Category: Human Rights

(Bangui) – The Special Criminal Court (SCC) in the Central African Republic has announced that on June 16, 2024, it arrested a former anti-balaka leader, Edmond Beïna, for crimes committed in 2014, Human Rights Watch said today. The arrest is a step toward assuring justice for victims of serious crimes in the country. The court confirmed the […]

(Bangkok) – Cambodian government-aligned unions are harassing and threatening legal action against the labor rights organization Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL) and its leadership following the group’s report on freedom of association violations in Cambodia, Human Rights Watch said today. The report was released with partners from Better Factories Cambodia (BFC), part […]

(Beirut) – Allies of the United Arab Emirates, including the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union member states, should break their silence on the unfair mass trial of at least 84 political dissidents and human rights defenders, Human Rights Watch said today. They should send observers to a session on July 10, 2024, at […]

Ethiopian security forces have committed widespread attacks amounting to war crimes against medical professionals, patients, and health facilities in the Amhara region. Civilians are bearing the brunt of fighting between the Ethiopian military and Amhara militia known as Fano, which began in August 2023. Ethiopia’s international partners should call for accountability and an end to […]

“This morning, we heard views from members of Afghan civil society, women and men, who provided us – the special envoys and the UN – with valuable insights on the rights of women and minorities in the country, girls’ education, the media, business and many other issues,” Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for political affairs, told […]

Aboubacar Siddiki, known as Babadjo, was released from prison in Cameroon on June 21 after serving a three-month sentence for insulting a local governor. Moments after he stepped out of the prison he was rearrested on charges of disturbing public order, demonstration, and hate speech. Babadjo’s lawyer told Human Rights Watch that these charges are based […]

Released on Wednesday by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), the report explained the hardships civilians faced, including physical and long-term socioeconomic harm. It also emphasised the human rights impact of Russia’s renewed large-scale attacks on critical energy infrastructure in March, the ground offensive in the Kharkiv region in May and other […]

(Brussels) – The European Union should reconsider its bilateral human rights dialogue with Vietnam and adopt more effective measures to address the Vietnamese government’s intensifying repression, Human Rights Watch said today, based on its submission to the EU. The next round of the EU-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue will take place on July 4, 2024, in Brussels. The […]

Last week, authorities in Jonglei state detained a photojournalist with the state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation for participating in protests about the cost of living and nonpayment of civil servant salaries. Media reported that police and National Security Service (NSS) agents took Aleu Anyieth from his home in Bor, the capital of Jonglei state, but his whereabouts, five days later, remain unknown, raising the possibility that he […]

On Tuesday, the Phnom Penh Capital Court handed down a guilty verdict in the criminal trial of 10 activists from Mother Nature, an award-winning, youth-led Cambodian environmental group, on charges that stem from the group’s peaceful environmental activism from 2012 to 2021. At least four of the activists were immediately arrested outside the courtroom, where they were […]