Category: Human Rights

“More people in distress will be made to suffer and more lives risk being lost because timely help is not available, if this law is passed,” he said in a statement.  Mr. Türk expressed his serious concerns a day after the Italian Parliament approved legislation that imposes stricter requirements on humanitarian ships which are attempting […]

This week, the first major phase of the landmark domestic trial of crimes committed during Guinea’s 2009 stadium massacre concluded. The trial – taking place before a three-judge panel in the capital, Conakry – examines one of the most brutal incidents in Guinea’s history. On September 28, 2009, Guinean security forces opened fire on peaceful demonstrators […]

2021 HRP Summer Fellow Reflection: Amre Metwally JD’22 Metwally spent summer 2021 at Social Media Exchange in Beirut, Lebanon In a time of dim prospects for democracy in the Arab world and elsewhere, defending and advancing digital rights has long become a crucial frontier for human rights advocates. The Beirut-based Social Media Exchange (SMEX) is […]

HRP Awards 2022-23 Post-Graduate Fellowships The Human Rights Program (HRP) is pleased to present its 2022-2023 Post-Graduate Fellows. This year, we have awarded Satter and Henigson Fellowships to two remarkable 2022 Harvard Law School (HLS) graduates: Henigson Fellow Seher Aftab LLM ’22 (on the left of photo above) and Satter Fellow Rosalinn Zahau LLM ’22 (on the right). HRP’s […]

(London) – The forced displacement of the entire Chagossian people by the United Kingdom and United States governments and the UK’s racial persecution, and continued blocking of their return home, are crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said in a report and video released today. Both governments should provide full reparations to the Chagossian people, including […]

(Brussels) – The European Union should suspend its upcoming human rights dialogue with the Chinese government, given the magnitude of China’s rights crisis, including its potential responsibility for crimes against humanity in the Xinjiang region, 10 human rights groups said today. “The EU’s human rights dialogues with China have become increasingly meaningless because both sides […]

(Mexico City) – A proposal to eliminate legal guardianship for people with disabilities and older people in Mexico City will be presented to Mexico City Congress on February 16, 2023, in what could be a landmark move for human rights, Human Rights Watch and other rights groups said today. Marisela Zúñiga, chairperson of the Human […]

Lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ+) women and non-binary people around the world face violence from security forces, family members, and others, along with widespread discrimination that prevents them from building relationships, homes, and families, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 211-page report, “‘This Is Why We Became Activists’: Violence Against Lesbian, […]

(Nairobi) – The Ugandan government should immediately reverse its decision to end the mandate of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Uganda, Human Rights Watch said today. On February 6, 2023, Uganda’s Foreign Affairs Ministry informed the OHCHR Uganda country office that it would not renew its agreement […]

(Beirut) – The slow humanitarian response to the earthquakes that severely affected opposition-held northwest Syria highlights the inadequacy of the United Nations Security Council-mandated cross border aid mechanism in Syria and the urgent need for alternatives, Human Rights Watch said today. On February 13, 2023, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a three-month authorization for UN […]