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Interview: Elon Musk, Twitter, and Human Rights

What Does a Billionaire Buying a Social Media Platform Mean for People?

Billionaire Elon Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” is set to buy Twitter. Human Rights Watch has already been critical of how Twitter and other social media platforms aren’t doing enough to respect the rights of their users. Amy…
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News

European Union: Rules for Batteries Should Cover Bauxite, Copper, Iron

New Law Includes Obligation to Address Abuses in Battery Supply Chains

(Brussels) – The European Union’s proposed batteries regulation should require importers and manufacturers to source the bauxite, copper, and iron used in batteries responsibly, a coalition of 16 organizations said today. The coalition includes…
Man Washing Clothes Near Bauxite Mining
News

Egypt: Release Autopsy Report, Investigate Suspicious Death

Economist Died in Custody After Enforced Disappearance

(Beirut) – Egyptian authorities should urgently release the autopsy report and investigate the suspicious death of economist Ayman Hadhoud, Human Rights Watch said today. Hadhoud was forcibly disappeared on February 5 or 6, 2022, and died in the…
Ayman Hadhoud
News

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Exacerbates Hunger in Middle East, North Africa

Strong Government Response Needed to Protect the Right to Food

(Beirut) – Governments should ensure that the conflict in Ukraine does not worsen the food crisis in the Middle East and North Africa and protect the right to affordable, adequate food for everyone, Human Rights Watch said today. Both Ukraine and…
A boy is handed a bag of bread
News

EU: Disappointing Draft on Corporate Due Diligence

Lawmakers Should Fix Loopholes, Adopt Pathbreaking Legislation

(Brussels) – The European Commission’s new corporate due diligence proposal needs significant improvements to prevent and address human rights abuses and environmental harm, including in companies’ global supply chains, Human Rights Watch said today.…
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News

Europe: Ban Trade with Illegal Settlements

Trade with Settlements in Occupied Territories Contributes to Rights Abuses

(Brussels, February 21, 2022) – The European Commission should prohibit EU trade with settlements in occupied territories globally, Human Rights Watch said today as it signed onto a European Citizen’s Initiative (ECI). The citizen-led initiative,…
An aerial shot of a housing community
News

Myanmar: TotalEnergies Endorses Targeted Sanctions

Clear Path for US, France, EU to Block Gas Revenue Payments to Junta

(Paris) – The French company TotalEnergies has signaled support for targeted sanctions on Myanmar’s natural gas revenues to block the country’s abusive military junta from profiting from hundreds of millions of dollars in payments, Human Rights Watch…
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News

EU: Put Fundamental Rights at Top of Digital Regulation

More Ambitious Agenda, Stronger Safeguards Needed

(Brussels) – The European Union’s draft rules to regulate internet platforms have the potential to better protect human rights online, Human Rights Watch said today. But the European Parliament should be more ambitious in holding technology companies…
EU Digital Regulation
News

EU: Sanction NSO Group Over Abusive Spyware

Civil Society Groups, Experts Urge Action Against Company

(Brussels) – The European Union should adopt targeted sanctions against NSO Group, the Israel-based company that produces spyware, 88 human rights groups and independent experts said today in a letter to the EU foreign policy chief and foreign…
NSO Group logo on building
News

Joint Letter Urging EU Targeted Sanctions Against NSO Group

Dear EU High Representative Borrell and Foreign Ministers of the EU member states, We are writing following credible revelations that Israeli NSO Group’s Pegasus Spyware was used to hack the devices of six Palestinian human rights activists – the…
News

Egypt: Terrorism Laws Abused in Businessmen’s Arrests

Juhayna Owners Charged as ‘Terrorists’ after Refusing to Surrender Shares

(Beirut) – Two Egyptian businessmen have been detained for months, reportedly after they refused to surrender their shares in their company to a state-owned business, Human Rights Watch said today. Egyptian authorities should immediately release the…
Seif Safwan Thabet, Chief Executive Officer of Juhayna
News

EU: Artificial Intelligence Regulation Threatens Social Safety Net

Clear Red Lines, Stronger Safeguards Needed

(Brussels) – The European Union’s plan to regulate artificial intelligence is ill-equipped to protect people from flawed algorithms that deprive them of lifesaving benefits and discriminate against vulnerable populations, Human Rights Watch said in…
EU Media Conference on Artificial Intelligence
Report

Dismantling Detention

Summary As the harmful effects of immigration detention become more widely known and the appropriateness of detaining migrants is increasingly questioned, governments are looking at alternatives to detention as more humane and rights-respecting…
News

Joint NGO Statement in Response to the GSP Draft Regulation

(Brussels) The GSP Platform and the undersigned organisations take note of the draft Generalised Scheme of preferences (GSP) regulation presented by the European Commission. We appreciate the inclusion of several new conventions, such as the UN…
Joint NGO Statement
News

EU: Robustly Implement New Export Rules for Surveillance Tech

Investigate Human Rights Violations Involving Pegasus Spyware

As new EU export controls come into force on 9 September with the recast Dual-Use Regulation[1], we, the undersigned organizations, call upon the European Commission as well as all 27 EU member states to follow up on their promise of creating a…
Human Rights Watch, Access Now, Amnesty International, Committee to Protect Journalists, and Reporters Without Borders call for robust implementation of new EU export control rules on surveillance technology and investigation of EU member states’ role in Pegasus affair
News

"Clean the Streets of Faggots"

Digital Targeting of LGBT People by Middle East/North Africa Governments

Sarah Hegazy, an Egyptian queer feminist, raised a rainbow flag at a concert in Cairo. Rania Amdouni, a Tunisian queer activist, protested deteriorating economic conditions and police brutality in Tunis. Mohamad al-Bokari, a Yemeni blogger in Saudi…
Sarah Hegazy, Egyptian LGBTQ activist, photographed by a friend who wished to remain anonymous, at a Mashrou’ Leila concert in Cairo in 2017 © 2020 anonymous.
News

Joint Letter from Human Rights, Labor Rights, & Development Organizations to European Commission

Complementary Action Needed to Address Unfair Purchasing Practices and Achieve Goals of Upcoming Sustainable Corporate Governance Directive

Dear Commissioners Reynders and Breton, We – a group of human rights, labour rights and development organizations – welcome the European Commission’s commitment to ensure that the economic recovery will be fairer and more sustainable as we come out…
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