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Evicted from Their Office, Al Jazeera Works from a Front Yard in Tunisia

Authorities Arbitrarily Target Media and Critics

I first met Lotfi Hajji some 15 years ago, after Tunisian authorities under President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali had refused a request by Al Jazeera, the Qatar-funded pan-Arab television station, to accredit the Tunisian journalist as their local…
Al Jazeera correspondent Lotfi Hajji reporting from Tunis after Tunisian authorities evicted the pan-Arab television network from its offices, November 5, 2021. 
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

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

Tunisia: Attack on Director of LGBT Group

Police Officers Suspected; Investigation Needed

Two police officers apparently brutally attacked the director of a Tunis-based LGBT rights group on October 21, 2021, Human Rights Watch said today. The attack on Badr Baabou took place against a backdrop of mounting abuses targeting LGBT activists by…
Badr Baabou, director of Damj Association for Justice and Equality, following his assault by suspected police officers in Tunisia. © 2021 Badr Baabou
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

Tunisia: President’s Repressive Policies Abrogate Rights

Dozens Placed Under Arbitrary House Arrests

(Tunis) – Arbitrary and politically motivated acts of repression have proliferated in Tunisia since July 25, 2021, when President Kais Saied suspended parliament, Human Rights Watch said today. He also lifted parliamentary immunity, dismissed the head…
Tunisian President Kais Saied raises his fist to bystanders as he walks along the avenue Bourguiba in Tunis, Tunisia, August 1, 2021.
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
News

Tunisia: President’s Seizure of Powers Threatens Rights

A Dangerous Move Capitalizes on Popular Frustration

(Tunis) – Tunisian President Kais Saied should safeguard the human rights of all Tunisians and reverse any repressive measures taken since announcing July 25 measures that largely concentrate powers in his office, Human Rights Watch said today. On…
Kais Saied during the sworn ceremony in Bardo, Tunis, Tunisia on October 23, 2019.
News

UN Rights Body Needs to Act on Ethiopia

Human Rights Council Should Adopt Resolution on Abuses in Tigray

As reports of grave rights abuses continue to emerge from the Tigray region of Ethiopia, the United Nations Human Rights Council is considering a resolution to add Tigray to its agenda. It should do so immediately. Communities in Tigray have…
Tigrinyan refugee women prepare bread for their family in Umm Rakouba refugee camp in Qadarif, eastern Sudan on December 11, 2020