Category: Human Rights

Mariana Katzarova, Special Rapporteur on human rights in Russia and Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, were responding to the 31-year-old United States citizen’s arrest and detention while on a reporting trip in the city of Yekaterinburg. “The arrest and indictment of Mr Gershkovich on serious criminal charges which […]

(Bangkok) – The Malaysian government should immediately prioritize a thorough and transparent investigation into the abduction of the Myanmar refugee activist Thuzar Maung and her family, Human Rights Watch said today. On July 4, 2023, unidentified men abducted Thuzar Maung, 46; her husband, Saw Than Tin Win, 43; her daughter, Poeh Khing Maung, 16; and […]

(July 15, 2023) – Russia’s lower house of parliament adopted a bill on July 14, 2023 that violates a wide range of rights of transgender people, Human Rights Watch said today. Parliament’s upper chamber and President Vladimir Putin are expected to approve the bill shortly. It outlaws trans healthcare, dissolves marriages of transgender people, places […]

Syria permitting the United Nations to use the Bab-al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey to deliver much-needed humanitarian assistance to the opposition-held northwest may seem like positive news to some. But the Syrian government cannot be relied upon to ensure aid gets to those who need it. Two days ago, the UN Security Council failed to […]

The demonstrations began over what many Kenyans view as unfair tax hikes and rising inflation in the country, according to news reports. OHCHR Spokesperson Jeremy Laurance issued a statement condemning the violence, expressing concern over “allegations of unnecessary or disproportionate use of force, including the use of firearms, by police”. Reports estimate the number of people […]

On Thursday morning, an opposition politician was found dead in his car with gunshot wounds in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital city. Chérubin Okende, 61, was a member of parliament and spokesman for the opposition party Ensemble pour la République (Together for the Republic), known as Ensemble. As the news broke, politicians, foreign […]

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, announced on Thursday that his office is probing recent atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region as part of its ongoing Darfur investigation, underscoring the gravity of current abuses. “Targeting civilians, individuals, targeting their homes, targeting their businesses, intentionally targeting children and women, are crimes prohibited by […]

(Brussels) – Governments from the Americas and Europe should prioritize the human rights situation in Nicaragua during the upcoming European Union – Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (EU-CELAC) summit, 160 Nicaraguan victims said today in a letter co-signed with 29 national, regional, and international human rights organizations. Governments should establish a Group of […]

When the first whistles sound, the residents of the indigenous community of Coayare hurry out of their wooden homes. Everyone knows what the whistle means: a fire has broken out. The youth leader gathers the adolescents and children and takes them to the Maloka – the large hut and centre of social life for indigenous […]

(New York) – The International Basketball Federation’s (FIBA) sanctions on top women’s basketball officials in Mali confirm the responsibility to remedy systemic abuse of young athletes, Human Rights Watch said today. But the appointment of another official suspected of abuse as head of the Mali Basketball Federation (FMBB) raises concerns that continuing monitoring by FIBA and […]