Category: Human Rights

As wildfires continue to affect multiple European countries, the EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre is working 24/7 to channel assistance to help tackle the blazes. Currently, both Bulgaria and North Macedonia are receiving EU assistance following requests to activate the EU Civil Protection Mechanism in recent weeks. In Bulgaria, a total of 10 airplanes and […]

Here are five things to know: 1. What does ‘voluntary isolation and initial contact’ mean? The focus of the International Day this year is on the approximately 200 groups of Indigenous Peoples currently living in voluntary isolation and initial contact. They live detached from the rest of the world, surviving by gathering and hunting. These […]

(Jerusalem, August 8, 2024) – Israeli forces stormed a Gaza City home on December 21, 2023, throwing grenades inside and opening fire on a room where a civilian family was sheltering, Human Rights Watch said today. The attack killed seven people, including a pregnant woman, and severely injured two, including a 5-year-old. Witnesses also allege […]

At least 20 civilians were reportedly killed, and 15 others injured, in recent days, while water stations and other civilian facilities were reportedly damaged or affected, including a UN-supported centre on rural livelihoods. The fighting has also resulted in power cuts that affected hospitals and water stations. People living in Deir-ez-Zor continue to experience severe […]

On July 26, a court in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, sentenced 31-year-old Alexandr Merkul, a stand-up comedian, to 10-days detention on charges of “petty hooliganism” allegedly for using obscene language during a performance in June. It’s yet another instance of the extent of Kazakh authorities’ crackdown on freedom of expression. Merkul, who pleaded guilty, often touches […]

“Cameroon today faces multiple complex human rights challenges, but also opportunities, particularly given its extremely youthful population, with more than 40 per cent of Cameroonians under the age of 15, as well as a vibrant civil society,” observed Mr. Türk during a press conference in Yaoundé.  According to Mr. Türk, the electoral process in Cameroon […]

Bangladesh’s interim government, led by the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, should urgently act to protect human rights. Soon after Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister and left the country, tens of thousands of Bangladeshis celebrated the end of her repressive rule. In some places, however, celebrations turned violent, with hundreds killed or injured as demonstrators sought […]

The court also banned the Move Forward Party’s (MFP) senior figures, including leader Pita Limjaroenrat, from politics for 10 years. MFP had won the most seats in the May 2023 general elections in Thailand, securing 151 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives. Fundamental freedoms impacted “This decision seriously impacts fundamental freedoms of expression and […]

The UK has been rocked by far-right riots this week. Racist mobs have targeted mosques and asylum seeker accommodation, Muslims and people of color have been attacked, and police have been injured. In Rotherham, South Yorkshire, asylum seekers were trapped in their accommodation as rioters smashed windows and set the building on fire. The riots […]

(Beirut) – Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are failing to protect outdoor migrant workers experiencing dangerous, heat-related health risks as global warming-fueled heatwaves envelope the region, Human Rights Watch said today.  Migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) interviewed by Human Rights Watch described symptoms of heat-related illness, including fainting […]