Category: Human Rights

“This should be a period for safe and peaceful religious reflection and celebration for all,” said Tor Wennesland, the UN’s Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. Diplomatic engagement The Special Coordinator recalled that, on 26 February, senior officials from Jordan, Egypt, Israel, Palestine and the United States met in Aqaba, Jordan, to reaffirm […]

(Kyiv, March 22, 2023) – Russian forces used a large air-delivered munition on an apartment building on March 9, 2022, in Izium, eastern Ukraine, in an attack that killed at least 44 civilians and violated the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said today in a web report. The report, “A Thousand Explosions in My […]

(Istanbul) – Turkey’s arbitrary decision to give refugees living in the provinces affected by the February 6, 2023 earthquakes only 60 days outside the region leaves many people with an uncertain future and unable to plan for their long term needs, Human Rights Watch said today. Turkey should indefinitely suspend the time restrictions on longer-term settlement […]

As the International Group of Seven (G7) prepares for its May summit in Japan, peer nations are encouraging Tokyo to enact non-discrimination protections for sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics. Ambassadors from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union issued an official letter to Japanese Prime Minister […]

Today, police and criminal investigators in Moscow raided the homes of nine staff and board members of Memorial, one of Russia’s leading human rights organizations and a co-recipient of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. Among the homes raided was that of Oleg Orlov, co-chair of Memorial’s human rights center, whom authorities have criminally charged with […]

Governments everywhere should be closely following the recent war crime charge brought against a former Australian soldier. In a joint statement, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI) said it will be alleged that the soldier murdered an Afghan man while deployed to Afghanistan with the Australian Defence Force. […]

“We are gravely concerned that extreme violence continues to spiral out of control in Haiti,” said Marta Hurtado, spokesperson for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Volker Türk. In the first two weeks of March alone, clashes among gangs left at least 208 dead, 164 injured, and 101 kidnapped. Mirroring those grave concerns, UN […]

This month marks three years since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a pandemic. Since then, more than 750 million cases of Covid-19 have been reported, along with more than 6.8 million deaths. This unprecedented public health crisis has exposed systemic failures in the global health architecture, and government responses and actions have exacerbated […]

(Paris) – A French investigative journalist who exposed sexual abuse accusations against Yves Jean-Bart, the former Haiti football federation president, is facing a defamation lawsuit by Jean-Bart, Human Rights Watch said today. The journalist, Romain Molina, documented abuses against underage players in the Haiti Football Federation under Jean-Bart’s leadership and supported survivors in Haiti and […]

(New York) – The police in Pakistan have used abusive measures in the escalating confrontation between police and Imran Khan’s supporters, Human Rights Watch said today. They have charged protesters with batons and detained them under sweeping counter-terrorism laws. The authorities should appropriately prosecute any of the former prime minister’s supporters who have engaged in […]