Category: Human Rights

Today, more than 100 armed conflicts are raging worldwide, devastating communities, winding back development, and leading to grave violations of human rights.  Ranging from severe beatings to sexual humiliation and rape, torture is widely used as a means of war. And often, torture involves the use of tools or instruments, mock executions, and forcing victims […]

(Paris) – There has been serious unrest across France for the past week after police killed French 17-year-old boy of North African descent in a traffic stop. The incident has reignited discussion over police violence and discrimination in the country. Ethnic profiling by the police is a well-documented widespread problem in France. Human Rights Watch joined five other […]

The conflict currently raging in Sudan has caused a large displacement of people seeking safety into neighbouring Chad. According to the latest figures, around 150,000 people have crossed the Chadian border so far, and numbers continue to increase. Such a sudden influx is putting additional pressure in Chad, a country that already hosted one of […]

“The effects of climate change are becoming more severe, and the number of people displaced across international borders is rapidly increasing,” said Ian Fry, independent human rights expert on climate change, who took up the new post last year.  “In 2020 alone, 30.7 million people were displaced from their homes due to weather-related events. Droughts […]

(Beirut) – A court in the Kurdistan region of Iraq dealt independent civil society a blow on May 31, 2023, by ordering the closure of Rasan Organization over “its activities in the field of homosexuality,” Human Rights Watch said today. Rasan is the only human rights organization willing to vocally support lesbian, gay, bisexual, and […]

Modern warfare employs technologically sophisticated means and types of weaponry. But other forms of violence with a painfully ancient and tragic history continue to be used in 2023: rape and sexual violence. 19 June marks the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. On this occasion, learn about the work of Kateryna, […]

A strongly worded statement by the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General reiterates that settlements are a flagrant violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions. Antonio Guterres, it says, urged the Government of Israel to halt and reverse the expansion of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, to immediately and completely cease all settlements activities there […]

Ukrainian forces have used cluster munitions that caused deaths and serious injuries to civilians. Russian forces have extensively used cluster munitions, causing many civilian deaths and serious injuries.  Cluster munitions used by Russia and Ukraine are harming civilians now and will leave bomblets behind that will continue to do so for many years. Both sides […]

Viktoriia proudly shows the artwork of her daughter Melania. © European Union, 2022 (Photographer: Begum Iman) On the morning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, 34-year-old public servant Viktoriia from Dnipropetrovsk oblast went to work as on any other day. However, the alarms ringing around her were the sign that life as […]

OHCHR Spokesperson Marta Hurtado told journalists in Geneva that the Government had issued a 45-day extension on Wednesday.  “The state of emergency, in force in 17 of the 18 departments in Honduras, enables the military police to support the national police in carrying out public security tasks. It also derogates the right of personal liberty, […]