Category: Human Rights

Civilian rescue organizations working to save the lives of migrants and asylum seekers in the Mediterranean Sea are increasingly trapped in a dilemma: comply with arbitrary restrictions that often have fatal consequences, or risk detention and potential prosecution. Both alternatives impede groups from conducting lifesaving missions, jeopardizing lives at sea. Adding to existing policies designed […]

The Singaporean government since mid-April has issued at least four execution notices to individuals convicted of drug-related offenses. They are among 36 death row prisoners taking part in a legal action relating to their constitutional right to legal aid following appeal. None of these prisoners currently have legal representation. The executions of these prisoners have been […]

(Beirut) – Landmines laid by Houthi forces and others in Yemen continue to kill and cause serious injuries to civilians in areas where active hostilities have ceased and are preventing farmers from accessing their land, Human Rights Watch said today. Yemeni law and the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty prohibit any use of antipersonnel landmines under […]

(Washington, DC) – Argentina’s President Javier Milei should reconsider his nominations to the Supreme Court to take qualifications, experience, diversity and integrity into consideration, Human Rights Watch said today. On April 15, 2024, President Milei nominated Ariel Lijo, a federal judge, and Manuel García-Mansilla, a scholar, to the Supreme Court. Several rights groups, citizens, business […]

(Geneva) – Sri Lankan authorities have threatened and detained Tamils commemorating those who died or went missing in the country’s civil war, Human Rights Watch said today. On May 17, 2024, the United Nations human rights office issued a report calling for international prosecutions and other accountability measures to address the thousands of unresolved cases […]

(Nairobi) – The Democratic Republic of Congo government should urgently investigate and publicly report on the whereabouts of the prominent opposition and civil society activist Gloria Sengha, Human Rights Watch said today. The abduction of Sengha and two of her colleagues appears linked to a wave of repression by Congolese authorities that has severely restricted the […]

(Johannesburg) – The conviction and sentencing of a leading opposition member to 18 months in prison with hard labor will have a broad chilling effect on the right to freedom of expression in Zambia, Human Rights Watch said today. Raphael Nakacinda, secretary general of the main opposition party, Patriotic Front, was sentenced on May 17, […]

(Washington, DC) – US President Joe Biden should oppose threats and calls for punitive actions against the International Criminal Court (ICC), 121 human rights and civil society groups said today in a letter to President Biden.   On May 20, 2024, the court’s prosecutor announced that he was seeking arrest warrants for three leaders of Hamas and two senior Israeli […]

Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell showed what a principled commitment to justice looks like, on May 7, when he pushed back against threats aimed at undermining the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Palestine investigation. “If we respect the ICC, it has to be in any case, on any occasion, with respect to anyone,” he said.  On May […]

The Chinese government is using extreme forms of pressure to coerce Tibetans to relocate their long-established villages. Chinese officials misleadingly claim that relocation will lead to improved employment and higher incomes. The Chinese government should suspend relocations in Tibet and conform with Chinese laws and standards and international law concerning relocations and forced evictions. (Taipei) […]