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Throughout the year, HRW covered many human rights topics and crises around the world. From investigations into crimes against humanity and war crimes in Israel, Gaza, and Sudan, to rollbacks and victories for peoples' freedoms, these were among the most-read stories on our site in 2024.

  1. The Taliban and the Global Backlash on Women's Rights
    Since regaining power in Afghanistan, the Taliban have created the world’s most serious women’s rights crisis - one that has serious implications for the rights of women and girls globally.
A family photo hangs on the wall inside a burned-out house in Kibbutz Be'eri in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 assault by Palestinian armed groups on southern Israel, October 14, 2023. © 2023 Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times

2. October 7 Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes by Hamas-led Groups
In July we released a report documenting how Hamas-led armed groups committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity against civilians during the October 7 assault on southern Israel.

F., age 6, experiencing malnutrition, receives treatment after being evacuated from the northern Gaza Strip to the IMC field hospital in Rafah, Gaza, March 24, 2024. © 2024 Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images

3. Israel's Imposed Starvation Deadly for Children in Gaza
An April report showed how children in Gaza have been dying since Israel began using starvation as a weapon of war, which is is a war crime.

Abdullah Khatir, 30 from El Geneina in West Sudan whose leg was amputated after he was shot by RSF fighters, walks through Ambelia refugee camp on April 20, 2024 in Adre, Chad. © 2024 Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

4. Sudan: Ethnic Cleansing in West Darfur
Over the year, HRW reported extensively on the brutal conflict in Sudan. This May publication analyzed attacks in the country's West Darfur state that killed thousands of people and left hundreds of thousands as refugees.

Republican President-elect Donald Trump after speaking at a campaign rally at Van Andel Arena, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, November 5, 2024. (C) 2024  © 2024 Carlos Osorio/AP Photo

5. Second Trump Term a Threat to Rights
As Donald Trump prepares to take office in the United States, his second term poses a grave threat to human rights in the US and around the world.

People in Bangkok hold rainbow flags celebrating the passage of Thailand’s Marriage Equality Act, June 18, 2024. © 2024 Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters

6. Victory for Same-Sex Marriage in Thailand
In June, Thailand’s Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass a same-sex marriage bill. It made Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia, and the second in Asia, to recognize same-sex relationships.

Presiding Judge Nawaf Salam reads the advisory opinion [on the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in the International Court of Justice, The Hague, Netherlands, July 19, 2024. © 2024 Phil Nijhuis/AP Photo

7. World Court Finds Israel Responsible for Apartheid
In a historic ruling in July, the International Court of Justice found multiple and serious international law violations by Israel towards Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including, for the first time, finding Israel responsible for apartheid.

South Korean women protest against non-consensual filming and sharing of intimate images on August 4, 2018 in Seoul, South Korea. © 2018 Jean Chung/Getty Images

8. South Korea's Digital Sex Crime Deepfake Crisis
This article examined South Korea's epidemic of digital sex crimes, as hundreds of women and girls are targeted through deepfake sexual images being shared online.

Protesters at a midnight rally against the rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor in Kolkata, India, August 14, 2024.  © 2024 AP Photo/Bikas Das

9. Doctor's Rape, Murder in India Sparks Protests
Thousands of Indians took to the streets in August to protest the rape and murder of a doctor in a government hospital in Kolkata city.

 In Indonesia, a believer in Judaism shows his new ID card with the religious column, "Belief in the one God." © 2023 Andreas Harsono/Human Rights Watch

10. A Step for Freedom of Religion and Belief in Indonesia
This year, citizens from smaller religious groups were allowed to change the religious identity on their identity cards, with the introduction of a new category alongside the country's six recognized religions. Kepercayaan is the seventh religious category to join the list of government-recognized religions since Indonesia's nationwide blasphemy law went into effect in 1965.

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