Category: Human Rights

(Beirut) – The bodies of hundreds of thousands of victims of unlawful killings remain buried in mass graves across Iraq, Human Rights Watch said today. The graves contain the bodies of victims of successive conflicts, including Saddam Hussein’s genocide against the Kurds in 1988 and mass killings by the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) […]

In response to the heavy rains and landslides that struck Ethiopia in July 2024, the European Union has provided €150,000 to support the country’s response in providing life-saving interventions in the affected areas.  The emergency funding provided by the EU will support the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) in providing assistance to the most vulnerable […]

Many were trying to flee the fighting in towns of Maungdaw in Rakhine state and Lashio in Shan state, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told journalists at the daily briefing in New York. “These incidents are part of a deeply concerning trend in the intensifying conflict, with civilians bearing the brunt of a conflict that […]

Authorities and healthcare providers in the state of Mexico, the nation’s most populous state, are failing to guarantee access to abortion care, even in cases in which it is legal. Barriers to legal abortion care make it more difficult for people to get services they are entitled to, especially people living in poverty, adolescents, and […]

The production of 12 amphibious firefighting planes to make up the permanent rescEU fleet has been launched following agreements signed by a number of EU Member States with the Canadian Commercial Corporation. The planes will be financed by the European Commission and will become the new backbone of the EU’s crisis response to tackle forest […]

Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, sent a “delegation” to the UN human rights office in the Yemeni capital on 3 August, and national staff were forced to handover documents, furniture and vehicles, as well as the office’s keys. They remain in control of the premises. A ‘serious attack’ “Ansar Allah forces must leave […]

In a video circulated on social media on July 21, Steve Akam, alias Ramon Cotta, a Cameroonian social media activist, stands before a barrier in an outdoor space, handcuffed and surrounded by members of the Cameroonian police. It was the last time he was seen. Human Rights Watch contacted sources in Cameroon, and geolocated and analyzed […]

The Commission is mobilising emergency support to Greece and Albania, both of which have activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism in response to severe wildfires. The European Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) has immediately mobilised both aerial and ground firefighting resources from several European countries that are part of the Civil Protection Mechanism to assist Greece.  This […]

(New York) – The Taliban have created the world’s most serious women’s rights crisis since taking power in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, Human Rights Watch said today. Afghanistan is also experiencing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with aid severely underfunded, thousands of Afghans forced back into Afghanistan from Pakistan, and thousands of others expecting to emigrate to […]

The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission also urged the authorities to thoroughly investigate a spate of grave rights violations that are currently occurring in the South American country. Venezuelans went to the polls on 28 July and President Nicolás Maduro was formally declared the winner the following day, securing a third term in office. Fierce repression, […]