Category: Human Rights

The rights office, OHCHR, interviewed 314 witnesses who left the DPRK – more commonly known as North Korea – and consulted with several organizations and experts to evaluate the human rights conditions there since 2014. The situation has not improved, and in many cases has worsened, “bringing even more suffering to the population,” said Spokesperson […]

(Istanbul, September 12, 2025) – Türkiye’s slowing down (throttling) of social media and messaging platforms at moments of social or political importance is denying people important information and impeding democratic participation, 15 groups including Human Rights Watch said in a statement released today. The following is their statement: Türkiye: Stop Throttling Social Media Platforms and Messaging […]

Two Ukrainian journalists, Heorhiy Levtchenko and Vladyslav Hershon, were sentenced last week by Russian courts to 16 and 15 years in prison, respectively, following two years of detention. The pair were arrested in August 2023 in the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol, alongside other media professionals linked to Ukrainian Telegram channels. Their reported offense: publishing […]

STRASBOURG, 12 September 2025 — National anti-trafficking coordinators and rapporteurs from 54 countries convened at the Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg to reaffirm their commitment to strengthening cross-sector partnerships and integrating crisis resilience into anti-trafficking strategies. The two-day meeting, co-organized by the Council of Europe and the OSCE Office of the Special Representative for […]

Ko Nay Thway, a Myanmar citizen, has been sentenced to seven years of hard labor for publicly criticizing the military government’s upcoming parliamentary elections, according to state-run media reports released Wednesday. The conviction stems from a now-deleted social media post on his account “Lashio Baegyi,” in which Nay Thway shared footage of a violent car […]

Nine international human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch (HRW), have called on the European Union and its member states to take decisive action against what they describe as escalating repression of civil society in Georgia. In a joint statement issued Wednesday, the groups urged the EU to publicly condemn the Georgian government’s targeting of […]

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Tanzanian authorities to lift the 90-day suspension of JamiiForums, a prominent social media and news platform, ahead of the country’s general elections scheduled for October 29, 2025. The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) blocked access to the site on September 6, citing violations of the Electronic […]

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has called on the Venezuelan government to release dozens of Colombian citizens reportedly being held without due process. The appeal comes amid growing concern over the legal status and treatment of detainees in Venezuela. Speaking at a press briefing, Petro emphasized the importance of upholding human rights and international legal standards, […]

Four years after the military coup which deposed the democratically elected government, Myanmar’s civil conflict grinds on, leaving millions displaced and without a home. “The suffering of millions of people across Myanmar is immense,” said UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi. “With aerial bombardments, destruction of property, and forced recruitment, they live in daily fear for their […]