(Washington, DC, March 11, 2021) – A presidential decree approved by Bolivia’s Congress in February 2021 opens the door to impunity for serious crimes, Human Rights Watch said today. The decree provides a blanket amnesty to people prosecuted during…

(Nairobi) – Eritrean armed forces massacred scores of civilians, including children as young as 13, in the historic town of Axum in Ethiopia’s Tigray region in November 2020, Human Rights Watch said today. The United Nations should urgently establish…

(Washington, DC, March 5, 2021) – Asylum seekers sent to Mexico by the administration of former US president Donald Trump have suffered violence and extortion by Mexican police, immigration agents, and criminal groups, Human Rights Watch said today…

(Washington, DC) – The United States government has made little progress in stemming the rise in poverty and inequality during the Covid-19 pandemic, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should take urgent action to address the rights of…

    UPDATE: On February 23 Sudan announced it had passed laws ratifying both International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the United Nations Convention against Torture. Human…

(Nairobi) – An attack by Cameroonian soldiers on March 1, 2020 has come to light in which soldiers raped at least 20 women, including four with disabilities, arrested 35 men, and killed one man, Human Rights Watch said today. The attack on the village…

(Beirut) – Tunisian security forces have repeatedly targeted protesters, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) activists at protests, Human Rights Watch said today. The targeting involved arbitrary arrests, physical…

(New York) – Authorities in India have adopted laws and policies that systematically discriminate against Muslims and stigmatize critics of the government, Human Rights Watch said today. Prejudices embedded in the government of the ruling Hindu…

(New York) – The administration of President Alejandro Giammattei in Guatemala has targeted the media through bellicose rhetoric and false accusations throughout the president’s first year in office, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect…

(Istanbul) – Turkish authorities have placed hundreds of student protesters under possible criminal investigation, Human Rights Watch said today. The students were arrested during weeks of protests against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s appointment…

At least 83 governments worldwide have used the Covid-19 pandemic to justify violating the exercise of free speech and peaceful assembly, Human Rights Watch said today. Authorities have attacked, detained, prosecuted, and in some cases killed critics…

(Nairobi) – Ethiopian federal forces carried out apparently indiscriminate shelling of urban areas in the Tigray region in November 2020 in violation of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said today. Artillery attacks at the start of the armed…

(Washington, DC) – United States authorities should thoroughly investigate all rights abuses committed during efforts to overturn the November 3, 2020 US presidential election and culminating in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol building in…

(Tunis) – Police in several Tunisian governorates appear to have responded to social justice protests in recent weeks with excessive force at times, leaving one man dead and arresting hundreds, including many minors, Human Rights Watch said today.…

(Nairobi) – Army soldiers killed at least nine civilians in Cameroon’s Anglophone South-West region, on January 10, 2021, Human Rights Watch said today. The dead included a woman and a child, and four civilians were injured. The soldiers also…

(Beirut) – Turkey and the Syrian National Army have arrested and illegally transferred at least 63 Syrian nationals from northeast Syria to Turkey to face trial on serious charges that could lead to life in prison, Human Rights Watch said today.…

(Beirut) – The Lebanese government should uphold its commitment to ensure that everyone living on its territory has equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines and is included in the national vaccine program, regardless of their nationality or residency…

(Kinshasa) – President Felix Tshisekedi’s administration in the Democratic Republic of Congo has increasingly cracked down on the media and activist groups during its two years in office. Despite some initial steps to advance a human rights agenda,…

Update January 28, 2021: On January 27, 2021 the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum’s press office shared by email with media outlets and with Human Rights Watch a 79-page document detailing the results from the soil sample testing conducted in…

(Moscow) – On January 23, 2021, police detained more than 3,700 people across Russia at nationwide protests against the arrest of political opposition figure Alexey Navalny and against state corruption, Human Rights Watch said today. It was the…