Category: Human Rights

On Monday, 26 October, Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, will meet with Canadian authorities in Ottawa to discuss health emergencies preparedness and response. This visit takes place a few days before the EU-Canada summit. Close cooperation with Canada is essential to better prepare and respond to future health crises.  Together with […]

There is no information on the whereabouts and treatment of those repatriated – or those who remain at risk of return – the experts said in a press release on Wednesday. “These events form part of a longstanding pattern of serious human rights violations against individuals forcibly returned to the DPRK. In the absence of independent […]

Seven children were wounded in the strikes, which further damaged health and energy facilities, according to Ukrainian authorities and reports from Russian-occupied areas. In Russian-occupied areas, reports also indicate that two civilians were killed and nine were injured in the Donetsk region.  Overnight attacks damaged energy infrastructure in Poltavska, Rivnenska and Volynska oblasts, disrupting the […]

(Mexico City) – Mexico’s Senate should amend legislation approved by the Chamber of Deputies on October 20, 2026, to ensure that people with disabilities can appoint supporters to make legal decisions by April 1, 2027, as originally planned, Human Rights Watch said today. The current legislation would postpone the deadline for implementing the National Code of Civil and […]

The European Commission is releasing €22.5 million in humanitarian aid to Yemen, in addition to the €87.5 million previously allocated for 2026, to address the consequences of the renewed conflict escalation and the critical needs of millions of people. Despite an increasingly challenging operating environment, aid can still be delivered, and the EU remains committed […]

For 25 years, European countries have been joining forces to save lives when disasters strike under the EU civil protection mechanism. This is one of the best examples of European solidarity in action.  Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said: ‘Our EU Civil Protection Mechanism turns 25! 25 years of solidarity in action […]

(Brussels) – The European Parliament on October 22, 2026, awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its officials.  The following quote can be attributed to Philippe Dam, EU advocacy director at Human Rights Watch: “By awarding the Sakharov Prize to the ICC, the European Parliament recognizes the court’s […]

A court in Tajikistan has sentenced Asadullo Boboev, an opposition activist deported from Germany in June, to 17 years in jail. Human Rights Watch and other groups previously warned the German authorities that activists like Boboev could face mistreatment and criminal prosecution on politically motivated charges if returned to Tajikistan. Boboev, 54, had lived in […]

(Nairobi) – Mali’s armed forces and the allied Russia-controlled Africa Corps have committed new atrocities against civilians in central Mali during renewed fighting, Human Rights Watch said today.  On September 16, 2026, an apparent military drone strike in Guélédié village, Mopti region, killed eight civilians and injured at least six others. Between May and August, […]

Burkina Faso’s unelected parliament has unanimously adopted a new penal code that restores the death penalty for high treason, terrorism, acts of espionage, parricide and importation of expired or prohibited products. The country had abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes in 2018 while its last known judicial execution took place in 1988. Reinstating capital punishment sends a chilling […]