis in Yemen have arbitrarily detained and disappeared at least 17 United Nations staff as well as scores of employees of nongovernmental, civil society organizations, and private companies. Despite calls from the United Nations and governments for their release, the Houthis continue to detain these people without charge and, in most […]
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Titled ‘The Syrian Government Detention System as a Tool of Violent Repression,’ the report from the UN International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) draws on over 300 witness interviews, medical forensic evidence and the Syrian Government’s own documentation. It reveals widespread human rights violations including sexual violence and enforced disappearances. “Our report lays bare the […]
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