Category: Human Rights

(Washington, DC) – US states’ use of a tool to verify citizenship that is marred by inaccurate and incomplete data is creating new hurdles for the right to vote with the midterm elections only days away, Human Rights Watch said today. The Supreme Court ruled in late September 2026 that states could use the tool, Systematic […]

(New York) – The Sri Lankan government’s Prevention of Organised Crimes Bill, submitted to parliament on October 20, 2026, risks enabling arbitrary detention, torture, and other rights violations, Human Rights Watch said today. The proposed law, alongside the Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill submitted on October 6, reproduces abusive provisions in existing counterterrorism […]

One year after Tanzania’s contested 2025 elections, authorities have yet to make any arrests for human rights violations committed before and during the vote. In the months leading up to the elections, the government intensified its repression of the political opposition, government critics, and the media. Authorities also failed to account for a spate of […]

(Beirut) – Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, a long-serving UAE diplomat and foreign affairs official, has an extensive record of denying and whitewashing the country’s rights abuses in Sudan and Yemen, Human Rights Watch said today. On October 21, 2026, the UAE formally nominated Nusseibeh to be the new United Nations secretary-general. “For years, Lana Nusseibeh has […]

Syria and the World Bank Group announced on October 18 the creation of the Syria Recovery and Reconstruction Trust Fund, known as START. Run by the World Bank, the fund will pool donor money and private investment to help restore infrastructure and public services, strengthen state institutions, and finance reforms the Syrian government identifies as […]

Overwhelmed by threats—and fearing for her personal safety Satya Rhodes-Conway the current mayor of Madison, Wisconsin in the US, announced on October 23 that she was dropping her bid for reelection. “The price of being in public office has gotten too high,” she said. Globally, women in public life face alarming levels of political violence, […]

TEXT ON SCREEN October 28, 2025 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil NARRATION On the morning of October 28th, 2025, hundreds of police officers surrounded two low-income neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro. By nightfall, the operation would become the deadliest in Brazil’s history. TEXT ON SCREEN WARNING. This video contains graphic content, including blurred images of dead […]

School officials across Azerbaijan have been turning away girls wearing hijabs following the introduction of new government dress regulations, sparking protests across the country. Police have detained dozens of people amid the protests, while Instagram and TikTok users have reported difficulties accessing the platforms as public criticism of the restrictions has grown. Azerbaijan’s Cabinet of […]

CAIRO — The New Cairo Misdemeanor Court convicted Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of the independent Egyptian news platform Mada Masr, on charges of operating an unlicensed website. The court ordered the immediate shutdown of the outlet and imposed a maximum fine of 3 million Egyptian pounds (approximately $53,400). Attalah was taken into custody following the ruling […]

MADRID — Spain’s Interior Ministry has executed the deportation of a group of African and Asian asylum seekers to Morocco, drawing immediate criticism from international legal observers and civil rights organizations. The decision to transfer non-Moroccan nationals to Moroccan jurisdiction follows bilateral readmission agreements between Madrid and Rabat. Human rights watchdogs warn the process severely […]