Category: Human Rights

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has committed summary executions and forced recruitment of civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Human Rights Watch said today. The Congolese army is responding to the M23’s offensive by collaborating with ethnic militias with abusive records. The warring parties have increasingly appealed to ethnic loyalties, putting civilians in remote […]

(Amman) – Human Rights Watch will open a regional office in Amman, Jordan, in February 2023, in a move to intensify its advocacy on key human rights issues across the Middle East and North Africa, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch has operated a separate Jordan country office in Amman since 2014. Jordan’s […]

“We welcome the timely action taken by Switzerland to suspend the children’s return to Bulgaria, in compliance with the Committee’s request for interim measures,” said Ann Skelton, a member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). “We also welcome the decision to reassess these children’s situation and their risk of being exposed […]

February 3, 2023 The Human Rights Program (HRP) is pleased to announce that the 2023-24 application for the Henigson Human Rights Fellowship and the Satter Human Rights Fellowship is now open. You can apply to either or both the Henigson and Satter fellowships via our Qualtrics application form. Complete applications are due March 27, 2023. […]

“Rather than doubling down on failed approaches of violence and coercion that have singularly failed in the past, I urge everyone involved to step out of the illogic of escalation that has only ended in dead bodies, shattered lives and utter despair,” he said in a statement.   Record killings in 2022  Mr. Türk reported […]

Bangladesh authorities should investigate recent allegations of enforced disappearances and torture including by members of the police Detective Branch. Violent protests broke out on January 19 in Gazipur after Mohammad Rabiul Islam, a 38-year-old shopkeeper, died in police custody allegedly due to torture, although the police said he had been hit by a truck. On […]

(Nairobi) – Pope Francis’ visit to South Sudan on February 3-5, 2023, alongside Anglican and Presbyterian church leaders is an opportunity to call on South Sudan’s leadership to respect dissenting voices and address the country’s ongoing human rights crisis and widespread impunity, Human Rights Watch said today. “The Church leaders should use their visit to […]

How does the EU deliver humanitarian aid to hard-to-reach areas? Through its EU Humanitarian Aid Flight, which enables the safe transport of humanitarian cargo and staff. For several years, the EU has been funding a humanitarian flight service in North and South Kivu, and Tanganyika provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The region […]

As Kazakhstan gears up for parliamentary elections this spring, the Almaty City Prosecutor’s office on January 26 charged the opposition leader of the unregistered Democratic Party of Kazakhstan, Zhanbolat Mamay, with “organizing mass riots,” for his alleged role in the January 2022 protests in Almaty. The charge carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence. Oddly, this […]

The ad hoc Conciliation Commission was established by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in the wake of a diplomatic crisis between the neighbouring Gulf nations, nearly eight years ago.   “I hope that the consensus found by Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia to discontinue the proceedings is the result […]