Category: Human Rights

While Russia continues to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leaving more than one million people without electricity and water, the European Union remains firmly at Ukraine’s side to help its people endure another winter under attack. Today, Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, is in Ukraine to reaffirm that Europe’s support is constant, […]

Hungary’s government dealt a severe blow to the rule of law by issuing a decree that terminates ongoing court cases challenging a tax on municipalities, Human Rights Watch said today. The move sets a dangerous precedent for executive interference with the courts and the separation of powers.  “Shutting down court cases by decree is not how […]

(New York) – A Hong Kong court’s conviction of the father of a prominent US‑based democracy activist on February 11, 2026, reflects the Chinese government’s escalation of its campaign of transnational repression, Human Rights Watch said today. The West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court convicted Kwok Yin-sang, 68, of a national security offense. He is the father […]

(Mexico City) – The Mexico City Congress should seriously consider a proposal submitted by a coalition led by people with disabilities during its new session, Human Rights Watch said today. That proposal urges lawmakers to adopt a rights-based framework grounded in autonomy, participation, and independent living for care and support legislation. The Coalition, Cuidados Sí; Apoyos […]

(Sydney) New South Wales police used apparent excessive force against people protesting Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia, Human Rights Watch said today. Video footage verified by Human Rights Watch from a rally in Sydney on February 9, 2026, shows police punching protesters lying on the ground, violently dispersing people kneeling in prayer, and […]

Courts in Azerbaijan have handed down further politically motivated in-absentia convictions against journalists, bloggers, and other critics of the government living abroad, expanding the authorities’ campaign of transnational repression. In January, a Baku court convicted several government critics residing in the United States. Sevinc Osmangizi, a journalist, was sentenced in absentia to eight years in […]

For the second time in less than a year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has referred an EU member to its oversight body, the Assembly of States Parties, for failing to cooperate with the court. On January 26, ICC judges asked the court’s member countries to hold Italy to account for refusing to surrender Osama Elmasry Njeem, […]

In a year of shrinking global aid, the EU is choosing solidarity, delivering life-saving aid and standing by international humanitarian law. This year, it will provide €123,3 million in humanitarian aid to deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people in Latin America and the Caribbean. Part of this aid will also bolster disaster […]

(Beirut) – Houthi authorities have arbitrarily arrested over 20 Christians in Yemen over the last three months, Human Rights Watch said today. The Houthis should immediately release them, along with the hundreds of others they are arbitrarily detaining across the areas of Yemen under their control. “Rather than addressing the alarming rates of hunger that […]

(Nairobi) – Civilians in Sudan, South Sudan, and Ethiopia are bearing the brunt of abusive armed conflicts in which the warring parties frequently and often deliberately target them, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2026. Governments across the region have clamped down on already restricted civic and political space around protests and ahead of elections. “Brutal […]