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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

Ethiopia: Blocking Tigray Aid Harms Rape Survivors

Urgently Allow Entry of Food, Medicine; Support International Investigations

The Ethiopian government’s blocking of aid with health facilities in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region destroyed is preventing sexual violence survivors from getting post-rape care.   The government’s effective siege of Tigray since June is…
Two women stand facing away from the camera
Report

“I Always Remember That Day”

Summary I have anxiety…. I feel stress, I am affected mentally…. That moment comes to my mind every day….  I always remember that day. —Tirhas S. (not her real name), 44-year-old sexual violence survivor, Tigray, March 16, 2021[1] The…
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

Ethiopia: International Action Needed to Prevent Atrocities

Inciting Rhetoric, Sweeping Emergency Regulations Fuel Abuses

(New York) – The African Union Peace and Security Council and the United Nations Security Council should move beyond discussions and act to avert further atrocities in Ethiopia, Human Rights Watch said.   On November 4, 2021, the Ethiopian…
Members of the House of People's Representatives attend a session to approve the state of emergency declared by the prime minister, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
News

International Investigation Needed into Abuses in Ethiopia

Joint Report Calls for Further Accountability in Widening Tigray Conflict

On Wednesday, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission released a much-anticipated joint report into abuses committed in the first nine months of the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern…
Tigray crisis
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
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

Millions at Risk as Ethiopia Expels UN Officials

Challenge Chokehold on Desperately Needed Humanitarian Aid, Call for Independent Inquiry

The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting today to consider its response to yesterday’s decision by Ethiopia’s federal government to declare seven senior UN officials as “persona non grata,” unwelcome in the country. The…
An organizer asks displaced Tigrayans to queue as they wait to receive food at a school in Mekele, in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, May 5, 2021.
News

US Authorizes Sanctions in Ethiopia’s Tigray Conflict

UN Security Council, Regional Bodies, Other Countries Should Also Target Rights Abusers

Today, United States President Joe Biden signed an executive order that allows the US government to impose sanctions against those responsible for a range of serious human rights abuses in northern Ethiopia. The order establishes a sanctions regime…
Tigrayan men sit atop a hill overlooking part of the Umm Rakouba refugee camp, in Qadarif, eastern Sudan, on December 14, 2020. 
News

Ethiopia: Eritrean Refugees Targeted in Tigray

Need for Urgent Protection, Assistance; Thousands Still Missing

(Nairobi) – Eritrean government forces and Tigrayan militias have committed killings, rape, and other grave abuses against Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, Human Rights Watch said today. All warring parties should cease attacks against…
Aerial satellite graphic
Video

Shimelba Refugee Camp

Satellite imagery collected on December 16, 17 and 18 show the progressive expansion of burn scars in Shimelba refugee camp, specifically in the DICAC [Development and Inter-Church Aid Commission] schoolyard, located on the eastern side of the image.…
News

UN Rights Body Should Maintain Scrutiny on Tigray

Oral Statement at HRC48

Today’s Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on Tigray – 10 months into a devastating conflict – is a welcome if belated step towards international scrutiny and accountability. Ethiopia’s federal government continues its de facto blockade of the Tigray region…
Tigrinyan refugee women prepare bread for their family in Umm Rakouba refugee camp in Qadarif, eastern Sudan on December 11, 2020 
News

Ethiopia: Ethnic Tigrayans Forcibly Disappeared

Discriminatory Arrests, Detentions, Business Closures in Addis Ababa

(Nairobi) – Ethiopian authorities since late June 2021 have arbitrarily detained, forcibly disappeared, and committed other abuses against ethnic Tigrayans in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. The authorities should immediately account for Tigrayans’…
Exterior of a building with the words "Federal Police HQ" on it
News

The Latest on the Crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region

Fighting in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region is entering its ninth month, and it may intensify after leaders in several of Ethiopia’s regions as well as its capital, Addis Ababa, called on residents, including youth, to mobilize against the Tigray…
Tigrayans who fled the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region stand on a hilltop overlooking Umm Rakouba refugee camp in Qadarif, eastern Sudan, November 26, 2020