Category: Human Rights

(New York) – The Pakistani government is using threats, abuse, and detention to coerce Afghan asylum seekers without legal status to return to Afghanistan or face deportation by November 1, 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. Many Afghans at risk of being deported are awaiting resettlement to the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada. […]

In a setback for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights, South Korea’s Constitutional Court has upheld the article of the country’s Military Criminal Act that prohibits same-sex activity between soldiers and allows for punishments of up to two years in prison. South Korea’s Constitutional Court has considered four challenges to article 92-6 since 2002, […]

Briefing the Security Council, Geir Pedersen said the country had been in a “strategic stalemate” since March 2020, with the brutal conflict now marked by static front lines, persistent violence, and sporadic escalation in fighting. De facto authorities are strengthening control, while foreign armies remain active, he told ambassadors. The lack of a meaningful political […]

(Beirut) – Participants in the 28th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) should urge the UAE, the host, to end its repression of independent civil society and should make a commitment to phasing out fossil fuels, Human Rights Watch said today in issuing a question and answer document about the meeting. The conference will […]

(Accra) – Ghana’s 2017 ban on shackling people with psychosocial disabilities – or mental health conditions – has not halted the practice, Human Rights Watch said today. The government has not adequately resourced the enforcement mechanisms to monitor compliance by faith-based centers where people are being held in chains and assist those currently being unlawfully […]

(Jerusalem) – Israel began major ground operations in the Gaza Strip on October 28, 2023. During the last major Israeli ground operation into Gaza in July and August 2014, Israeli forces committed numerous violations of the laws of war – including fatally firing on civilians – that amounted to war crimes. These violations were never prosecuted. Palestinian […]

In an interview with UN News, UN Human Rights Council-appointed expert Francesca Albanese, said it was “impossible to describe the pain and suffering that Israelis are going through because of what happened to them because there are not only those who were killed, those who were taken hostage, but there is an entire population that […]

Two years ago, the United Nations Security Council adopted a groundbreaking resolution to safeguard education during wartime. The resolution called on governments to both prevent and address attacks on schools and other educational facilities, including through their national laws. Still, millions of children in conflict zones are under threat of attack and denied an education. […]

(Johannesburg, October 28, 2023) – Mozambican security forces have used excessive force, including live ammunition, rubber bullets, and tear gas, against largely peaceful protesters following local elections, Human Rights Watch said today. The media reported at least three people were fatally shot, including a 10-year-old boy on his way back from school in Nampula province. […]

UN Day on 24 October marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter – the day the Organization officially came into being.   ‘We grieve, and we remember’ The dead in Gaza include many teachers, the agency noted in a tweet on Monday. “We grieve and we remember. These […]