(Amman) – Jordan should commit to fully ending debt imprisonment before the present moratorium expires in June 2022. The parliament has passed amendments to the main law that mandates debt imprisonment in Jordan. While the amendments are an…

(Beirut) – Algerian authorities have imposed arbitrary travel bans on at least three activists from the Algerian diaspora, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. Although one of the three was finally permitted to leave on May 5, 2022…

(The Hague) – In light of the Venezuelan authorities’ attempt to obstruct accountability for alleged crimes against humanity, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor’s signal that he intends to move forward with his investigation sends an…

(Beirut) – An unjustly imprisoned Algerian blogger and activist ended the hunger strike he had begun three weeks ago to protest both his detention and the conditions in which he was being held, Human Rights Watch said today. The Algerian authorities…

(New York) – A report by the European Union mission that monitored Venezuela’s November 2021 elections underscores that Venezuelans faced serious obstacles in voting and running for office, Human Rights Watch said today. The February 22, 2022 report…

(Beirut) – The Algerian authorities should immediately release human rights defenders, civil society activists, opposition figures, journalists, and all others arbitrarily imprisoned for peacefully exercising their rights to speak and assemble, Human…

(Washington, DC) – The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor to open an investigation in Venezuela offers a pathway to justice for victims of atrocities by Nicolás Maduro’s government. On November 3, 2021, ICC Prosecutor Karim…

(Beirut) – Syrian refugees who returned to Syria between 2017 and 2021 from Lebanon and Jordan faced grave human rights abuses and persecution at the hands of the Syrian government and affiliated militias, Human Rights Watch said in a report released…

(Nairobi) – Rwandan authorities have arrested nine people linked to an opposition party and a journalist in the last week, as they intensify their crackdown on opponents and critics, Human Rights Watch said. The crackdown appears connected to an event…

(Beirut) – Algerian authorities should drop their effort to dissolve a prominent civil society group over alleged violation of the law on associations, five international human rights organizations said today. An administrative court is set to issue a…

(Nairobi) – The conviction of the Rwandan critic and political opponent Paul Rusesabagina comes after a flawed trial that is emblematic of the government’s overreach and manipulation of the justice system, Human Rights Watch said today. On…

(New York) – Nicolás Maduro’s representatives should commit to taking basic steps to restore respect for human rights and to holding free and fair elections when they sit down at the negotiating table with the Venezuelan opposition in September 2021,…

(New York) – Recent reports that NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware has been used for surveillance of dozens of journalists, human rights activists, and others demonstrate the urgent need for governments to suspend the trade in surveillance technology until…

(Washington, DC) – The Chilean government should stop summary deportations of Venezuelans and ensure that any deportations comply with international human rights law, Human Rights Watch said today. A series of rulings by Chile’s Supreme Court and…

(Beirut) – Governments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) should outlaw the violent discipline of children, Human Rights Watch said today, introducing an index categorizing countries in the region based on their laws and policies. The MENA…

(Amman) – Jordanian authorities have deported at least four Yemeni asylum seekers registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and have issued deportation orders against others who made asylum claims, Human Rights Watch…

(Amman) – An alarming number of Jordanians end up in prison each year solely for failing to repay their loans, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Imprisonment for debt is a clear violation of…

(Washington, DC) – The United States government took a positive step on March 9, 2021, by granting temporary protected status (TPS) for Venezuelans in the United States, but appears to have excluded Venezuelan asylum seekers stranded in Mexico, Human…

(Beirut) – The decision of a United Arab Emirates (UAE) court to sentence a Jordanian resident of the UAE to 10 years in prison in October 2020 was based entirely on peaceful Facebook posts criticizing Jordan’s government, Human Rights Watch said…

(Geneva) – United Nations member countries offered strong criticism and scores of recommendations addressing Rwanda’s human rights record during the country’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on…