News | Human Rights Watch

August 21, 2026 Dispatches

Governments Should Protect Environmental Defenders from Violence and Repression

Uphold Rights to a Healthy Environment and Freedoms of Association, Assembly, and Expression

Supporters of imprisoned environmental activists stage a protest

August 20, 2026 Dispatches

Jailed Journalist in Azerbaijan Denied Medical Care

Authorities Refuse Treatment for Reporter Held 20 Months Without Verdict

Aytaj Ahmadova during a rally on International Women's Day, March 8, 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

August 19, 2026 Dispatches

Pro-Peace Politician Jailed in Russia

Lev Shlosberg Sentenced to 11 Years for Criticizing Russia’s War in Ukraine

Lev Shlosberg, deputy leader of the Yabloko party, stands in the defendant's box

August 19, 2026 Dispatches

Bolivia’s First Same-Sex Marriage Is a Historic Step Forward

Authorities Should Ensure Marriage Equality Nationwide

August 18, 2026 Dispatches

US ICE to Deploy Dangerous ‘Electric Shock Gloves’

Agency Linked to Widespread Abuses Needs Oversight, Not Free Rein

Federal agents conduct immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 5, 2026.

August 17, 2026 Dispatches

US Military Claims Legal Compliance Amid Unlawful Killings

Civilian Casualty Report Renews Concerns as Civilian Protections Are Dismantled

Members of Yemen's African community protest against a US airstrike that hit a migrant detention center in Saada, Yemen, May 11, 2025.

August 13, 2026 Dispatches

South Africa Names Gender Apartheid. Now It Should Act.

Government Should Urge Inclusion of Gender Apartheid as a Crime against Humanity

Participants hold signs during a gender-based violence protest at the forecourt of the botanical gardens in Johannesburg, South Africa, November 21, 2025.

August 13, 2026 Dispatches

Russia’s Supreme Court Bars Pro-Peace Party from Elections

Blatant Violation of Rights to Political Participation and Freedom of Expression

Lawyer Vitaly Iskakov (left), attorney Gadzhi Aliyev (center) and Chairman of the Yabloko political party, Nikolai Rybakov, attend a hearing on a lawsuit filed by the Rodina (Motherland) party seeking to bar the Yabloko party from the State Duma election, at the Russian Supreme Court in Moscow, Russia, August 10, 2026.

August 10, 2026 Dispatches

US Activates Long Unused Deportation Court

Lawful Permanent Resident from Afghanistan First to Face ‘Alien Terrorist Removal Court’

An image of US President Donald Trump hangs from the Department of Justice Building in Washington, DC, May 18, 2026.

August 10, 2026 Dispatches

Indigenous Farmer in Indonesia Acquitted in Coal Mining Case

Dayak Protester in Kalimantan Spent 9 Months Detained on Dubious Murder Charges

Misran Toni, an Indigenous Dayak farmer, protesting against coal mining outside the President Palace, Jakarta, on June 25, 2026.

August 9, 2026 Dispatches

Australia’s Albanese Should Press Vietnam’s Leader on Rights

Communist Party Secretary To Lam to Visit Canberra

Vietnam's President To Lam leads his delegation in a meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Malacanang Palace in Manila, Philippines, June 1, 2026.

August 7, 2026 Dispatches

Liberia Ends Primary School Registration Fees

Policy Expected to Expand Access to Education

Students standing at their desks in a classroom

August 6, 2026 Dispatches

Ethiopia’s Growing Assault on Independent Media

Addis Standard Editor Detained, Newsroom Raided

People read newspapers and magazines on a street in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, November 7, 2020.

August 6, 2026 Dispatches

Technology Expands ICE’s Capacity for Abuse

Surveillance and Profiling Tech Raises Rights Concerns

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents block protesters as cars exit Delaney Hall, which is being used as an ICE detention center, on May 27, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey.

August 6, 2026 Dispatches

Hungary’s Parliament Adds Safeguards to Asset Recovery Office

New Anti-Corruption Agency Now Includes Judicial Oversight and Rights Scrutiny

Lawmakers vote in the chamber of the Hungarian National Assembly on legislation related to establishing the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office in Budapest, Hungary, July 28, 2026.

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#MeToo
'Remain in Mexico'
2026 FIFA Men's World Cup
Azerbaijan Natural Resources and Human Rights
Beijing Winter Olympics 2022
Boko Haram
Brexit
Chechnya
China's Global Influence
Climate Talks 2017
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Coronavirus
Crimes Against Humanity Treaty
Crisis in the Middle East
Daily Brief
Disappearances in Yemen
Drugs and Human Rights
Duterte
Education for Syrian Refugee Children
Egypt Crackdown on Civil Society
Encryption
Ethiopian Protests
Europe: Refugees & Migrants’ Rights
Ferguson
FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
Free Education for all Children
Gender-based Violence at Work
German Election
Global Supply Chains
Guinea's 2009 Stadium Massacre Trial
Hissène Habré
Hong Kong
Honor Killings
Iraq War 20 Years Later
ISIS
Kafala (Visa Sponsorship) System
Kashmir
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Liu Xiaobo
Los Angeles Film Club
Mass Surveillance in China
Mediterranean Crisis
Mexico: Lessons from a Human Rights Catastrophe
Middle East Uprising
Nagorno-Karabakh
Philippines’ ‘War on Drugs’
Rabaa Massacre
Refugee Summits
Reparations in the United States
Right to Social Security
Rights of Persons with Albinism
Rohingya
Russia-Ukraine War
The Trial of Hissène Habré
Tigray Conflict
Transnational Repression
Trump Administration and Human Rights
Uganda Elections 2016
US: Trump Presidential Transition
Uyghurs
World Cup 2018
World Humanitarian Summit
World Report 2024 News Releases
World Report 2025 News Releases
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Xenophobia
Yahya Jammeh

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