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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

Documents Claim France Abets Deadly Egyptian Air Strikes

French Authorities Should Immediately Investigate; Stop Arms Sales

A media investigation has alleged that classified documents show that a secret French military intelligence operation may have supported the Egyptian Air Force in targeting civilians under the guise of fighting terrorism. The documents appear to…
Two men in suits shake hands and pose for a photo
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

Egypt: End Harassment of Rights Defender

Verdict on Hossam Bahgat Speech Charges Due November 29

(Beirut) – Egyptian authorities should cease the harassment and persecution of prominent human rights defender and journalist, Hossam Bahgat, who faces abusive charges intended to punish him solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression and…
Several European diplomats attend a meeting at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights' (EIPR) office in Cairo on November 3, 2020.
News

Egypt: UNDP Report Whitewashes Human Rights Violations

Joint Letter by Human Rights Organizations Calls for Accountability

(New York) – The United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) September 2021 Egypt Human Development Report includes false and misleading claims, Amnesty International, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, and Human Rights Watch said today.…
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on September 14, 2021.
News

Egypt: Terrorism Laws Abused in Businessmen’s Arrests

Juhayna Owners Charged as ‘Terrorists’ after Refusing to Surrender Shares

(Beirut) – Two Egyptian businessmen have been detained for months, reportedly after they refused to surrender their shares in their company to a state-owned business, Human Rights Watch said today. Egyptian authorities should immediately release the…
Seif Safwan Thabet, Chief Executive Officer of Juhayna
News

Egypt: US Advocate’s Father Held Incommunicado

‘Disappeared’ in Reprisal as Egyptian Officials Visit Washington

(Beirut) – Egyptian authorities have held Salah Soltan in incommunicado detention since June 2020, in conditions that amount to enforced disappearance and may amount to torture or other ill-treatment, in likely retaliation for his son’s human rights…
Salah Soltan
News

Egypt: Rampant Abuses Make for Poor Climate Host

Civil Society Participation in COP27 at Grave Risk

(Beirut) – The choice of Egypt to host the next UN climate summit severely imperils Egyptian and international civil society participation, a crucial feature of the global efforts to address the climate crisis, Human Rights Watch said today. Under…
A group of uniformed police with riot gear stand on the street
News

A Discriminatory System Killed a Transgender Man in Egypt

By reforming its own system, Egypt can influence positive changes in other countries in the region and lead the way for clear and accessible legal gender recognition mechanisms.

August 26 should have been a day of celebration for Ezz Eldin, a 26-year-old transgender man, but it ended in tragedy. He bled to death after he was prematurely discharged following a gender-affirmation surgery in an underground clinic…
The transgender pride flag.
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

Egypt: Emergency Provisions Made Permanent

Update to News Release Published on October 26, 2021

(Beirut, November 5, 2021) – Days after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced the end of Egypt’s nationwide state of emergency on October 25, 2021, the government sent a slew of legal amendments to the parliament, incorporating many emergency-law-…
A security officer holding a weapon
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

Egypt: Ending State of Emergency a Start But Insufficient

Little Impact on Civil Liberties Without Changing Abusive Laws

(Beirut) – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s October 25, 2021 announcement that he is lifting the nationwide state of emergency is positive, but far from sufficient to begin to quell the country’s prolonged human rights crisis, Human Rights…
Egyptian security forces cordon off roads during curfew hours in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, March 29, 2020
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…
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

UN Rights Body Should Ensure Scrutiny for Abuses in Egypt

Item 4 General Debate

Madam President, In the six months since a large cross-regional group of states delivered a joint statement on Egypt’s steadily deteriorating human rights situation, the Egyptian government has continued its widespread human rights violations and…
A masked Egyptian policeman watches Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt.
News

UN Development Agency Embraces Egypt’s Abusive Rulers

Donors Shouldn’t Engage in Whitewashing Horrendous Rights Record

The United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) Egypt office issued a press release last week lavishing praise on President al-Sisi’s government’s supposed “good governance and accountability.” This is a very different Egypt from the one Human Rights…
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on September 14, 2021.