Category: Human Rights

(São Paulo, Brazil) – The personal photos of Brazilian children are being used to create powerful artificial intelligence (AI) tools without the children’s knowledge or consent, Human Rights Watch said today. These photos are being scraped off the web into a large data set that companies then use to train their AI tools. In turn, […]

In view of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, the EU has activated its emergency aid reserve to avoid a risk of famine in the country. This will bring the total EU response to nearly €150 million in humanitarian aid for this crisis in 2024. This funding will support partners working inside Afghanistan (nearly €126 […]

U.S. Special Advisor on International Disability Rights Sara Minkara will travel to New York from June 11-13 to attend the 17th Session of the Conference of States Parties (COSP) to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the UN.  Special Advisor Minkara will lead the U.S. delegation, facilitating bilateral and multilateral engagements […]

That’s happening on the opening day of the 17th session of the Conference of States Parties (COSP17) to the game-changing Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, taking place from 11 to 13 June 2024. From being a delegate at COSP16 to taking over UN News’s live blog at COSP17, the activist with Down […]

(New York) – The Vietnamese authorities should immediately release the prominent journalist, blogger, and author Huy Duc and drop all charges against him, Human Rights Watch said today. Police in Hanoi detained Huy Duc (the pen name of Truong Huy San) on June 1, 2024, and charged him with “abusing the rights to democracy and […]

The landmark legally binding treaty entered into force on 3 May 2008, marking a major milestone in the effort to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights for all. Ahead of the 17th Conference of States Parties (COSP17) that starts on 11 June, here are five fast facts about the […]

Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya will travel to Dakar, Senegal, and Conakry, Guinea from June 9-14 to engage on democracy, justice and human rights, and regional civilian security priorities. In Dakar, Under Secretary Zeya will meet with senior government officials and civil society leaders and underscore U.S. […]

In an apparent effort to avoid human rights scrutiny, Thailand’s prime minister, foreign minister, and other senior government officials did not meet with the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, when he visited Bangkok on June 5 and 6. Türk’s visit was consequentially downgraded from an official mission to a “stopover,” unlike with […]

The Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin should prioritize donor support to rebuild and make accessible thousands of damaged schools and ensure children and teachers have access to equipment and technology for distance learning. Ukraine still relies on the Soviet-era legacy of institutionalizing children deemed to have disabilities or to be from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Donors […]

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the Secretary-General “strongly condemns” recent attacks by the Myanmar military in Rakhine State and Sagaing Region that have reportedly claimed the lives of many civilians. “The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the widening regional ramifications of the deteriorating situation in Myanmar and reiterates his appeal for a unified approach,” Mr. […]