Category: Human Rights

(Beirut) – Egyptian authorities have unlawfully detained a prominent critic and veteran news publisher and referred him for prosecution apparently based solely on his peaceful criticism, Human Rights Watch said today. Egyptian authorities detained Hisham Kassem on August 20, 2023, and prosecutors quickly referred him for an “urgent trial,” which began on September 2, on […]

(New York) – Legal protections for children in the United States and in every individual state fall short of international children’s rights standards, Human Rights Watch said today. Children in the US can be legally married in 41 states, physically punished by school administrators in 47 states, sentenced to life without parole in 22 states, and work in hazardous […]

This report was authored by a partner organization, the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, and is distributed by Human Rights Watch. (New York) – More than 3,000 attacks on education were identified in 2022, a 17 percent increase over the previous year, the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) reported in […]

(Brussels) – The European Court of Human Rights has accepted a case brought by sex workers against criminalization of their work, at a critical moment for sex workers’ rights in Europe, Human Rights Watch said today. A majority of the court declared admissible on August 31, 2023, a case brought by 261 migrant, queer, and women […]

There has been strong global media interest in the latest annual report on cluster munitions, “Cluster Munition Monitor 2023,” which Human Rights Watch helped produce. Russia’s state-controlled media – propaganda outlets for the government – have covered it, too, which may seem surprising until you look at the Russian coverage. The outlets manage to discuss […]

On August 30, Mexico’s Supreme Court decriminalized abortion in Aguascalientes state, making it the 12th Mexican state to remove criminal penalties for abortion. The move towards decriminalization in Mexico began in 2007 when Mexico City passed the country’s first abortion decriminalization law. It took 12 years for a second state, Oaxaca, to follow. While progress […]

Tomoya Obokata, the Human Rights Council-appointed Special Rapporteur on the global scourge of modern slavery issued his statement at the end of a 14-day visit. He called on the Canadian Government to intensify its efforts to safeguard workers’ rights and offer a clear pathway to permanent residency for all migrants. Migrant workers at risk “I am deeply […]

In a positive step for workers’ rights, Georgia’s Labor Inspectorate has reversed its decision to conceal employers’ names from its inspection reports, which had effectively protected rights-abusing companies from public scrutiny. The Labor Inspectorate oversees labor safety and rights in the country, conducts planned and unannounced inspections at workplaces, and documents labor law violations and […]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, stressed the urgency of addressing these challenges if the country is to move forward, recalling the 2022 anti-Government protests demanding a fairer and more inclusive society. “But the potential for a historic transformation that would address long-standing challenges is far from being realized.” The UN rights chief’s […]

More than 70 people were killed last week when a fire tore through a five-story neglected building in Johannesburg’s central business district. The “informal settlement” was occupied in large part by undocumented migrants living with little to no access to electricity, water or adequate sanitation. In the wake of the tragedy, many South Africans started […]