Category: Human Rights

(Berlin, May 2, 2024) – Azerbaijani authorities should immediately free a prominent human rights defender, Anar Mammadli, and drop the charges against him, the Human Rights House Foundation said this week in a statement signed by Human Rights Watch and 28 other groups. Mammadi was arrested on April 29, 2024, on bogus “smuggling” charges amid […]

Thousands of people have taken to the streets for days to protest the draft Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, which would require media and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) receiving more than 20 per cent of funding from abroad to register as “organizations acting in the interest of a foreign power”.  Respect human rights  Mr. Türk […]

In a statement released late on Wednesday the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he had been deeply distressed to hear of the hundreds of lives lost and many others affected by the deluge in Kenya as well as Burundi, Somalia, Tanzania and other parts of East Africa. He extended his condolences to the Governments and […]

(Mexico City) – The administrations of US President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador are forcing thousands of people seeking asylum in the US to wait for months in Mexico, exposing them to danger, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 68-page report, “We Couldn’t Wait: Digital Metering at […]

In recent days, demonstrations unfolding through tented encampments on school grounds – sparked by students at New York’s prestigious Columbia University who are demanding authorities divest from Israel due to its occupation and military assault on Gaza – have spread nationwide. University authorities from the west to east coast have taken different approaches, ranging from […]

(Berlin, April 30, 2024) – The German government is falling short in protecting Muslims and people perceived to be Muslims from racism amid rising incidents of hate and discrimination, Human Rights Watch said today. The absence of a working definition of anti-Muslim racism and a lack of official data on incidents and of investment in […]

(Nairobi) – The reappearance in a South Sudan court of a former refugee who had been forcibly disappeared more than a year ago points up the urgent need to reform the National Security Service (NSS), Human Rights Watch said today. South Sudan authorities should urgently put an end to the agency’s arbitrary arrests and detentions […]

(Beirut) – Emirati authorities are holding an unfair mass trial that has raised serious due process concerns, Human Rights Watch said today. The trial includes many defendants held in prolonged solitary confinement, which may amount to torture. In December 2023, while hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), Emirati authorities brought charges against at […]

Tomorrow, the European Union will host the Day of Dialogue of the VIII Brussels Conference on ‘Supporting the future of Syria and the region.’ The Conference has become the main event to reaffirm the international community’s support for the Syrian people, the Syrian refugees, and their host communities. During the Day of the Dialogue, the […]

Since 22 March, Ukraine’s energy infrastructure sustained four waves of attacks that killed six people, injured at least 45 and struck at least 20 facilities.   Just this past Saturday alone, missile attacks damaged four thermal power plants critical for electricity generation. Two of the plants are located in western Ukraine, far from the frontline. Previous […]