Beirut Blast Investigation Resumes | Human Rights Watch
After two years of being stymied by Lebanese authorities, the lead investigator in the Beirut port explosion case has reportedly resumed the investigation. According to media reports, on January 16, 2025, Judge Tarek Bitar summoned 10 additional employees and security officials implicated in the blast, with investigation sessions reportedly set to take place in the coming months. Hampered by political […]
Israel/Palestine: An Abyss of Human Suffering in Gaza
(Jerusalem) – The Israeli military killed, wounded, starved, and forcibly displaced Palestinian civilians in Gaza in 2024, and destroyed their homes, schools, hospitals, and infrastructure at a scale unprecedented in recent history, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2025. Tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza were killed and wounded. The military forcibly displaced Palestinians […]
Retreat and Resistance in Dark Times
Play Video (New York) – The events of 2024 have shown that even in the darkest times there are those who dare to resist oppression and demonstrate the courage to seek progress, said Tirana Hassan, executive director at Human Rights Watch, today in releasing the organization’s World Report 2025. In the face of rising authoritarianism, repression, and […]
Iraq: Repressive Laws Roll Back Rights
(Beirut) – The Iraqi government ramped up attacks on rights by passing or attempting to pass draconian laws that would restrict Iraqis’ freedoms throughout 2024, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2025. For the 546-page world report, in its 35th edition, Human Rights Watch reviewed human rights practices in more than 100 countries. […]
Haiti: Escalating Violence; Humanitarian Crisis
(Mexico City) – Haiti’s crisis has reached catastrophic levels, with allied criminal groups intensifying large-scale, coordinated attacks on the population and key state infrastructure, nearly paralyzing much of the country and worsening the already dire human rights and humanitarian situation, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2025. For the 546-page world report, in its 35th […]
Sri Lanka: New Government Pledges Economic Reform, Justice
(Bangkok) – The government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, which took office on September 23, 2024, has promised to address longstanding human rights issues that have plunged Sri Lanka into repeated crises, Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2025. Dissanayake has pledged to introduce more equitable economic policies and to repeal the notoriously […]
Pakistan: New Government Cracks Down on Free Expression
(Bangkok) – Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government, which took office in February 2024, is perpetuating a longstanding crackdown on free expression and civil society, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2025. Blasphemy-related violence against religious minorities, fostered in part by government persecution and discriminatory laws, intensified in 2024. For the 546-page world […]
North Korea: No Easing of Systemic Rights Abuses
(Bangkok) – North Korea’s government under Kim Jong Un in 2024 retained repressive Covid-19-era policies that restrict movement and trade and blocked humanitarian organizations from entering the country, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2025. For the 546-page world report, in its 35th edition, Human Rights Watch reviewed human rights practices in more than […]
Bangladesh: Lasting Reforms Needed to Stop Abuses
(Bangkok) – Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Nobel Prize laureate Mohammed Yunus, has set up a commission to investigate enforced disappearances and pledged reforms and accountability for rights abuses under former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian rule, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2025. During the crackdowns on student-led protests over three weeks in […]
South Korea: Rights and Democracy Prevail
(Bangkok) – South Korea maintained its positive human rights record in 2024 despite an increasingly acrimonious political environment and persistent concerns about women’s rights, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2025. The prompt impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol following his unexpected and short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3 demonstrated the resiliency of […]