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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…
202006syria_kids_education
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

EU: Tackle Central Asia Rights Abuses

Afghanistan Crisis No Excuse to Ignore Rights Concerns

(Brussels) – The European Union should urge Central Asian governments at a gathering on November 22, 2021, to increase efforts to protect human rights, at a time when Afghanistan and regional issues are high on the agenda, Human Rights Watch said…
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the five Central Asian countries at the 15th EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on July 07, 2019.
News

How are the Authorities in Central Asia Trying to Control the Internet?

An Interview with Hugh Williamson

CABAR.asia: Recently, the authorities of the Central Asian countries have been actively regulating online activities, adopting various laws that help them control the internet. How are things going with the freedom of the internet, with internet…
Uzbekistan’s media landscape, made up of independent, state-sponsored, and international Uzbek and Russian language media outlets, is in a period of growth and change, as journalists test the boundaries of respect for free expression.
News

Activist Missing in Turkmenistan

Azat Isakov, a Presumed Victim of Enforced Disappearance by Turkmen Security Services

“The police are here. If they find me, they’ll take me in. I’ve gone into hiding.” These are the last words Turkmen human rights activist, Chemen Ore, heard from Azat Isakov, a dissident from Turkmenistan who had been living in Russia for about six…
Azat Isakov.
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

Pressure on Turkmen Nationals in Turkey Must Be Stopped.

Their Rights and Freedoms Must Be Secured.

Statement by Nongovernmental Organizations 02 November 2021 We, representatives of nongovernmental organizations, would like to express our grave concern over the deteriorating situation for Turkmen migrants in Turkey – primarily those who…
News

Turkey: Turkmen Activists Face Deportation

Activists at Risk of Persecution, Torture if Returned Home

(Berlin) – The Turkish government should halt any plans to deport two detained Turkmen activists to Turkmenistan, where they will be at grave risk of arbitrary arrest and torture, Human Rights Watch said today. Turkish authorities…
A man walks near Fatih mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.
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…
Video

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…
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

Doctor Demanding Justice Detained in Turkmenistan

Retaliation after Khursanai Ismatullaeva’s Case is Discussed in European Parliament

On July 16, police in Turkmenistan arrested a doctor whose unfair dismissal was raised during a human rights panel that I moderated that was held a day earlier by the European Parliament. Khursanai Ismatullaeva had worked at a neonatal clinic near…
Kursanai Ismatullaeva detained Turkmenistan
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

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
Video

Reauthorize Cross-Border Aid into Northern Syria

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…
News

Persons with Disabilities in the Context of Armed Conflict

Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Human Rights Watch welcomes the opportunity to provide input to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for his thematic report to the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly regarding the rights of persons with…
News

Nordic Countries: Repatriate Nationals from Northeast Syria

Potential Complicity in Unlawful Detention of ISIS Suspects, Children

Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden should promptly repatriate their nationals unlawfully held in life-threatening conditions in northeast Syria, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the four governments today.…
Children fly a kite at al-Hol camp in northeast Syria.