Backsliding on Landmines Endangers Civilian Lives
The International Day for Mine Action on April 4 is a moment to highlight the work of the thousands of deminers around the world who clear and destroy landmines and explosive remnants of war. They risk their lives to help communities recover from armed conflict and its intergenerational impacts. But due to devastating developments driven […]
Myanmar: Allow Immediate Aid to Quake-Stricken Areas
(Bangkok) – Myanmar’s military junta should allow immediate unfettered access to humanitarian aid for earthquake survivors and lift restrictions that impede the emergency response, Human Rights Watch said today. Since the earthquake struck at 12:50 p.m. on March 28, 2025, the military has carried out airstrikes and limited internet access in severely affected areas, further complicating the […]
Uzbekistan: Free Blogger from Forced Psychiatric Detention
(Berlin, March 31, 2025) – The Uzbekistan government should immediately release and compensate the blogger and activist Valijon Kalonov who has been forcibly detained in a psychiatric hospital since December 2021, the Uzbek Forum for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch said today. On February 28, 2025, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention […]
Sudan: 20th Anniversary of Darfur ICC Referral
Two decades after the United Nations Security Council referred crimes in Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC), impunity for crimes in Sudan continues to embolden rights abusers to commit further grave crimes during the current hostilities without fear of prosecution. The ICC’s mandate is limited to Darfur, leaving no independent judicial mechanisms to investigate […]
Why We Need a ‘Human Rights Economy’
Since 2020, the five richest men in the world have doubled their fortunes while almost five billion people have become poorer. A growing sense of economic injustice and insecurity is contributing to the rise of authoritarian movements around the world. Meanwhile, the world is set to blast past global heating targets. But this is not […]
Iran: Unconditionally Release Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi
(Beirut) – Iranian authorities are threatening to return the human rights defender and Nobel Peace Laureate Narges Mohammadi to prison to serve the remainder of her unjust sentence as a means to pressure her to cease her rights advocacy, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should immediately end their ongoing harassment and unconditionally release […]
South Koreans Await Court’s Verdict on President’s Impeachment
South Korea’s Constitutional Court’s reinstatement of Han Duck-soo as prime minister yesterday, overturning his impeachment, is a significant development in the country’s political crisis. But despite superficial similarities, Han’s case bears little resemblance to that of suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December for imposing martial law. The court is expected to rule on […]
Georgia: Drop Repressive ‘Foreign Agents’ Bill
(Berlin, March 26, 2025) – The Georgian parliament should reject a bill to introduce criminal penalties for civic activists and nongovernmental groups that refuse to register as “foreign agents,” Human Rights Watch said today. The bill violates fundamental human rights norms and, if adopted, would severely harm Georgia’s civil society and further escalate the human rights […]
Morocco: Activist Sentenced for Peaceful Speech
(Beirut) – A Casablanca Court on March 3, 2025, sentenced a prominent activist, Fouad Abdelmoumni, to six months in prison and fines over a Facebook post, Human Rights Watch and Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) said today. Moroccan authorities should urgently end their intensifying repression of activists, journalists, and human rights defenders solely for exercising their […]
Burkina Faso: Journalists Arrested in Media Clampdown
(Nairobi) – Burkina Faso’s military junta arrested three journalists on March 24, 2025, for reporting on the government crackdown on the media, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities arrested Guezouma Sanogo and Boukari Ouoba, respectively president and vice president of the Burkina Faso’s Journalists Association (Association des journalistes du Burkina), and Luc Pagbelguem, […]