Category: Human Rights

(New York) – The international community should mobilize to address the disaster unfolding “before our eyes,” Tirana Hassan, executive director of Human Rights Watch, and the leaders of over 50 international human rights and humanitarian organizations said today. Their statement notes that Sudan is “no longer at the precipice of mass atrocities; it has fallen […]

(Beirut) – Lebanese Education Ministry and foreign donor officials meeting on September 13, 2023, to discuss financing for the new school year should reach an agreement that opens schools without interruption and averts a disastrous fifth year of lost learning for students, Human Rights Watch said today. The Education Ministry has still not secured sufficient […]

(Beirut) – The United States should investigate and regulate sovereign wealth funds like Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) that have been linked to human rights abuses, Human Rights Watch said in testimony today before the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The hearing examined the fund’s substantial holdings in the United States. It followed […]

(New York) – A released political prisoner from Bhutan has described severely declining conditions for the country’s unjustly held political prisoners, Human Rights Watch said today. Bhutan imprisons at least 36 people, including one woman, convicted of political offenses following unfair trials that frequently relied on confessions coerced under torture. Madhukar Monger, who was released […]

Each day seems to bring a new loss of freedoms in Hong Kong. Last week the authorities prosecuted a Hong Kong man who had received a shipment of 18 “seditious” books from the United Kingdom. The authorities accused Kurt Leung Kui-ming of intending to “incite violence” and promote “feelings of ill-will and enmity” in the […]

(Nairobi, September 14, 2023) – A study released on September 13, 2023, in Kenya indicates that pesticides that are banned for use in the European Union due to their risks to health and the environment continue to be sold by European and other international companies in Kenya, Human Rights Watch said today. Kenyan authorities should […]

Children and their families seeking asylum in the United Kingdom face inadequate living conditions in government-provided temporary housing, affecting their health, well-being, and education. The dire temporary conditions, often for a year or more instead of what the 19-day policy calls for, are the result of longstanding policy failings, wasted resources, and funding cuts. Instead […]

Addressing the forum in Geneva, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nada-Al Nashif also urged the Sri Lankan authorities to accelerate investigations and prosecutions probing cases of human rights violations, in particular, the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. Ms. Al-Nashif noted that investigations should comply with international human rights standards. Her comments follow repeated calls to the […]

(London) – Poland’s government is targeting people for alleged abortion-related activities, intensifying a climate of fear that heightens risks for women and girls, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch released a video highlighting how the government’s dubious use of its powers to chase down alleged abortion-related activity threatens people’s rights to privacy, autonomy, […]

Mr. Al Ghamdi was arrested by the Saudi security services on 11 June 2022 and charged with criminal offences for opinions he expressed on social media platforms X and YouTube. The charges included “betrayal of his religion, country, and rulers;” “spreading false rumours with intent to disrupt public order and destabilise security;” and “supporting terrorist […]