Search Results

Sort by
News

UK: Afghan Women Evacuees in Limbo

Home Office Should Expedite Long-Term Housing, Support Services

(London) – The uncertainty and crowding in temporary housing is causing growing tensions for Afghan evacuees in the United Kingdom, especially women. Eight months after emergency evacuations from Afghanistan, many Afghan evacuees to the UK are…
Refugees from Afghanistan wait to be processed after arriving on an evacuation flight at Heathrow Airport, London, on August 26, 2021.
News

Zambia: Tackle Lead Poisoning at Former Mine

UN Experts Urge Full Clean-Up; Candidates Should Address Kabwe Issue

(Lusaka) – Zambia’s next government should urgently clean up lead pollution that has affected the health of tens of thousands of children and adults in the city of Kabwe, six organizations said today, following the publication of a United Nations…
Former Mine Pit in Kabwe, Zambia
News

G7 Governments: End Fossil Fuel Subsidies

Concrete Plans Needed to Address Climate Crisis, Protect Rights

(London) – G7 member countries should take immediate and concrete action to end fossil fuel subsidies, Human Rights Watch said in a question-and-answer document released today. Ending these subsidies is key to countries meeting their human rights…
A Uniper coal-fired power plant and a BP refinery steam beside a wind generator in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on Jan. 16, 2020. © 2020 Martin Meissner/AP Photo
News

DR Congo: Quash Whistleblowers’ Death Sentences

Investigate Corruption Allegations

(Kinshasa) – Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo should quash the death sentences imposed in absentia on two whistleblowers who provided information on corruption. Congolese authorities should instead investigate the allegations of…
Gradi Koko, right, and Navy Malela, former staff of the audit department at Afriland First Bank CD, on February 17, 2021 in Paris, France.
News

Accountability for Congo’s Palm Oil Workers

After Pledging Reforms, UK Development Bank Should Implement Them

A United Kingdom development bank, CDC Group, has taken another step toward addressing human rights abuses at oil palm plantations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In May, the bank committed to reforming its complaints mechanism and adopting a…
201911ENV_DRC_reportphotos
News

UK: Automated Benefits System Failing People in Need

Government’s Flawed ‘Universal Credit’ Algorithm Pushing People into Poverty

(London) – The United Kingdom government’s rigid insistence on automating Universal Credit threatens the rights of people most at risk of poverty, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. A comprehensive redesign of how the government…
202009eca_uk_universal credit_thumbnail
News

DR Congo: Mine Workers at Risk During Covid-19

Copper-Cobalt Companies Confining Employees to Work Site

(Lubumbashi) – Multinational copper and cobalt mining companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo should take immediate steps to protect the rights of thousands of Congolese workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, a group of 11 international and…
Crowded living barracks for workers confined to a copper/cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo in May 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some workers have been confined for over two months.
News

UK Failing Domestic Abuse Victims in Pandemic

Enact Legislation Protecting Those Most At Risk

(London) – The government of the United Kingdom is stalling on establishing a robust legal framework to address violence against women and girls even as reported domestic abuse spikes during the pandemic, Human Rights Watch said today.  …
People walk past a graffiti reading ‘End abuse against women’ on Euston Road, in London, Friday March 6, 2020.
News

UAE: Free Dubai Ruler’s Captive Daughters

UK Court Concludes They Were Abducted, Forced Back to Dubai

(Beirut) – United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities should secure the freedom of two daughters of the ruler of Dubai, who a United Kingdom court found are being confined against their will, Human Rights Watch said today. On March 5, 2020, a UK family…
Shaikha Latifa Bint Mohammed
News

Development Banks to Address Palm Oil Abuses in DR Congo

Implementing Commitments Would Protect Tens of Thousands on Plantations

Four European development banks have announced they will require a major palm oil company in the Democratic Republic of Congo to take steps to redress human rights abuses recently reported by Human Rights Watch. The 95-page report, A…
201911ENV_DRC_reportphotos
News

DR Congo: Development Banks Linked to Palm Oil Abuses

Failed Oversight Enables Labor, Environmental Harm

(London) – Four European development banks are financing a palm oil company in the Democratic Republic of Congo that is violating workers’ rights and dumping untreated waste, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The company, Feronia…
201911ENV_DRC_reportphotos
News

Zambia: Lead Contamination Imperils Children

Effective Cleanup, Health Services Desperately Needed Near Former Lead Mine

(Johannesburg) – Lead exposure around a former lead and zinc mine in Zambia is having disastrous effects on children’s health, Human Rights Watch said today. The Zambian government should promptly clean up the…
201908crd_zambia_main
News

UK: Welfare Cuts Mean Families Go Hungry

Government Policy Failings Exacerbate Food Poverty, Violate Right to Food

  (London) – Government cuts to welfare over the past decade have resulted in tens of thousands of poor families in England left without enough food to eat, a clear breach of the government’s duty to ensure adequate food, Human Rights Watch…
A volunteer at a Trussell Trust food bank prepares food parcels from their stores of donated food, toiletries and other items. London, United Kingdom.
News

Africa: Pregnant Girls, Young Mothers Barred from School

African Governments Should Ensure Right to Education

  (Nairobi) - Tens of thousands of pregnant girls and adolescent mothers are banned or discouraged from attending school across Africa, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today, ahead of the Day of the African Child…
Students enrolled in the final year of lower secondary school in the classroom in a village in Kolda region, southern Senegal. Adolescent mothers and married girls study in this school.
News

Zambia: Commercial Farms Displace Rural Communities

Poor Government Oversight Enables Forced Evictions

(Lusaka) – The Zambian government is failing to protect the rights of rural residents displaced by large commercial farms in Serenje district, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Some commercial farmers have acquired thousands of…
Main image for Zambia Report
News

Perils of Back Door Encryption Mandates

‘Five Eyes’ Nations Should Support, Not Threaten, Digital Security

(Washington, DC) – The governments that constitute the intelligence partnership known as “The Five Eyes,” will meet on June 26-27, 2017, in Ottawa to discuss how to bypass encryption. The governments may pursue a dangerous strategy that will subvert the…
People sit at computers inside GCHQ, Britain's intelligence agency, in Cheltenham, UK, November 17, 2015.
News

UK: Tobacco Giant Should Respect Human Rights

British American Tobacco Shareholders Can Push for Supply Chain Improvements

(London) – British American Tobacco (BAT) should strengthen its processes for identifying and addressing human rights risks in its global supply chain, Human Rights Watch and Swedwatch said today in an open letter to shareholders. At…
An 8-year-old girl sorts and bundles tobacco leaves by hand near Sampang, East Java.
News

US: Don’t Suspend Conflict Minerals Rule

Reversing Dodd-Frank Rule Could Enrich Abusive Armed Groups

(Washington, DC, February 10, 2017) – A move reportedly under consideration by the Trump administration to suspend a rule requiring companies to disclose their source for gold and other potential “conflict minerals” could enrich abusive armed groups in…
A child digs for gold in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri District

Refine Search

Filter by Country
Filter by Topic
Filter by Type
Filter by News Category