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Quad Leaders: Spotlight Rights, Democracy in Asia

US, Japan, India, Australia Should Address Crises Across Region

(Tokyo) – Leaders of the United States, Japan, India, and Australia should reach agreements on new measures to address human rights crises and democratic backsliding in Asia, Human Rights Watch said today. The Quad, a security alliance of the leaders…
Collage of US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
News

Ukraine: Executions, Torture During Russian Occupation

Apparent War Crimes in Kyiv, Chernihiv Regions

(Kyiv) – Russian forces controlling much of the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions in northeastern Ukraine from late February through March 2022 subjected civilians to summary executions, torture, and other grave abuses that are apparent war crimes, Human…
Volodymyr Ivashchenko shows the basement where he sheltered in the initial days of the war, together with his wife, mother-in-law, daughter, and 3-year-old grandson, in Yahidne, April 17, 2022.
News

Hong Kong: Prominent Democracy Advocates Arrested

Ominous Action Days After Beijing Appoints City’s New Chief

(New York) – The Hong Kong police should drop their baseless criminal investigations against five prominent pro-democracy advocates, Human Rights Watch said today. The cases highlight the Hong Kong government's broadening crackdown on human rights.…
From left, retired Archbishop of Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen, barrister Margaret Ng, Professor Hui Po-Keung, and singer Denise Ho attend a press conference to announce the closure of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund
News

Human Rights Council Special Session on Ukraine

Human Rights Watch Oral Statement

34th Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council 12 May 2022 Human Rights Watch has documented grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by Russian military forces in occupied areas of Ukraine, including summary…
News

End Cluster Munition Attacks in Ukraine

Russia, Ukraine Should Join International Ban Treaty

Russian armed forces have used at least six types of cluster munitions in attacks in Ukraine, and Ukrainian forces also appear to have used them at least once. Cluster munitions spread multiple explosive submunitions or bomblets over a wide area…
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News

US-ASEAN: Promote Rights, Democracy at Summit

President Biden Should Raise Key Issues with Regional Leaders

(Washington, DC) – The United States-ASEAN Special Summit on May 12, 2022 will embolden autocratic leaders unless it directly confronts the region’s worsening environment for human rights and democracy, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the…
United States President Joe Biden speaks in the virtual ASEAN summit meeting
News

Beijing's Hand-Picked Leader in Hong Kong Has An Abusive Past

Hong Kong's one-man election drives home Beijing's broken promises to the territory

After weeks of speculation, on April 8 the Chinese government unveiled its pick of Hong Kong’s next leader—John Lee, a former senior police official. Hong Kong used to be the only territory under Chinese sovereignty with semi-democratic elections.…
John Lee announces his manifesto during the 2022 chief executive electoral campaign in Hong Kong.
News

Concerns Remain as Egypt Frees Activists and Critics

Piecemeal Releases Do Not Mean Fundamental Policy Shift

During the last days of Ramadan, on April 24, Egyptian authorities freed around 40 unjustly detained prisoners, among them journalists, activists, and human rights defenders, many of whose families have tirelessly pushed for their release for years…
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News

Central African Republic: Abuses by Russia-Linked Forces

Killings, Torture of Civilians

(Nairobi) – Forces in the Central African Republic, whom witnesses identified as Russian, appear to have summarily executed, tortured, and beaten civilians since 2019, Human Rights Watch said today. National authorities, the country’s Special Criminal…
A UN peacekeeper alongside a member of Russian security forces and a member of Central African President Faustin-Archange Touadéra’s presidential guard in Bangui, December 27, 2020.
News

Ukraine: Russian Forces Fired On Civilian Vehicles

Civilians Killed Trying to Flee, Approaching Checkpoints

(Kyiv) – Russian forces have fired on civilian vehicles in three separate incidents in Ukraine’s Kyiv and Chernihiv regions, killing six civilians and wounding three, Human Rights Watch said today. In one case, they pulled a man from a van and…
Maksym Maksymenko’s shot-up car in Hostomel, Ukraine. Russian forces opened fire on the vehicle on February 28, 2022 while Maksym was trying to evacuate with his mother, mother-in-law, wife, and their toddler son. Maksym and his wife were wounded, his mother died.
News

Malaysia’s Death Penalty Hypocrisy

Swiftly Abolish All Executions

When Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a Malaysian national, was facing the death penalty in Singapore on drug charges, Malaysia’s prime minister and foreign minister twice wrote to the Singapore government asking for clemency. According to a statement from…
Activists holds posters against the impending execution of Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam
News

Egypt: End Restrictions on Religious Rituals

Allow Evening Prayers, Eid Celebrations

(Beirut) – Egypt’s Ministry of Religious Endowments should end all arbitrary restrictions on religious gatherings, prayers, and practices during the final days of Ramadan and the upcoming Eid celebrations, Human Rights Watch said today. On April 20,…
People gathering at Al Azhar mosque to break their fast, Cairo, Egypt, April 8, 2022.
News

Russia: Respect the Rights of Prisoners of War

Broadcasting Images, Interviews with Captured Soldiers Violates Geneva Conventions

(Berlin) – Russian authorities should stop broadcasting programs featuring images of and interviews with captured Ukrainian soldiers that expose them to public curiosity, Human Rights Watch said today. Such treatment of prisoners of war, or…
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Ukraine/Russia: As War Continues, Africa Food Crisis Looms

Provide Aid, Expand Social Protection to Prevent Hunger

(Nairobi) – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has worsened the food security crisis in many African countries, Human Rights Watch said today. Many countries in East, West, Middle, and Southern Africa rely on Russia and Ukraine for a significant percentage…
Food Insecurity in Africa
News

Building a War-Crimes Case Against Vladimir Putin

Two years ago, Human Rights Watch analyzed who bears command responsibility for war crimes in Syria’s Idlib province, the one part of the country still controlled by the armed opposition to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. There, we…
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech
News

Egypt: Two Singers Convicted on ‘Morality’ Charges

Prison Terms, Fines Violate Freedom of Expression

(Beirut) – An Egyptian court sentenced two singers to a year in prison and fines on March 28, 2022, on charges that violate their right to freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should announce that it will not enforce…
Youth dance to Mahraganat music at a wedding in Salam City, a suburb of Cairo, March 5, 2015.
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UN: Support Impartial Justice for War Crimes in Ukraine

Global Commitment to Accountability Should Be Model for Other Crises

(New York) – United Nations Security Council members should use an informal meeting on accountability for serious crimes in Ukraine to highlight the importance of impartial justice and coordination of a wide range of international accountability…
Women watch and embrace each other as bodies are exhumed from a mass grave by the authorities
News

Urgently Help Ukraine Civilians Flee Mariupol

Guterres Should Press Russia to Allow Aid, Routes Out to Ukraine-Controlled Areas

(Kyiv) – Russian forces now occupying most of Ukraine’s southeastern port city of Mariupol should ensure that civilians remaining in the city can leave in safety to Ukraine-controlled territory if they choose, Human Rights Watch said today. Older…
A resident looks at an apartment building damaged during heavy fighting near the Illich Iron & Steel Works Metallurgical Plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, April 16, 2022.
News

Why Cozying Up to Russia Gets South Africa Nowhere

SA’s Soft Approach Risks Giving Russia a Chance to Play the Victim

South Africa unleashed a storm of criticism in March in response to its draft UN General Assembly resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, which failed to mention Russia’s responsibility for the crisis. Many countries — and many observers…
UN General Assembly Hall

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