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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…
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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

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

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
News

Germany: Include Trans People in Coalition Agreement

Existing Gender Recognition Procedure Violates Human Rights

Germany’s political parties negotiating coalition agreements to create a new government should make a commitment to change the law on legal gender recognition, so that it is based on self-determination, not so-called expert reports, Human Rights Watch…
A demonstrator on a march in Oldenburg, Germany, on Christopher Street Day 2021, holds a sign with the inscription “I am ‘Trans’ and that's good!” September 21, 2021. © 2021 Mohssen Assanimoghaddam/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
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…
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Human Rights and the New German Government

When it comes to human rights, the new German government faces enormous tasks. Our Human Rights Watch team has seven key points that the incoming government should tackle during its legislative period.
News

Germany: Put Rights at Center of Coalition Talks

Human Rights Watch Writes Letter to Parties

(Berlin – October 20, 2021) – The three German parties entering negotiations on the formation of the next government should put human rights at the heart of their agenda, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch has written to the parties –…
Session of the German lower house of Parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin, February 1, 2018.
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

German Postcode Lottery Grants

Equitable Health Care, Covid-19 Vaccine for Conflict Zones; Digital Communications

(Berlin, October 19, 2021) – The German Postcode Lottery is supporting the work of Human Rights Watch in two major areas with more than half a million euros. A €250,000 grant will be used to ensure more equitable access to health care and vaccines for…
Displaced Syrian children read a poster, outlining 7 steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus disease, at a camp for the internally displaced near Dayr Ballut, near the Turkish border in the rebel-held part of Aleppo province on March 22, 2020, during a campaign to prevent the spread of the virus.
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German Flood Deaths Highlight Climate Change Risks for People with Disabilities

Inclusive Climate Action and Planning Needed after 12 Perish

On July 15, twelve people with disabilities living in a group home drowned in floods in Sinzig, Germany, because they did not manage to evacuate in time. This is not the first time people with disabilities in group homes died during a climate…
The “Lebenshilfe-Haus” or ‘assisted-living facility”, where twelve people with disabilities drowned in floods on July 15, 2021.
News

UN Security Council: Restore Syria Cross-Border Aid

Russia Should Allow Full Year of UN-Led Aid Delivery from Turkey, Iraq

(New York) – Russia should not block the United Nations Security Council from reauthorizing and expanding cross-border humanitarian aid operations across northern Syria, Human Rights Watch said today. Millions of people in northeast and northwest…
UN humanitarian aid trucks enter northwest Syria through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey on June 1, 2021
News

Germany: Inaction on Heat Plans Threatens Health

Pregnancy Risks Left Out of Climate Change Planning

We have corrected the online version of this report to include an additional state government response on heat health action plans received by Human Rights Watch after the requested deadline but prior to publication. Germany has delayed…
A woman shields herself from the sun with an umbrella on a hot summer day in Cologne, Germany, July 25, 2019. 
News

Germany’s New Surveillance Laws Raise Privacy Concerns

Police Handed Enhanced Powers to Infiltrate Phones and Computers

The German parliament amended two laws on June 10th granting enhanced surveillance powers to segments of the federal police and intelligence services. They allow the use of spyware to hack into phones and computers circumventing encryption used by…
The logo of the messenger app Whatsapp is seen on the screen of a smartphone on April 28th, 2021 in Berlin, Germany.
News

Tough Challenge for German Leadership in Libya Talks

Chancellor Angela Merkel took the initiative almost two years ago to resolve the Libya crisis by creating a joint effort called The Berlin Process. Germany has positioned itself as mostly neutral putting it in a favorable position to broker political…
Fighters of Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) during clashes at the Ain Zara frontline, in the southern suburbs of capital Tripoli, with the forces of the Libyan National Army (LNA).
News

Merkel Should Steer EU on Covid-19 Intellectual Property Waiver

With the G7 Summit around the corner and debates about waiving intellectual property rules for Covid-19 vaccines and other health products heating up, all eyes will be on Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel has stood in the way of the waiver, making it…
A woman receives the AstraZeneca vaccine for Covid-19 at an apartment building in Bengaluru, India, April 24, 2021.
News

Germany: New Supply Chain Law a Step in the Right Direction

Law’s Gaps Should be Fixed by Next Government

(Berlin) – A new law on human rights in supply chains adopted by the German Parliament on June 11, 2021, ushers in a long-awaited shift to mandatory company compliance rules in Germany, Human Rights Watch said today. The German parliament acted…
A 9-year old girl collects sand at a mining site in Uganda.
News

Syria: Russian Veto Would Shut Down Last Aid Lifeline

UN Should Reauthorize Crucial Help from Neighboring Countries

Millions of Syrians risk losing access to lifesaving aid, including during the Covid-19 pandemic, if Russia vetoes reauthorizing the only remaining UN aid corridor from Turkey into opposition-held northwest Syria, Human Rights Watch said today. The…
UN humanitarian aid trucks enter northwest Syria through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey on June 1, 2021