Category: Human Rights

(Beirut) – The planned closure of displaced people’s camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) by a July 30 deadline will imperil the rights of many camp residents from the northern Sinjar district, Human Rights Watch said today. Sinjar remains unsafe and lacks adequate social services to ensure the economic, social, and cultural rights of thousands […]

This week, United States President Joe Biden announced that his administration has “held up” at least one shipment of 3,500 bombs and artillery shells to Israel, saying the US wouldn’t transfer certain weapons to Israel if it proceeded with an assault on the city of Rafah’s densely populated areas. This partial pause on weapon transfers doesn’t go far […]

“I am deeply troubled by the violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators, arrests, detentions, police violence, surveillance and disciplinary measures and sanctions against members of the educational community exercising their right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression,” UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Farida Shaheed said, in a statement at the end of […]

In January 2023, California removed “loitering in a public place with the intent to commit prostitution” from the state’s penal code. It was a victory for transgender people, Black communities, trafficking survivors, sex workers, and others disproportionately targeted by the ban.  Unfortunately, just over a year later, three bills before the California State Legislature proposed reinstating this harmful and discriminatory […]

Journalists and human rights activists in Nigeria are protesting the arrest and detention of Daniel Ojukwu, a reporter at the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, who went missing in Lagos on May 1. He was later discovered to be in police custody, accused of violating Nigeria’s cybercrimes law. The authorities have since moved Ojukwu between various police units, including the […]

(London, May 10, 2024) – Germany’s government needs to explain publicly if it has imposed a Schengen-wide entry ban on a prominent British-Palestinian surgeon and academic, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah, and, if so, the reasons why, Human Rights Watch said today. Dr. Abu Sittah has in recent weeks been denied entry to Germany and France and, […]

Concluding an official visit to the Horn of Africa nation Isha Dyfan highlighted the impact on civilians, especially women and children, who continue to bear the brunt of deadly attacks carried out by Al-Shabaab terrorists. “I strongly condemn the continued deadly attacks perpetrated by Al-Shabaab and urge the Government to take all steps to ensure […]

UNHCR has renewed its call for a coordinated continental approach to the issue, as underscored during the ministerial meeting on the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, held in Guatemala on Tuesday. New approach  The landmark declaration aims to transform how the region manages migration and is based on the principles of solidarity, responsibility-sharing, […]

As student journalists in Indonesia face increasing intimidation, censorship, and newsroom closures, the Ministry of Education has agreed to have the national Press Council mediate all defamation disputes involving student journalists and publications. It’s an important step toward better protecting student media in the country. Until now, criminal defamation cases involving student journalists and publications were […]

(Washington) – Vietnam is providing false or misleading information to the United States and other economic partners to secure or maintain preferential trade preferences, Human Rights Watch said today. The US Department of Commerce held a public hearing about Vietnam’s trade status on May 8, 2024. The US government is currently considering a reclassification of […]