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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

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

Mozambique Universal Periodic Review Outcome Statement

Item 6 - Universal Periodic Review

*The following statement was made by HRW on 30 September, during the adoption of the Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review of Mozambique by the Human Rights Commission (A/HRC/48/6). Thank you, Madam President. We welcome…
Delegates sit at the opening of the 41th session of the Human Rights Council, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 24, 2019.
News

Mozambique: ISIS-linked Group Using Child Soldiers

Children Trained to Fight, Deployed Against Government Forces

(Johannesburg) – An Islamic State (ISIS) linked armed group in northern Mozambique is kidnapping boys and using them to fight government forces in violation of the international prohibition on the use of child soldiers, Human Rights Watch said today…
A destroyed house in the town of Mbau, Mozambique, September 23, 2021. 
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

Aid-for-Sex Alleged in Northern Mozambique

Investigate Abuses, Hold Violators to Account

Allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse of women in exchange for humanitarian aid have reemerged in Mozambique, this time among people displaced by armed Islamist groups in the northern Cabo Delgado province. Last month, while interviewing…
A woman walks through the Internally Displaced Person camp "25 de junho," in Metuge, Mozambique on May 20, 2021. 
News

Mozambique Government Retakes Key Town from Militants

Ensure Civilian Safety, Provide Humanitarian Aid

Mozambican and Rwandan government forces have taken control of Mocimboa da Praia in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province. The town had been controlled by an armed group linked to the Islamic State (ISIS) since August 2020. Mozambican…
Rwandan soldiers patrol the village of Mute, in Cabo Delgado province, Mozambique, on August 9, 2021.
News

Mozambique: Civilians Prevented from Fleeing Fighting

Ensure Aid Access; Investigate Movement Restrictions in Cabo Delgado Province

The Mozambican government should immediately assist civilians to move to safer areas. These civilians are trapped by fighting in Cabo Delgado province, Human Rights Watch said today. More than 88,000 people have been displaced from the embattled Palma…
man. walking. beach. cabo delgado. mozambique.
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

Mozambique Investigates Sexual Exploitation of Women Inmates

Expand Commission of Inquiry’s Mandate to Prisons Across the Country

This week, Mozambique’s government appointed members of a commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of sexual exploitation and other rights violations of female inmates by guards at the Ndlavela Women's Prison in Maputo. Minister of Justice…
un horizon de la ville
News

Regional Force in Mozambique Should Prioritize Civilian Protection

SADC Should Urgently Address Humanitarian Crisis in Cabo Delgado Province

After months of deliberation and inconclusive meetings about addressing violence in northern Mozambique, leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) agreed on Wednesday to send a regional military force to help government forces to…
O Presidente moçambicano Filipe Nyusi, à esquerda, e o Presidente do Zimbabué, Emmerson Mnangagwa, à direita, juntam-se aos líderes da África Austral durante uma reunião na capital de Moçambique, Maputo, em 8 de Abril de 2021.
News

Mozambique: Grave Concerns for Rwandan Asylum Seeker

Acknowledge his Detention; Ensure Access to Lawyer; Block Any Return to Rwanda

(Nairobi) – A Rwandan asylum seeker and founder of an opposition movement, who has been forcibly disappeared by Mozambique authorities, risks being handed over to Rwanda, where his rights would be violated, including by being subject to an unfair…
Cassien Ntamuhanga.
News

Middle East/North Africa: End Violent Punishment of Children

Human Rights Watch Introduces Country Index Based on Laws, Policies

(Beirut) – Governments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) should outlaw the violent discipline of children, Human Rights Watch said today, introducing an index categorizing countries in the region based on their laws and policies. The MENA…
2020 Dadu Shin for Human Rights Watch
News

Tunisia Jails Repatriated Women With Suspected ISIS Ties

Ensure Humane Treatment, Due Process, Medical Care

(Tunis) – Families of women and children with ties to suspected members of the Islamic State group (ISIS) who were recently repatriated to Tunisia say that all of the women are in detention, Human Rights Watch said today. Some have faced abuse, have…
The Palace of Justice in Tunis, Tunisia, on January 29, 2019.
News

SADC, AU need to urgently help Mozambique protect Cabo Delgado civilians

A failure to act on developments in the town of Palma in northern Mozambique will have dire consequences for the region

Mozambique says it is trying to help civilians forced to flee The March 25 attack by an Islamist armed group linked to the Islamic State (ISIS), in the gas-rich town of Palma in northern Cabo Delgado province. The government urgently needs help…
woman, outside, Mozambique, Palma
News

Hundreds Missing After Mozambique Attack

Government Should Provide More Information About Situation in Palma

Hundreds of people remain missing five days after an Islamic State (ISIS)-linked armed group known as Al-Shabab raided the town of Palma in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province, killing and wounding an unknown number of civilians and causing…
Mozambican army soldiers patrol the streets of Mocimboa da Praia in March 2018. 
News

Mozambique: Protect Residents Fleeing Northern Town

ISIS-Linked Armed Group Attacks Civilians in Palma

Mozambique authorities should take urgent measures to protect civilians fleeing an armed Islamist group in the town of Palma, in northern Cabo Delgado province, Human Rights Watch said today. There has been heavy fighting since March 25, 2021, when…
A Mozambican woman works in a rice paddy in Palma, where large deposits of natural gas were found offshore, February 2017.