Category: Human Rights

German environmental activists are facing increasingly harsh rhetoric and legal action from authorities as they mobilize to confront the climate crisis. Last week, on May 21, Germany’s efforts to curb environmental activism took a disturbing turn when authorities used an offence typically reserved for prosecutorial pursuit of serious organized crime to indict Letzte Generation (Last Generation), a climate activist […]

At the 8th edition of the Brussels Conference on ‘Supporting the future of Syria and the region’, the EU pledged €2.12 billion for 2024 and 2025. This assistance will support both Syrians inside Syria and those in neighbouring countries, as well as their host communities in Lebanon, Türkiye, Jordan and Iraq. The Ministerial meeting which […]

(Berlin) – Volkswagen should inform shareholders at its May 29, 2024 annual general meeting how the company plans to eliminate Uyghur forced labor in its operations and supply chains, Human Rights Watch and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) said today. Since 2017, the Chinese government has perpetrated crimes against humanity in […]

Lawyers representing clients in politically motivated cases or speaking out on rights abuses face systematic and widespread repression in Belarus. Belarusian authorities took control over the legal profession, eroding its independence; bar associations became the vehicle of the government’s agenda and repression. Belarus should stop all politically motivated action against lawyers and create a normal […]

(Nairobi) – The Democratic Republic of Congo government should ensure that those who took part in an attempted coup are prosecuted in fair trials, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should also thoroughly and impartially investigate and appropriately prosecute security forces’ alleged extrajudicial killings of coup participants. Details are still emerging about the attempted coup […]

Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) Julieta Valls Noyes will travel to Bogotá, Colombia May 27-30. She will accompany Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma and other delegation members in the 11th round of the U.S.-Colombia High-Level Dialogue to underscore areas of shared interest including migration […]

French judges convicted three Syrian senior officials for their role in the imprisonment, enforced disappearance and torture of two dual Syrian-French citizens, Patrick Dabbagh and his father Mazzen, in 2013, as well as the confiscation of their property. On May 24, 2024, the court concluded that imprisonment, enforced disappearance and torture committed by the officials Ali Mamlouk, Jamil […]

The United States is deeply concerned over the People’s Liberation Army joint military drills in the Taiwan Strait and around Taiwan.  We are monitoring PRC activities closely and coordinating with allies and partners regarding our shared concerns. We strongly urge Beijing to act with restraint.  Using a normal, routine, and democratic transition as an excuse […]

Fierce battles have intensified between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group, displacing tens of thousands of people in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships in recent days. An estimated 45,000 Rohingya have reportedly fled to an area on the Naf River near the border with Bangladesh, seeking protection. Over one million Rohingya […]

(Bangkok) – Thai authorities should impartially and transparently investigate the death of a detained anti-monarchy activist, Netiporn “Bung” Sanesangkhom, in Bangkok, Human Rights Watch said today. Prime Minister Srettha Tavisin promised an inquiry into her death in Bangkok, which has raised concerns about possible negligence by prison officials in referring her for life-saving medical treatment. […]