Category: Human Rights

It was an extraordinary sight for Indonesia: On August 28, protesters set up tents outside a government guesthouse in Yogyakarta city where the president, Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, was staying the night after inaugurating a local market. Hundreds of protesters, surrounded by police officers and presidential guards, shouted slogans accusing the president of corruption […]

The president’s decree launching the Public Policy to Eradicate Sexual Violence in Schools is an important step in Ecuador’s efforts to tackle endemic levels of school-related sexual violence. Human Rights Watch analysis shows the policy lacks adequate long-term funding, which could affect its implementation, reinforce longstanding barriers to response, and jeopardize the implementation of the […]

(New York) – The Hong Kong government should quash the politically motivated convictions of two journalists and cease its assault on media freedom, Human Rights Watch said today. On August 29, 2024, the Hong Kong District Court convicted two editors of the now-defunct Stand News – Chung Pui-kuen, 54, the former editor-in-chief, and Patrick Lam, 36, […]

(Sydney) – The Australian government should strengthen its global advocacy to abolish the death penalty, Human Rights Watch said in a recent submission to Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (JSCFADT). The Committee is currently reviewing Australia’s international engagement to promote the abolition of the death penalty.  Human Rights Watch opposes […]

Afghanistan has one of the world’s highest number of enforced disappearances, with tens of thousands of people unaccounted for after being detained by government or militia forces since the late 1970s. Authorities of all stripes have forcibly disappeared opponents in Afghanistan. On August 30, International Day of the Disappeared, advocates grappling with ending longstanding impunity in Afghanistan […]

(Geneva) – The Sri Lankan government continues to persecute the families of victims of enforced disappearance who seek to enforce their rights, Human Rights Watch said today. Security forces persistently harass families through surveillance, intimidation, false allegations, violence, and arbitrary arrests. On August 29, 2024, a court in Trincomalee granted a request by police to […]

(Kinshasa) – Democratic Republic of Congo authorities should expand their investigation into security force personnel responsible for killing scores of people in eastern Congo one year ago, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should also provide prompt and adequate compensation to victims or their families. On August 30, 2023, Congolese security forces killed at least […]

(Washington, DC) – Mexican legislators who will take office on August 31, 2024, should reject a series of proposed constitutional changes that would undermine judicial independence, government accountability, and the right to privacy, Human Rights Watch said today. The proposals could also lead to an increase in military abuses and arbitrary detentions. The proposals are contained […]

In December 2013, the UN General Assembly declared the International Decade for People of African Descent to address issues of recognition, justice, and development. The decade beginning in 2015 aimed to promote the rights of people of African descent, increase awareness of their cultural contributions, and strengthen legal frameworks to combat racial discrimination. In 2021, 31 […]

For many years, the Assad regime has used arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance as a tool of repression against its real and perceived critics.  Over 96,000 men, women, and children remain forcibly disappeared by the regime to this day – leaving families desperate for answers about their fates – with the regime extorting and punishing […]