Category: Human Rights

(Beirut) – The Egyptian government should abolish the April 11, 2023 registration deadline for the country’s draconian 2019 associations law until the law is amended to ensure that nongovernmental organizations can operate freely without intrusive government interference or harassment, Human Rights Watch said today. The 2019 law allows the authorities to shut down and freeze […]

(New York) – Prosecutors in Thailand should immediately withdraw the criminal defamation cases brought by Thammakaset Company Ltd. against three prominent human rights defenders for their support of other activists facing criminal charges, Human Rights Watch said today. The Thai government should act to repeal criminal defamation provisions and introduce strong safeguards to prevent the use […]

Australia is the 117th country to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration, an intergovernmental political commitment to reduce the likelihood that students, teachers, and schools are targeted for attack during armed conflict. Schools should be places of study and safety for children. If armed forces use schools as military bases, firing positions, or munitions caches, it […]

In a report to the Human Rights Council, Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor, said that “States can and should do more to protect defenders”. She stressed that 25 years after States agreed on a Declaration to promote and protect the work of human rights defenders, their contributions were often ignored. The expert who champions the work of rights defenders […]

Ibrahim Comments on U.S.-Ethiopia Relations in Foreign Policy Magazine U.S. diplomatic delegation led by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken meeting with representatives of the Ethiopian government on March 14. Credit: Ethiopia MFA On March 14, Foreign Policy Magazine published an opinion piece titled “Ethiopia Is Not Ready for Transitional Justice”, which was co-authored by HRP […]

Thirty more people have recently died in the Mediterranean because of Europe’s cruel migration policies at sea. The tragedy comes only two weeks after Italian authorities failed to come to the rescue of a boat in distress 150 meters from the Italian coast near Crotone. Over 81 people, including 33 children, drowned as a result. […]

The other side Suffering doesn’t stop at borders or frontlines. On the other side of the divide, not far from where Ahmed lives, lies Aleppo. A skyscape as scarred as its population by years of siege and ferocious shelling that lay ruin to half the city. The earthquakes brought new devastation to both intact and […]

(Beirut) – Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have arbitrarily detained between 2,400 and 2,700 Afghans for over 15 months in the “Emirates Humanitarian City,” a humanitarian logistics hub in Abu Dhabi, Human Rights Watch said today. The UAE should urgently release those arbitrarily detained and provide access to fair and efficient processes for determining […]

Burundian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release five human rights defenders arbitrarily arrested on February 14, 2023, and drop the baseless charges against them, Amnesty International, the Burundi Human Rights Initiative, and Human Rights Watch said today. The five human rights defenders are accused of rebellion and of undermining internal state security and the functioning […]

Since the February earthquakes devastated lives and uprooted people once again, the EU’s humanitarian partners have been assisting those most in need in the impacted areas across Syria, wherever these are. How is the EU helping those affected in Northwest Syria and government-controlled areas? In pictures, see some examples. Alifa shows the earthquake damage to […]