Category: Human Rights

The US state of Texas has filed a lawsuit against a Dallas-based doctor, accusing her of violating the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. This case, among the first of its kind, underscores the severity of draconian restrictions on best practice medical care for transgender youth by state officials. Currently, 24 US states have imposed bans on medication […]

Joint donor statement on Humanitarian Access in Sudan by the UK, USAID, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland, Canada and the European Commissioner for Crisis Management. On Friday 18 October, the UK, alongside 10 other donors, has issued a joint statement on humanitarian access in Sudan, calling on the warring parties to stop blocking […]

(Manila) – The Marcos administration should initiate sweeping reforms in Philippine law enforcement in response to recent congressional hearings on police corruption and abuse in the “war on drugs,” Human Rights Watch said today.  In recent weeks, witnesses testified before four committees in the House of Representatives about extrajudicial killings committed by the police during anti-drug raids since […]

The alleged attack occurred on 14 to 15 October in the Kala Gan border area of Iran’s Sistan Province near the Iran-Pakistan border.  The organisation Haalvsh, which focuses on Baloch rights in Iran, has claimed that up to 260 civilians may have been killed or wounded. However, these figures remain unconfirmed.  Afghanistan’s de facto authorities […]

(Bangkok) – The Thai government should conduct effective investigations into how a group of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar were found dead and injured on Thai soil on October 17, 2024, Human Rights Watch said today. The Thai authorities should urgently provide protection to survivors and prosecute those responsible for abuses. Monks outside a monastery in […]

As government officials gather in Washington DC next week for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Annual Meetings, social security systems around the world are at risk. Faced with a looming debt crisis, governments, often encouraged by international financial institutions, are cutting social spending, leaving millions of people without their right to adequate […]

In an appeal for help, the World Food Programme, WFP, said that more than 27 million people’s lives from Lesotho to Zimbabwe have been devastated, leaving 21 million children malnourished. A record five countries have declared a national disaster because of the drought and requested international assistance: Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe – but […]

(New York) –The Chinese authorities should immediately release the Uyghur filmmaker and director Ikram Nurmehmet, who was sentenced to six and a half years in prison after being convicted on politically motivated charges, Human Rights Watch said today. Xinjiang’s Urumqi Intermediate People’s Court convicted Nurmehmet, 33, in January 2024 for “actively participating in terrorist activities” while […]

This week, in a move that will further limit reproductive freedoms, infringe on women’s rights, and stifle free expression, Russia’s State Duma passed its first vote on draft legislation purporting to ban “propaganda” about so-called child-free lifestyles. The ban would extend to mass media, advertisement, publishing, film, and the internet. The ruling United Russia party proposed the bill, saying […]

The new report expands on findings presented in September to the Human Rights Council in Geneva. It documents a pattern of escalated human rights violations committed by Venezuelan security forces, government officials, and pro-government armed civilian groups, known as “colectivos,” in the wake of Venezuela’s contested July 2024 presidential election.   Coordinated repression  The Mission’s findings reveal a coordinated effort to […]