Maldives: Judiciary’s Independence Threatened | Human Rights Watch
(Bangkok) – The Maldives government should immediately reinstate three Supreme Court justices who were improperly suspended and cease other efforts to undermine judicial independence, Human Rights Watch said today. The three justices had until April 24, 2025, to respond to a Maldives Judicial Service Commission report recommending their dismissal. On February 26, the Judicial Service Commission […]
Insurgents in Southern Thailand Kill 16-Year-Old Buddhist Novice
Ethnic Malay Muslim insurgents in southern Thailand shot dead Pongkorn Chumapan, 16, and wounded Pokanit Morasin, 12, on Tuesday when they attacked a pickup truck taking Buddhist monks and novices from Wat Kura temple to collect alms in Songkhla province’s Sabayoi district. Children have frequently been victims of the separatist conflict in Thailand’s southern border provinces, […]
EU: New Law Requires Companies to Tackle Forced Labor
The European Union’s new Forced Labor Regulation will require companies to identify and eliminate forced labor in their operations and supply chains, Human Rights Watch and the Cornell Global Labor Institute (GLI) said today, releasing a question-and-answer document about the new law. The question-and-answer document provides details and guidance to companies and other stakeholders so that […]
New Peru Legislation Threatens Disability Rights
Having a disability should never result in a person being denied freedom. Yet across Latin America, thousands of people with disabilities are still forcibly institutionalized, often from a young age, with little control over their lives. A new amendment to Peru’s General Law on Persons with Disabilities unfortunately exemplifies this problem. On April 2, 2025, Peru’s […]
US: Trump’s First 100 Days an Assault on Rights
(Washington, DC, April 24, 2025) – The Trump administration’s first 100 days in office have been a relentless barrage of actions that violate, threaten, or undermine the human rights of people in the United States and abroad, Human Rights Watch said today. To illustrate the breadth and depth of the damage done since Donald Trump […]
COP30 Should Deliver Bold Action on Climate and Rights
Today, Human Rights Watch sent a letter to André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) President-designate, and Executive Director Ana Toni, outlining priorities Brazil could champion in the lead-up to and during COP30, which will be hosted in Belém in November 2025. COP30, the UN’s annual climate conference, arrives at […]
FIFA Has No Child Safeguarding Policy for 2026 World Cup
In two months, the FIFA Club World Cup, an international football tournament for club teams, will kick off in the United States, serving as a testing ground for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup next year. But FIFA has inexcusably not put a clear and comprehensive child safeguarding framework in place to protect children from […]
Indonesia: Increasing Attacks on the Media
(Jakarta) – Recent threats and attacks on journalists and news outlets in Indonesia are having a chilling effect on the country’s media, Human Rights Watch said today. The Indonesian government under President Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo should urgently act to protect media freedom, including by taking action against officials who make unsubstantiated public allegations against journalists that […]
Lebanon: Indiscriminate Israeli Attacks on Civilians
Two unlawful Israeli strikes on the northeastern Lebanese town of Younine between September and November 2024 were apparent indiscriminate attacks on civilians. More and more evidence is emerging that Israeli forces repeatedly failed to protect civilians or adequately distinguish civilians from military targets during its strikes across Lebanon in 2023 and 2024. Lebanon’s government should […]
Thailand: Premier Should Raise Cross-Border Abuses in Cambodia
(Bangkok) – Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra should raise outstanding human rights concerns with Cambodian leaders during her visit to Phnom Penh on April 23-24, 2025, Human Rights Watch said today. Prime Minister Paetongtarn is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Hun Manet, Senate President Hun Sen, and King Norodom Sihamoni to mark the 75th […]