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Bangladesh: Halt Forced Relocation of Rohingya Refugees

End Movement Restrictions, Abuses on Bhasan Char ‘Prison Island’

(New York) – Bangladesh authorities should halt relocations to Bhasan Char island until freedom of movement and other rights of Rohingya refugees are protected, Human Rights Watch said today. Refugees and humanitarian workers said the authorities have…
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News

Letter to Donor Governments on Bhasan Char

Re: Humanitarian response for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

November 1, 2021 Re: Humanitarian response for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh Dear Ambassador, We are writing on behalf of Human Rights Watch regarding your government’s upcoming considerations on funding commitments to the Rohingya refugee…
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

Bangladesh: Protests Erupt Over Rape Verdict

Judge Appears to Blame Victims; Activists Renew Calls to Repeal Harmful Law

(New York) – Women’s rights activists are protesting following the acquittal of all five men accused in an alleged gang-rape of two women in Dhaka in 2017, Human Rights Watch said today. The judge said that the police had failed to provide credible…
Students and activists take part in a torch procession demanding for the government to take action against murder and rape in Bangladesh. 
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

Bangladesh: Deadly Attacks on Hindu Festival

At Least 4 Dead After Police Shoot Live Ammunition into Crowd

(New York) – The Bangladesh authorities should exercise caution and restraint in containing the deadliest spate of sectarian violence in Bangladesh in years, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should take immediate steps to protect Hindu…
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Bangladesh: Rohingya Refugee Activists at Risk

Killing of Mohib Ullah Exposes Grave Gaps in Camp Safety

(New York) – Bangladesh authorities and United Nations officials should take urgent measures to protect Rohingya refugees facing threats and violence in the Cox’s Bazar camps, Human Rights Watch said today. Rohingya community leaders and volunteer…
Mohibullah in Cox's Bazar
News

Rohingya Leader Mohibullah Killed in Bangladesh

(New York) – On September 29, 2021, Mohibullah, 46, chair of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH), was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen in Kutupalong camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Mohibullah had served as a leader…
Mohibullah in Cox's Bazar
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.
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Bangladesh: Officials Linked to Hundreds of ‘Disappearances’

Rights Groups Urge Action on Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearance

(Washington, DC) – The Bangladesh government has repeatedly denied involvement in hundreds of enforced disappearances of activists, critics, and opposition members, and has taken no steps to investigate them, Human Rights Watch, Robert F. Kennedy…
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A Rohingya Refugee’s Search for Safety, Freedom, and Justice

August 25 is Observed as ‘Genocide Remembrance Day,’ but It Is Not Just the Story of a Single Day

Kabir, a Rohingya refugee, fled his village in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state on August 25, 2017. But this was not the first time he had been forced to flee, nor the first time Myanmar soldiers had burned down his home. Nor is Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh…
Rohingya refugees walk through rice fields after crossing the border from Myanmar into Palang Khali, Bangladesh, October 19, 2017.
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Bangladesh: Fleeing Rohingya Die at Sea

UN Shouldn’t Operate on Bhasan Char Until Free Movement Assured

(New York) – A fishing boat carrying more than 40 Rohingya refugees, including children, fleeing Bangladesh’s remote Bhasan Char island capsized on August 14, 2021, in the Bay of Bengal, leaving at least 11 dead, Human Rights Watch said today.…
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Report

“Where No Sun Can Enter”

Summary I am broken. There is nobody here to call me mother. The only thing I want is for my son to return. We won’t even talk about it. We’ll forget what happened, please just bring him back. Everything is lost from my end. —Ayesha Ali, mother…
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Bangladesh: 86 Victims of Enforced Disappearance Still Missing

UN Should Ban Death Squad from Peacekeeping Missions

(Geneva) – United Nations human rights experts should lead an independent international investigation into enforced disappearances by security forces in Bangladesh, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Senior UN officials, donors,…
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Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh at Risk During Monsoon

Crowded Camp Conditions, Lack of Permanent Shelters

Heavy rains over the past week have displaced more than 21,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The resulting flooding and mudslides have destroyed about 6,418 shelters. With months of monsoon season still ahead, the refugees face heightened risks…
Rohingya refugees repair a shelter damaged following heavy rains at the refugee camp in Kutupalong, Bangladesh on July 28, 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

Rohingya Refugees Facing Medical Crisis on Bhasan Char

Partly Because of Poor Planning, the Island's Meager Health Care System is Being Overwhelmed

More than a quarter of the approximately 18,000 Rohingya refugees being held on Bangladesh’s silt island of Bhasan Char are reportedly suffering from a sudden outbreak of diarrhea. At least three children have died, according to news reports.  …
Rohingya refugees headed to the Bhasan Char island prepare to board navy vessels from the south eastern port city of Chattogram, Bangladesh on Feb.15,2021. © 2021 AP Photo