Category: Human Rights

At the beginning of September, South Africa’s Western Cape High Court will hear a case that could finally end the criminalization of sex work in the country. It’s a moment decades in the making, which could bring real gains for the safety, dignity, and equality of sex workers. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have […]

Geneva — August, 2025 A newly released report by the United Nations Human Rights Office has reignited international concern over systemic human rights abuses in Sri Lanka, prompting calls for urgent action from Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other advocacy groups. Key Findings from the UN Report UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk […]

Ahead of this year’s World Humanitarian Day, Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, issued the following statement:  “The EU is one of the world’s largest humanitarian aid donors, working to save millions of lives in crisis situations globally. Yet at a time when humanitarian needs are reaching new heights, respect for International […]

OUAGADOUGOU, August 18, 2025 — The government of Burkina Faso has declared United Nations regional coordinator Carol Flore-Smereczniak persona non grata, following the publication of a UN report alleging grave violations against children in the country. The decision, announced Monday by a government spokesperson, marks a sharp escalation in tensions between the West African nation […]

The development came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a group of European leaders arrived in Washington to meet President Donald Trump, who held talks on a possible peace deal to end the war with President Vladimir Putin of Russia last Friday. “More young lives lost and devastated in brutal attacks in Ukraine,” UNICEF said […]

CALAIS, France — August 18, 2025 — Two migrant deaths over the weekend have reignited calls for safer migration routes and more compassionate treatment of asylum seekers along Europe’s borders. On Friday, the body of a man was discovered near a canal in Calais, while on Sunday, another man reportedly died by suicide in one […]

Hong Kong — August, 2025 The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has renewed its call for the Hong Kong government to immediately and unconditionally release Jimmy Lai, the 77-year-old founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, as closing arguments in his national security trial are set to begin. Lai, who has spent nearly five […]

For nine years, in Khar Yalla, authorities have effectively abandoned Senegalese families internally displaced from the Langue de Barbarie peninsula by coastal floods, violating their rights to an adequate standard of living, education, health, and to take part in cultural life. Senegalese authorities failed to include these families in a World Bank-funded planned relocation of […]

Doha, Qatar — August 16, 2025 Human Rights Watch (HRW) has strongly denounced the five-year prison sentence handed down to Remi Rowhani, a prominent Baha’i religious dignitary and chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is in Qatar. The New York-based rights organization described the charges as “abusive” and rooted solely in Rowhani’s religious […]

The monthly total also marked a three-year high, topping June’s figure, with HRMMU verifying civilian deaths and injuries in 18 of Ukraine’s 24 regions.   “For the second month in a row, the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine hits a new three-year high,” said Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU. “Only the first three months […]