Category: Human Rights

Signposting Another Genocide: The World’s Obligation to Act on Clear Warning Wigns Driving toward the village of Kut in Armenia, on the border with Azerbaijan. Credit: Anoush Baghdassarian. The dirt road leading to Kut, a small Armenian village on the border with Azerbaijan, is uneven and somber as we drive down it at dusk. I […]

In March 2023, the EU set up a Humanitarian Air Bridge to the east Democratic Republic of the Congo, transporting much-needed supplies for the civilians caught up in the conflict of the region. But what exactly is the Humanitarian Air Bridge, and how is it making a difference? We met the people behind these operations […]

This week, some 1,800 French police and gendarmes began a massive police operation in the Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte, a French department, to demolish informal settlements and expel large numbers of undocumented migrants. Destruction of slums and summary expulsions of undocumented migrants by French authorities in Mayotte are not new. But the magnitude of […]

(Berlin, April 28, 2023) – German government officials should ensure that talks with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan during his visit to Berlin in early May 2023 prominently feature human rights concerns, Human Rights Watch said today. The Uzbek president’s visit to Germany takes place just days after a constitutional referendum in Uzbekistan on April […]

(New York) – Thai authorities should immediately drop charges and release a 15-year-old student activist detained for allegedly defaming the monarchy, Human Rights Watch said today. On March 28, 2023, the police arrested Thanalop “Yok” Phalanchai in Bangkok and accused her of committing lèse-majesté (insulting the monarchy) offenses for criticizing the monarchy during a rally in October […]

On April 26, after months awaiting a response, Japan’s Foreign Ministry announced it had received confirmation from Myanmar’s military junta that it misused two Japan-funded civilian vessels to transport soldiers and weapons in Rakhine State in September 2022. A Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Japan protested the misuse and the junta “expressed regret over the […]

On April 25, the New York Senate approved the Tropical Deforestation-Free Procurement Act, a bill intended to ensure that companies contracting with the New York state government are not contributing to tropical deforestation and human rights abuses overseas. Now the bill will need to be voted on in the New York Assembly, and if approved, […]

HRP Awards 2023 Summer Fellows The 2023 HRP summer fellows, from left to right: Chinaza Asiegbu, Sabrina Ochoa, Krister Rasmussen. HRP is pleased to announce its 2023 summer fellowship cohort: Chinaza Asiegbu JD’25, Sabrina Ochoa JD’24, and Krister Rasmussen JD’25. Summer fellowships for human rights internships are a central part of the Harvard Law School […]

(Washington, DC) – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should end the politically motivated prosecutions of two prominent critics of the government before meeting with US President Joe Biden and members of Congress in Washington, DC, Human Rights Watch said today. The meeting with Biden is scheduled for May 1, 2023. The former senator and Justice […]

(New York) – The Human Rights Watch Film Festival, now in its 34th year, will present a full edition of 10 groundbreaking new films nationwide in the United States, from May 31 to June 11, 2023. The New York festival will be back with a full program of in-person screenings at Film at Lincoln Center […]