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Lebanon: Syrian Refugee Children Blocked from School

Education Ministry Should Remove Barriers; Extend Registration Deadline

(Beirut) – Lebanon’s Education Ministry should extend the December 4, 2021, school registration deadline for Syrian children and end policies that are blocking Syrian refugee children’s access to education, Human Rights Watch said today. Thousands of…
202006syria_kids_education
News

Congress needs to investigate the Pentagon’s failure to protect civilians

A New York Times exposé on a previously undisclosed attack on dozens of noncombatants in Syria is indicative of DOD’s impunity.

Pentagon leadership cannot – or will not – fix its civilian casualties problem. It’s long past time for Congress to step in. On November 17, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, “we are committed to protecting civilians and getting this right...We have…
A view of the Capitol Building in Washington October 15, 2013.
News

Intersex Person Victim of Horrific Attack in Cameroon

Perpetrators Should Be Held Accountable

A violent mob sexually assaulted, beat, threatened, and humiliated a 27-year-old intersex person on November 15, in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital. The perpetrators filmed the attack, which lasted for several hours, in two horrific videos which circulated on…
A blurry screenshot from a video showing a mob of men
News

Cameroon: Lethal Force Against Protesters

Ensure Justice for Police Killing of Schoolgirl that Sparked Protests

(Nairobi) – Cameroon’s armed forces used excessive and lethal force against protesters in Bamenda, North-West region on November 12, 2021, Human Rights Watch said today. The protesters were calling for justice for the police killing that day of…
Screenshot from a video of a crowd protesting the death of a schoolgirl caused by a police officer in front the governor’s office in Bamenda, North-West region, on November 12, 2021
News

Letter to President Biden on US Policy Toward the Middle East

November 3, 2021 President Joseph R. Biden 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 RE: US Policy Toward the Middle East Dear President Biden, When you were elected last year, we urged your incoming administration to strive to be a…
News

The Torture Continues, Say Syrian Refugees Who Returned

Shortly after Denmark began telling Syrian refugees that parts of Syria are "safe" and stripped them of their temporary protected status, I talked to a 31-year-old refugee who voluntarily returned to Syria from Jordan in December 2020. He told me…
A streetview of destroyed buildings in a city
News

Cameroon: Sham Trial for Kumba School Massacre

One Year On, No Justice in Military Tribunal Proceedings

(Nairobi) – A military tribunal in Cameroon has sentenced four people to death, in a trial marked by procedural irregularities, for an attack on a school in Kumba, the South-West region, one year ago. The attack killed seven children and injured at…
screenshot of school sign. image is outdoors. mother francisca massacre
Report

“Our Lives Are Like Death”

Summary Syria is a death country, a kidnapping country. Anyone coming back will lose their money or their life. — Salam, 26, from al-Jeza in Daraa Syrian refugees who voluntarily returned to Syria between 2017 and 2021 from Lebanon and Jordan…
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Syria: Returning Refugees Face Grave Abuse

(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…
News

Syria: Returning Refugees Face Grave Abuse

Struggle to Survive Amid Devastation, Property Destruction

(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…
A streetview of destroyed buildings in a city
News

UN: Noncompetitive Rights Council Election Aids Abusers

Withhold Votes for Serious Rights Violators Cameroon, Eritrea, UAE

(New York) – A noncompetitive United Nations election for Human Rights Council members virtually guarantees seats for candidate countries with abysmal rights records. UN member countries should refrain from voting for Cameroon, Eritrea, United Arab…
UN General Assembly Hall
News

Cameroon: Repression Marks Crackdown Anniversary

Release Political Prisoners; Respect Right to Peaceful Assembly

(Dakar) – Cameroon’s authorities should ensure accountability for their security forces’ crackdown on opposition leaders, supporters, and peaceful protesters in September 2020, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. They should…
Demonstrators stopped by gendarmes and police in Bafang, West Cameroon, on September 22, 2020.
News

Video Captures Vicious Transphobic Attack in Cameroon

Repeal Anti-Homosexuality Law, Protect LGBT People

A brutal attack on two transgender women in Cameroon occurred just weeks after a court ordered the women, Shakiro and Patricia, released from prison pending their appeal of a five-year sentence on arbitrary “homosexuality” charges. The attack is a…
Patricia and Shakiro, two transgender women who were convicted in May of "attempted homosexuality," record a video after their release to thank those who supported them in Douala, Cameroon, July 16, 2021.
News

Cameroon: New Abuses by Both Sides

Protect Civilians in Anglophone Regions, Hold Attackers Accountable

(Nairobi) – New abuses in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions by both government security forces and armed separatists highlight the urgent need to protect communities at risk and to hold those responsible for abuses to account, Human Rights Watch said…
A Cameroonian elite Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) member patrols in the city of Buea in the anglophone South-West region, Cameroon, on October 4, 2018.
News

UN Security Council: Restore Syria Cross-Border Aid

Russia Should Allow Full Year of UN-Led Aid Delivery from Turkey, Iraq

(New York) – Russia should not block the United Nations Security Council from reauthorizing and expanding cross-border humanitarian aid operations across northern Syria, Human Rights Watch said today. Millions of people in northeast and northwest…
UN humanitarian aid trucks enter northwest Syria through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey on June 1, 2021
News

Human Rights Watch Submission to the Africa Regional Review on Implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration

RE: Challenges to Implementation of GCM Objectives #4, 10, 13, 15, 17, 21 in Cameroon, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania, December 2018 – June 2021

Contents: I. Introduction II. Human trafficking (Nigeria, Senegal) III. Migrant detention (Mauritania, South Africa) IV. Migrant returns (Cameroon, Mauritania, Tanzania) V. Discrimination, xenophobia, access to services and documentation (South…
News

IMF: Make Cameroon Loan Contingent on Anti-Corruption

Lack of Transparency, Corruption Allegations Mar Covid-19 Spending

(Nairobi) – The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Executive Board should ensure that a three-year loan sought by Cameroon is used to meet its human rights obligations and not lost to corruption, Human Rights Watch said today. It should require the…
CDC Cameroon Associate Director for Program and Science, Dr. Clement Ndongmo, observes Covid-19 testing procedures for passengers arriving at Nsimalen International Airport in Yaoundé. 
News

Syria: Russian Veto Would Shut Down Last Aid Lifeline

UN Should Reauthorize Crucial Help from Neighboring Countries

Millions of Syrians risk losing access to lifesaving aid, including during the Covid-19 pandemic, if Russia vetoes reauthorizing the only remaining UN aid corridor from Turkey into opposition-held northwest Syria, Human Rights Watch said today. The…
UN humanitarian aid trucks enter northwest Syria through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey on June 1, 2021
Video

Reauthorize Cross-Border Aid into Northern Syria

Millions of Syrians risk losing access to lifesaving aid, including during the Covid-19 pandemic, if Russia vetoes reauthorizing the only remaining UN aid corridor from Turkey into opposition-held northwest Syria, Human Rights Watch…