Category: Human Rights

Limited and, at times, poor regularization and integration policies in Latin American countries have forced many migrants and asylum seekers into the dangerous Darién Gap. Over the last year and a half, over 700,000 migrants and asylum seekers have crossed the Darién Gap, where they are exposed to abuses, including sexual violence. As the crises […]

(Budapest) – The Hungarian government has issued a draconian decree in breach of EU law that cancels state funded shelter for refugees from western Ukraine,  leaving many homeless, Human Rights Watch said today.  Approximately 3,000 refugees from Ukraine are affected, the majority women and children, according to the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, which has been monitoring the situation […]

Addressing the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, Nicholas Koumjian, the head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), said that in many instances, civilians were “not just collateral damage but rather the target of attacks”. “Just last week, airstrikes near a night market in northern Shan state reportedly killed about a dozen people, including a […]

(Quito) – The government of Ecuador has an obligation to decriminalize abortion in all circumstances, and to remove all barriers that prevent access to this essential healthcare service, Human Rights Watch said today in an amicus brief submitted to the Constitutional Court of Ecuador. The Human Rights Watch brief supports a lawsuit filed by Justa Libertad, an Ecuadorian […]

He emphasised the damage that war leaves on young learners’ bodies, minds and spirits, “from injuries and loss of life to abduction, forced displacement, sexual violence, recruitment to the fighting, and lost opportunities”. From 2022 to 2023, there were 6,000 attacks against students, professionals and educational institutions, including 1,000 cases of military use – an […]

The funding will support critical response and prevention efforts for 9.9 million refugees and host communities in 35 countries across the continent. Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease that can be transmitted through physical contact with an infected person, animal or contaminated objects. Read our explainer here. New virus strain The disease […]

U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan (USSES) Tom Perriello will travel to Riyadh, Cairo, and Ankara, starting on September 8, to continue urgent efforts to end the war and resultant famine in Sudan. Building on the recent success of the  Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan (ALPS) initiative, diplomatic priorities continue to include the coordination of […]

(New York) – The Chinese government should immediately quash the conviction of and release a Taiwanese political activist who was sentenced to nine years in prison for “separatism,” Human Rights Watch said today. On August 26, 2024, a court in China’s Zhejiang province convicted Yang Chih-yuan (楊智淵), 34, for political activities carried out in Taiwan, a […]

Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, has issued the following statement: “On the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, the EU recalls that attacks on education deprive children of their fundamental right to learn, impact their immediate and long-term development and deprive them from a better and more peaceful future. Attacks on schools and […]

Addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Volker Türk underscored that international human rights and humanitarian law “are our mainstay against unbridled power.” Speaking at the midway point of his four-year mandate, Mr. Türk veered from his usual overview of specific country situations and instead offered broader reflections about the current state of human […]