Category: Human Rights

In his message for the Day, UN chief António Guterres called human trafficking “a heinous violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms.” He said that this crime preys on vulnerability and thrives in times of conflict and instability, with more and more people targeted today.  “The majority of detected victims are women and children, many of […]

On Friday, the European Union imposed targeted financial and travel sanctions against seven people from the Democratic Republic of Congo, one from Rwanda, and one from Tanzania for “acts that constitute serious human rights violations and abuses” in eastern Congo. Most newly sanctioned individuals are leaders or senior commanders of known abusive armed groups operating […]

Nusra and Khadija share the bond of being cousins and of living in the same small town in West Darfur. Now they share a darker bond: both survivors of sexual violence in the conflict in Sudan. Human Rights Watch researchers spoke with the cousins in eastern Chad, while documenting abuses against dozens of survivors of […]

During the visit, Ms. Triggs mentioned that one of the worst shipwrecks in the Mediterranean happened just over a month ago.  Protecting refugee rights  “The Pylos tragedy and the other devastating tragedies in the Mediterranean underscore the primacy of saving lives and protecting the rights of people forced to flee. This was my message to […]

This week, Russian authorities banned TV Rain, a prominent independent online broadcaster, as “undesirable,” accusing it of spreading false information about Russia’s war on Ukraine, “discrediting” the military and government, and quoting other banned outlets. Since 2015, Russia’s “undesirables” law has allowed the country’s prosecutor general to ban any foreign organization that allegedly undermines Russia’s […]

Mr. Kara-Murza, 41, an outspoken critic of the Kremlin and the war in Ukraine, was arbitrarily arrested in Moscow on 11 April 2022. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison a year later on charges of “high treason”, “disseminating false information about the army of the Russian Federation” and participation in an “undesirable organisation”. […]

The EU provides monthly cash payments to thousands in need in Madagascar, also to maintain local producers and markets. © European Union, 2023 (photographer: Mathias Eick) In June, 4 EU-based journalists travelled to Madagascar’s Grand Sud region, sponsored by the EU’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department. Their objective was to gain insight into […]

On July 29, 2022, an explosion in one of the barracks of Olenivka prison in Russia-occupied eastern Ukraine killed about 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and injured 100 more. The Russian Defense Ministry, which was holding the prisoners, is the only source on the casualty figures. This deadly incident requires an in-depth and impartial […]

This is expected to rise to all children in 2050, according to Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director Europe and Central Asia. She said countries there are feeling the heat of the climate crisis, and children’s health and well-being are suffering the most “The multitude of negative implications on the current and future health of […]

Volker Türk said he had been “following developments closely” in Israel, where parliamentarians supporting the hard-line nationalist Government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu passed a bill on Monday which in effect strips the Supreme Court of its power to block Government decisions. Opposition parties boycotted the vote which came after seven months of protests which […]