Category: Human Rights

Armenia’s parliament adopted amendments strengthening the country’s domestic violence law. The legislation was adopted last week as postwar Armenia both struggles to secure its border with neighboring Azerbaijan and deepen its relations with the European Union. Armenia’s 2017 domestic violence law was an important first step, but its accountability provisions were inadequate and protective measures […]

Last month, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found the Peruvian government responsible for violating the right to a healthy environment, among other rights, of residents of La Oroya, a town exposed to toxic pollution from a mine and smelter complex, the first ruling of its kind before the Court. The town is so polluted […]

After a months-long, uneasy détente between Sudan’s two warring parties, hundreds of thousands of civilians sheltering in the city of El Fasher in Darfur are in the crosshairs.    In the past few days, several villages near El Fasher appear to have been burned to the ground. People in one camp for internally displaced people […]

As the recent spike in gang violence is making even more critical the humanitarian situation in Haiti, the European Union launched a new Humanitarian Air Bridge to provide essential supplies to the country’s population. A total of 5 flights have arrived to Cap Haïtien, in the north of the country, as the international airport of […]

“In these trying times – where peace is under severe threat, and dialogue and diplomacy are in dire need – let us be an example of constructive dialogue to honour our commitments to Indigenous Peoples,” Dennis Francis told world leaders and ambassadors meeting in the General Assembly Hall. Member States convened to commemorate the 10th […]

(Oslo, April 18, 2024) – The bombing and shelling of cities and towns during armed conflict has devastating consequences for cultural heritage and civilians, Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic said in a report released today. Minimizing this harm should be addressed at the first meeting of countries endorsing the […]

High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell and Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, have issued the following statement: “It is essential to avoid any further escalation in the Middle East, in particular following the attacks from Iran targeting Israel. At this crucial time, we yet again call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2728, […]

(Berlin, April 16, 2024) – Several people based in Lithuania, Poland, and Türkiye, linked to a banned Tajik opposition movement, Group 24, have in recent months disappeared or have been arrested and threatened with extradition to Tajikistan, Human Rights Watch and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee said today.    Group 24 is a political movement promoting […]

Today, the EU hosted the Fourth Humanitarian Senior Officials Meeting in Brussels to take stock of the most pressing humanitarian challenges in war-torn Ukraine. The meeting was opened by Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, and the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Area, Iryna Vereshchuk. This high-level meeting […]

(Jerusalem) – The Israeli military either took part in or did not protect Palestinians from violent settler attacks in the West Bank that have displaced people from 20 communities and have entirely uprooted at least 7 communities since October 7, 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. Israeli settlers have assaulted, tortured, and committed sexual violence […]