Category: Human Rights

(Nairobi) – The supreme court of Ghana on July 24, 2024, upheld a colonial-era law that criminalizes adult consensual same-sex conduct, contrary to Ghana’s human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said today. The judgment comes at a time when the country is engulfed in a debate over a dangerous anti-LGBT law which would take persecution of sexual and gender minorities and their allies […]

The UN’s highest court issued an advisory opinion on 19 July which said that Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, “is unlawful”. It was responding to a request by the UN General Assembly for an advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of […]

Photos on social media picked up in the Turkish media on July 17 featured a warm welcome in Türkiye for two faction leaders of the Syrian National Army (SNA), a loose coalition of armed opposition groups Türkiye sponsors in areas of northern Syria it occupies. In one photo, the two leaders are welcomed by Devlet […]

In response to recent floods in northern Bangladesh, India and in the Philippines, the EU has approved €2.4 million in humanitarian aid to help the most affected populations. This funding will help provide cash assistance, food, access to clean water and sanitation, and other essential services in the hardest-hit areas. Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez […]

These evictions are “facilitated by the unlawful application of discriminatory Israeli laws against Palestinians in the occupied territory,” the office said in a statement. Legal Proceedings About 87 Palestinian families – nearly 680 individuals – face legal actions begun by “settlers” to remove them from their houses in Batn al-Hawa. On 9 and 10 July, […]

The European Commission’s annual Rule of Law Report 2024 glosses over serious threats to civil society in the European Union, sending a message that the EU doesn’t take the decline of civic space in its member states seriously enough. In the report, published July 24, the commission recognizes the essential role civil society plays, but […]

Secretary of State Blinken, Secretary of Defense Austin, Minister for Foreign Affairs KAMIKAWA, and Minister of Defense KIHARA (referred to collectively as “the Ministers”) convened the U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee (SCC) in Tokyo, Japan, on July 28, 2024. Recognizing the profound level of global threats to our Alliance’s shared vision and common values, the Ministers […]

(Beirut) – Emirati authorities arbitrarily detained, convicted, and sentenced to long prison terms 57 Bangladeshi protesters following a rapid trial based on their participation in peaceful demonstrations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Human Rights Watch said today. The sentences, ranging from 10 years to life in prison, followed abusively fast judicial proceedings that raise serious concerns […]

It has been four years since Azimjon Askarov, a human rights defender from southern Kyrgyzstan, died in custody. When he died on July 25, 2020, he had been in jail for ten years, subjected to torture and neglect. Towards the end, with his health deteriorating, he was denied release on humanitarian grounds. An accomplished painter, journalist, […]

On Friday, Mr. Gershkovich was handed a 16-year prison sentence on spying charges in a Russian court. The reporter was arrested in Russia in 2023 and has been held there since, despite calls for his release.  That same day, Ms. Kurmasheva received a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence for “spreading fake news about the Russian army.” She has been arbitrarily detained […]