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Border Agents Can't Police Themselves

After images of Border Patrol agents on horseback aggressively swinging lariats at and chasing Black migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border shocked the public in September, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was quick to promise a…
A man stands with his hands on the back of a van marked "Border Patrol"
News

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

US Records Show Physical, Sexual Abuse at Border

Newly Obtained Documents Reveal Urgent Need for Justice, Reform

(New York) – Newly obtained United States government documents detail over 160 internal reports of misconduct and abuse of asylum seekers at the hands of US officials, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The documents report abuse by…
A man stands with his hands on the back of a van marked "Border Patrol"
News

Joint Letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas

Regarding the Law Enforcement Coordination Council (LECC)

Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Department of Homeland Security by electronic mail Dear Secretary Mayorkas: We write to express several urgent concerns about your September 29, 2021, announcement of the Law Enforcement Coordination Council (LECC).…
Two Customs and Border Protection agents on horseback approach three Haitian migrants standing in the river. The migrants are holding bags and shoes.
News

How "voluntary" are Mexico's 'humanitarian return flights'?

Since mid-September, United States and Mexican authorities have removed thousands of mostly Haitian migrants and asylum seekers from makeshift camps in Del Rio, Texas and Ciudad Acuña, across the border in the Mexican state of Coahuila. The US has…
Haitians deported from the United States leave Toussaint Louverture International Airport under a rain shower in Port au Prince, Haiti on September 19, 2021.
News

US: Treatment of Haitian Migrants Discriminatory

Chased by Border Agents on Horseback; Returned to Danger in Haiti

(Washington, DC) – The US deployment of border agents on horseback against Haitian migrants on September 19, 2021, stems from abusive and racially discriminatory immigration policies by the administration of President Joe Biden, Human Rights Watch…
Two Customs and Border Protection agents on horseback approach three Haitian migrants standing in the river. The migrants are holding bags and shoes.
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

Haiti: Protect Women, Girls in Quake Response

Learn from 2010 Experience; Meet Needs of At-Risk Groups

(Washington DC) – The Haitian government and donors need to heed lessons learned from failures in previous disasters in responding to the August 14, 2021 earthquake, to ensure that women, girls, and other marginalized groups can get the care they need…
Residents help Team Rubicon's disaster response team unload aid at the airport from a US Army helicopter to take to the hospital where the team is treating residents injured in the 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, August 19, 2021. 
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

Letter to the Editor: the Turmoil in Cuba

Just as largely unprecedented mass street protests erupted on the streets in Cuba [“In the streets, Cubans ‘have lost their fear’, ” front page, July 13], the Coast Guard’s interdiction of a boat off the coast of Key West and summary return of Cubans…
A Coast Guard Station Marathon boat crew and 15 migrants aboard 45-foot Response Boat-Medium near Big Pine Key, Florida on July 3, 2021. Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Ryan Estrada. Source: United States Coast Guard
News

Haiti: Investigate President’s Killing

Other Recent Violence Led to the Killing of 2 Journalists, Activists

(Washington, DC) – Haitian authorities should request international assistance to conduct prompt, thorough, and impartial investigations into the murder of President Jovenel Moïse and other recent, serious acts of violence, Human Rights Watch said…
In this February 7, 2020, file photo, Haitian President Jovenel Moïse arrives for an interview at his home in Petion-Ville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Moïse was killed and first lady Martine Moïse was wounded in an attack on his private residence early Wednesday, July 7, 2021.
News

Prisoners in Haiti Still Face Horrendous Conditions

Government Should Reduce Pretrial Detention, Strengthen Judicial Independence

“We are tired of living like this, we live worse than animals,” a Haitian prisoner recently told the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH). His testimony and those of the more than 800 prisoners in 12 jails are part of a comprehensive…
A detainee pulls a large stock pot filled with rice and beans during lunch inside the National Penitentiary in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Febuary. 13, 2017. 
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

Groups Urge Biden Administration to Redesignate TPS to Haiti

The Honorable President Joe Biden President of the United States 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500   The Honorable Vice President Kamala Harris Vice President of the United States 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC…
asylum seeker from Haiti waits at a makeshift encampment at the border port of entry