Category: Human Rights

(Beirut) – An Israeli strike on an emergency and relief center in south Lebanon on March 27, 2024, was an unlawful attack on civilians that failed to take all necessary precautions, Human Rights Watch said today. If the attack on civilians was carried out intentionally or recklessly, it should be investigated as an apparent war […]

Advocates of media freedom in the Philippines got some good news within days of World Press Freedom Day on May 3. On April 29, police arrested a third suspect in the on-air shooting of radio broadcaster Juan Jumalon in Mindanao. And a court in Manila on May 6 sentenced the gunman responsible for the murder of the radio commentator […]

World Migration Report 2024 reveals a significant shift in global migration patterns, including a record number of people displaced due to conflict, violence, natural and other disasters.   Speaking at the launch in Dhaka, Bangladesh, IOM Director General Amy Pope said the report aims to “demystify the complexity of human mobility through evidence-based data and analysis”.  […]

(Jerusalem) – Israel is contravening the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) legally binding orders by obstructing the entry of lifesaving aid and services into Gaza, Human Rights Watch said today. Since January 2024, the court has twice ordered provisional measures requiring Israel to enable the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance as part of […]

The Commission is providing €125 million in new EU humanitarian funding to address the most pressing needs of people in Yemen amidst the ongoing crisis and escalating tensions in the region. The announcement comes on the occasion of the sixth Senior Officials Meeting on Yemen, chaired by Commissioner Janez Lenarčič in Brussels. The funding will […]

Volker Türk said he was concerned by the increasing number of journalists charged, convicted and jailed for their independent reporting, in what appears to be an intensification of a crackdown on dissenting voices. He described the continuous attacks on free speech and the criminalization of independent journalism in Russia as “very troubling”. “The intensification of the crackdown on journalists’ independent […]

Last week, millions of people in Southeast Asia grappled with a record-setting heatwave that triggered thousands of school closures, put unprecedented pressure on power grids, and led to fatal heat strokes. The brutal temperatures underscore the need to hammer out the details of a regional environmental rights declaration, work that is underway today in Jakarta […]

(Johannesburg) – Candidates in South Africa’s forthcoming general elections have been scapegoating and demonizing foreign nationals, risking stoking xenophobic violence, Human Rights Watch said today. On May 29, 2024, South Africa will hold general elections for the national and provincial legislatures. Among the campaign themes that have taken center stage is migration, in particular irregular […]

During this week of National Holocaust Remembrance, we remember the six million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, as well as the millions of others, including Roma, LGBTQI+ persons, Slavs, and persons with disabilities who were persecuted and killed.  Holocaust survivors and their families are a testament to courage and resilience.  […]

Human Rights Watch appreciates the opportunity to submit its views and recommendations for consideration by the United Nations secretary-general in response to Resolution 78/241 on “Lethal autonomous weapons systems” adopted by the UN General Assembly on 22 December 2023. This historic resolution asks the UN secretary-general to seek the views of countries and other stakeholders […]