Srebrenica genocide: Mothers send warning to future generations, urging ‘never again’

The incident was the largest massacre in Europe since the Holocaust during World War Two. It left deep emotional scars on the survivors, families of victims and society of Bosnia and Herzegovina overall, following the wars and ethnic cleansing that marked the breakup of the former Yugoslavia which began in 1992.   Among those who […]

Continue Reading

Commemoration of the July 11, 2021 Protests in Cuba

Today we reflect upon the courage and resilience of the Cuban people who, on July 11, 2021 and the days that followed, bravely took to the streets to demand respect for their human rights and fundamental freedoms.  Tens of thousands of voices rose in unison, echoing a profound call for change, justice, and a government […]

Continue Reading

‘Dark Day’ in Malawi for Rights of LGBT People

Malawi’s Constitutional Court on June 28 rejected a legal challenge to the penal code that makes same-sex conduct a criminal offense. The decision contradicts fundamental rights, including the rights to equality and nondiscrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, protected under international human rights law. The three-member judicial panel dismissed an application from […]

Continue Reading

UN rights council condemns Myanmar abuses, urges immediate action

In a resolution adopted without a vote, the Council strongly condemned all violations and abuses of human rights in Myanmar, particularly following the military coup in February 2021.   It called upon Myanmar “to end immediately all violence and violations of international law in the country, to ensure full protection of the human rights and […]

Continue Reading

New EU Leadership Should Uphold the Right to Asylum in Europe

(Brussels) – The EU and its member states should safeguard the right to territorial asylum in Europe, Human Rights Watch and more than 94 other organizations said in a statement released today. The recent and increasing attempts by several European Union member states to outsource asylum processing and refugee protection to countries outside the EU – such […]

Continue Reading

Saudi Arabia: 20-Year Sentence for Tweets

(Beirut) – A Saudi court has sentenced a man to 20 years in prison on charges related to his peaceful social media activity, Human Rights Watch said today. The conviction is the latest example of Saudi Arabia’s likely transnational repression due to his family member’s activities abroad and yet another escalation in the country’s ever-worsening crackdown […]

Continue Reading

Refugees in Eastern Sudan at Risk

Amid the widespread civilian suffering in Sudan, the fate of over one million refugees living in Sudan when the conflict erupted is often overlooked. In recent weeks, Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked towns across Sennar state, which neighbors Gedaref state and where more than 40,000 refugees from Ethiopia are currently hosted. In Kassala state, further […]

Continue Reading

Burkina Faso: Journalist, Junta Critics Feared Disappeared

(Nairobi) – Burkina Faso authorities should urgently investigate and publicly report on the whereabouts of a journalist and two prominent critics of the country’s military junta, Human Rights Watch said today. The abductions since June 18 of Serge Oulon, director of an investigative newspaper, Adama Bayala, and Kalifara Séré, both working as television commentators, raise concerns […]

Continue Reading

Zimbabwe: Army Commander Threatens Election Integrity

(Johannesburg) – Zimbabwe’s army commander has openly stated that the country’s security forces intend to play a partisan political role, threatening future elections and those participating in them, Human Rights Watch said today. On June 29, 2024, the Zimbabwe National Army commander, Lt. General Anselem Sanyatwe, was quoted as saying that people would be marched to […]

Continue Reading

EU Should Add Xinjiang, Aluminum to Forced Labor Database

On Tuesday, the United States government added aluminum to its list of priority sectors for the enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The law aims to block any good made in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region tainted by state-imposed forced labor from entering the US market. The US decision aligns with the findings […]

Continue Reading