Category: Human Rights

New reporting that US forces used an aircraft painted to appear civilian for a lethal strike on a boat in the Caribbean Sea on September 2, 2025—killing 11 people—raises new questions about the erosion of internal safeguards on US military operations. According to The New York Times, officials briefed on the strike said the aircraft had […]

UK lawmakers are set to vote on January 14 on a proposed amendment to the Public Order Act 2023 (POA) that would classify “life sciences” facilities as “key national infrastructure.” If adopted, the change, which is drafted in vague and broad language, would expose people who organize or participate in protests near a wide range […]

(Beirut) – Saudi authorities executed at least 356 people in 2025, setting a new record in the country for the highest number of executions in one year since monitoring began, Human Rights Watch said today. This is the second year in a row that Saudi authorities have set a new execution record, with 345 registered in […]

JUBA – A new quarterly human rights brief released by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on January 9, 2026, has exposed a disturbing trend: while overall civilian casualties have decreased, instances of abductions and conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) are sharply on the rise. The report, which covers the period from July to September 2025, paints a complex picture […]

Murder, rape, torture, slavery: children are targeted for these and other crimes against humanity that occur in widespread or systematic attacks on civilian populations. Crimes against humanity may damage children’s physical and psychosocial development even more severely than adults’ and cause harm throughout their lives. Unlike for war crimes and genocide, there is no dedicated […]

(Beirut) – Lebanon’s government should hold to account officials responsible for the January 2025 unlawful extradition of the Egyptian-Turkish poet Abdulrahman Youssef al-Qaradawi to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Human Rights Watch and MENA Rights Group said today. Al-Qaradawi remains arbitrarily detained there in near-incommunicado conditions.  Lebanese authorities arrested al-Qaradawi on December 28, 2024, upon his return […]

The Trump administration this week announced its intention to withdraw the United States from over 60 international organizations, conventions, and treaties, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN’s leading climate science body. The move comes amid a broader retreat from international climate engagement framed […]

Conflict-related sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has escalated, while support to survivors has significantly dropped. The Rwanda-backed M23 and other armed groups and military forces are using sexual violence as a weapon of war, while survivors experience a climate of impunity that protects those responsible and a healthcare system that has been […]

(Washington, DC, January 9, 2026) – The killing of a woman in Minneapolis by a federal immigration officer on January 7, 2026, was unjustifiable, Human Rights Watch said today. Three videos of the incident shared on social media, verified by Human Rights Watch and media outlets, clearly contradict federal officials’ claims that the woman “weaponized […]

Niger’s military junta adopted a sweeping “general mobilization” decree on December 26. The new law grants authorities far-reaching powers to confront security threats, but at the expense of human rights. The decree establishes a broad legal framework allowing the government to summon citizens, seize goods, compel the reporting of alleged “hostile activities,” and restrict communications deemed harmful […]