Category: Human Rights

(Beirut) – Tunisian courts sentenced eight human rights defenders to prison terms and fines in recent days for charges connected to their human rights work, including two prominent women who were handed harsh sentences, Human Rights Watch said today.  On June 26, 2026, a Tunis Court of First Instance sentenced Sihem Bensedrine, the former president of the […]

Many refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt, most from Sudan and South Sudan, have faced a months-long campaign of arbitrary arrest, unlawful detention, and deportation. Refugees and asylum seekers are losing their residency status because of bureaucratic delays and are being jailed and deported for lacking documents the government has failed to provide. Egyptian authorities […]

(Bangkok) – Thai authorities should criminally investigate the alleged torture and ill-treatment of conscripts in the Royal Thai Navy’s Marine Division, Human Rights Watch said today. The Thai government and military should end the longstanding practice of hazing and other brutality against conscripts and prosecute wrongdoers according to the law, regardless of their rank. On […]

An Egyptian court sentenced doctor and filmmaker Omnia Suwydan on July 4 to a six-months suspended prison sentence and a fine of 20,000 Egyptian pounds (US$408) for alleging obstetric violence at an Alexandria public hospital. Obstetric violence, which includes physical and emotional abuse of pregnant people seeking sexual and reproductive health services, is a widespread but broadly ignored […]

Immigration is helping the US soccer team get the job done at the World Cup. Many of the players on the US squad, which faces Belgium in a World Cup elimination game on July 6, have roots to immigrant parents or grandparents. Another player, star striker Folarin Balogun—whose availability for today’s game is the subject of […]

At the current session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC), a closed meeting about human rights in Tajikistan curiously appeared on the agenda. Held in response to a complaint submitted under an opaque procedure of the Human Rights Council, there is no public information about the meeting, which only compounds the grave human […]

Burkina Faso’s military junta has approved a law requiring every Burkinabè student wishing to pursue higher education abroad—whether funded by a government scholarship or through private means—to obtain prior authorization from the Ministry of Higher Education. The Council of Ministers adopted the decree on June 25, but it has yet to go into effect. The government […]

As Europe is fighting wildfires in several Member States, the Commission is swiftly mobilising assistance via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM). Over the weekend, Portugal and France have activated the UCPM due to devastating wildfires, with several of them active simultaneously and burning thousands of hectares. France activated the UCPM on 5 July. The […]

Addressing the inaugural UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva, the Secretary-General insisted on the need for greater accessibility for the billions of people unable to access the revolutionary tech.  He also insisted that any future agreement must be “worthy of global trust” and put safety first – and especially children’s – to protect […]

(Nairobi) – Regional authorities in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region have been abducting and unlawfully recruiting civilians, including children as young as 15, for their forces since at least April 2026, Human Rights Watch said today. Communities in towns and cities across the region said that Tigrayan forces and officials were abducting former combatants and other […]