Category: Human Rights

Click to expand Image Khalaf al-Romaithi. © 2023 Private (Beirut) – Jordanian authorities have detained a dual Emirati-Turkish citizen and may extradite him to the United Arab Emirates, where he is at serious risk of arbitrary detention, unfair trial, and possibly torture, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities detained Khalaf Abdul Rahman al-Romaithi, 58, […]

That’s according to a fact-finding report from the UN human rights office (OHCHR) released on Friday, on what the Malian authorities had described as an anti-terrorist military operation against an al-Qaeda-affiliated group known as Katiba Macina. The UN rights chief, Volker Türk, called the findings “extremely disturbing” and stressed that “summary executions, rape and torture during armed […]

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took an important step to strengthen protection for environmental defenders across Brazil by sending the Escazú Agreement to Congress for approval on May 11. This historic treaty – the first of its kind in Latin America and the Caribbean – would help shore up Brazil’s role on protecting the environment […]

After impeding the ability of search and rescue organizations to save lives in the Mediterranean Sea, Italian authorities have now passed a law restricting the rights of people who manage to reach its shores. Named after a terrible shipwreck in which more than 80 people died in March, the government’s Cutro decree became law last […]

(Beirut) – The Iranian authorities’ dramatic escalation of executions in recent weeks is a serious violation of the right to life and should bring international condemnation, Human Rights Watch said today. Since late April, the Iranian authorities have executed at least 60 people, including an Iranian-Swedish national on alleged terror-related charges. Many of them were […]

(Washington, DC) – President Joe Biden’s new border plan focused on deterrence will almost certainly lead to a rise in the already record number of migrants dying at the United States southern border, enrich criminal cartels, and return refugees to likely harm, Human Rights Watch said today. Biden’s “asylum ban,” announced in a rule in […]

The end of the Title 42 policy on May 11 has created a media frenzy and narrative of chaos at the United States’ southern border. The truth is the Biden administration, which had more than two years to prepare for this moment, chose not to invest in a humane, rights-respecting process at the border. Instead, […]

(Tunis) – Tunisian authorities have intensified their attack on opponents of President Kais Saied’s 2021 power grab, moving to neutralize the country’s largest political party, Ennahda, Human Rights Watch said today. Since December 2022, the Tunisian government has arrested at least 17 current or former members of the party, including its leader, and shut its […]

(New York) – Pakistan’s police have fired on and used excessive force against protesters following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on corruption charges on May 9, 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. The government’s cutting of mobile internet services, and restrictions on access to Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms, is […]

(Bangkok) – The Vietnamese authorities should immediately drop all charges and release rights activist Tran Van Bang, Human Rights Watch said today. Ho Chi Minh City police arrested Tran Van Bang on March 1, 2022, and charged him for criticizing the government under article 117 of the penal code. A court is scheduled to hear […]