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On the eve of World Environment Day, I joined around 400 environmental defenders and policymakers from across Europe in Strasbourg, France, where they gathered at the first European Forum on Environmental Human Rights Defenders.

Freedom of expression is indeed under threat in Europe. The right to challenge and seek to change the actions of authorities through protest and organization is under pressure. Of particular concern are restrictions on climate activism and pro-Palestinian protest, as well as efforts to silence activists through the courts.

A new report from Global Rights Compliance details the toll of state-imposed forced labor on North Korean workers, serving as a reminder that the products of this labor often enter global supply chains, including those flowing through the European Union. More than 100,000 North Koreans are estimated to work overseas across 40 countries, with large numbers in Russia and China.

On June 4, 2026, Russian officials included a leading rights group, OVD-Info, along with 35 other Russian organizations, in its list of “extremists,” Human Rights Watch said today. A designation as “extremist” entails being barred from engaging in any activities for the group, under threat of a lengthy prison sentence.

Indonesian authorities should immediately rescind new policies to counter street crime that would result in the unlawful use of force by security personnel.

Human Rights Watch is deeply saddened by the death on June 3, 2026, of Carola Frediani at the age of 51 following a long illness.

Two journalists affiliated with the YouTube channel Imbarutso ya Demokarasi are facing charges for reporting on Kwa Kabuga or the Kigali Transit Center – an unofficial detention facility where authorities hold people deemed “undesirable,” and one of the capital’s worst kept secrets.

At the International Labour Organization, governments must find a way to codify protections for gig workers -- and regulate their AI bosses.

Citing medical neglect, lack of sanitation, spoiled food, denial of bond, and coercion to sign legal documents that result in deportation, over 300 women and men detained at Delaney Hall, a New Jersey immigration detention facility run by the private, for-profit company GEO Group have reportedly been on a labor and hunger strike since May 22.