Category: Human Rights

  (Beirut) – Algerian authorities have crushed civic space over the past four years, Human Rights Watch said today, in a briefing paper it submitted to the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, who began on September 16 a ten-day visit to Algeria. The […]

Immersive technology will power the “metaverse,” the sprawling collection of virtual environments on which the Silicon Valley giant Meta has staked its future success.    Other large tech companies, including Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Sony, have made sizable investments in immersive technology as well, using alternative terms like “extended reality” (XR) and “spatial computing.” Regardless […]

Today, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child launches new guidance for governments on protecting children’s rights in the face of climate change and other environmental crises. From toxic pollution in Zambia and harmful plastics recycling in Turkey, to rising sea levels affecting housing in Panama and higher temperatures diminishing food supplies […]

(Brussels) – The European Parliament passed a resolution against “prostitution” on September 14, 2023, but removed some of its most harmful parts, Human Rights Watch said today. Parliament adopted a non-binding report, Regulation of Prostitution in the EU: Its Cross-Border Implications and Impact on Gender Equality and Women’s Rights, but rejected “calls for an EU-wide […]

(Geneva) – The Sri Lankan government’s ongoing abuses are undermining the purported goals of its newly proposed truth and reconciliation commission, Human Rights Watch said in a report published today. Victims of past violations, their families, and human rights defenders have rejected the government’s initiative because the government has not consulted them, ignores evidence gathered […]

Two years ago today, a group of international and Belarusian human rights organizations gathered to discuss how best to support our detained colleagues from the prominent Belarusian rights group Viasna. At the time, seven Viasna members were behind bars on trumped-up criminal charges in reprisal for their courageous human rights work in Belarus. Many other […]

  Zhang Zhan should not have spent her 40th birthday – or indeed any day – in prison. Zhang, a Shanghai-based activist and former lawyer, went to Wuhan, where Covid-19 was first identified, in February 2020 to document the coronavirus outbreak. For several months she posted short videos on YouTube reflecting the extent of the […]

(São Paulo) – Brazil should urgently address the chronic problem of police abuse and impunity by ensuring that prosecutors lead investigations and that those investigations comply with international standards, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the attorney general, Augusto Aras. Police killed more than 6,400 people in 2022, according to the nonprofit Brazilian Forum of […]

Today, the European Court of Human Rights handed down a ruling in the case of Maxim Lapunov, the only victim of Chechnya’s vile 2017 anti-gay purge who dared seek justice for the torture he suffered at the hands of local law enforcement. The court found Lapunov was “detained and subjected to ill-treatment by State agents,” […]

As protestors voice their anger against inequality and the rising cost of living in Argentina, Pakistan, Nigeria, and elsewhere, it is crucial to recognize and embrace a human right that forms the bedrock of just and peaceful societies: the right to social security. To mark its relevance, Human Rights Watch has launched a webpage on […]