Search Results

Sort by
News

Mass Surveillance Fuels Oppression of Uyghurs and Palestinians

Israel, Like China, Has Weaponized Surveillance Technology to Suppress Peaceful Dissent

Tech-enabled control of a persecuted population. Abusive facial recognition. Severe restrictions on movement. Branding peaceful dissent as “terrorism”. For many readers, the scenario brings to mind China’s mass human rights violations against…
A display shows surveillance technology capable of analyzing body motion for specific actions like fighting, theft or fall during Security China 2018 in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018.
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

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

Spyware Used to Hack Palestinian Rights Defenders

Groups Condemn Use of NSO Group’s Pegasus Against Palestinians

(New York) – The following statement condemning the use of Pegasus spyware against six Palestinian human rights defenders was issued today by 10 human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch: We, the undersigned human rights organizations,…
WhatsApp and Facebook messenger icons are seen on an iPhone in Manchester , Britain March 27, 2017.
News

Joint Letter to French Minister of Foreign Affairs in Solidarity with Palestinian Civil Society

26 French and International Organizations Stand in Solidarity with Six Palestinian Nongovernmental Organizations Designated as "Terrorists" by the Israeli Government

(Paris, November 2, 2021) – On Friday 22 October, the Israeli Ministry of Defense designated six Palestinian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as terrorist organizations: Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Al-Haq Law in…
List of signatories to French MFA
News

Woman in Gaza Fights Travel Ban Imposed by Her Father

Such Restrictions Violate Women’s Rights, Can Facilitate Abuse

On November 3 a court in Gaza will consider the request of Afaf al-Najar, a 19-year-old woman, to lift a travel ban imposed by her father. She told Human Rights Watch that on September 21, Palestinian border officials at the Rafah Crossing between…
Women hold signs during a protest against the decision by Gaza's Supreme Judicial Council banning women from movement in and out of the Gaza Strip without the permission of her "guardian," in Gaza City, February 16, 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

Israel/Palestine: Designation of Palestinian Rights Groups as Terrorists

Attack on the Human Rights Movement

(New York) – The Israeli Defense Ministry on October 19, 2021, issued a military order declaring six Palestinian civil society organizations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to be “terrorist organizations.” The groups are Addameer, al-Haq,…
A boy runs alongside a tall concrete wall
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

Israel/Palestine: Facebook Censors Discussion of Rights Issues

Independent Investigation, Alignment with International Standards Needed

(Washington, DC) – Facebook has wrongfully removed and suppressed content by Palestinians and their supporters, including about human rights abuses carried out in Israel and Palestine during the May 2021 hostilities. The company’s acknowledgment of…
A Palestinian demonstrator holds a banner of the Facebook logo.
News

Time to Recognize Reality of Israeli Apartheid & Persecution

Item 7 General debate - HRC48

For years, discussions on Israel and Palestine in international fora like this have been rooted in the assumption that Israel’s 54-year occupation is temporary and that a 30-year peace process will soon bring an end to Israeli rights abuses. These…
פועלים פלסטינים בתור לחצות מחסום בכניסה להתנחלות הישראלית מעלה אדומים הסמוכה לירושלים, 30 ביוני 2020.
News

End Support for Israeli Apartheid and Palestinian Authority Repression

Item 3 - General Debate Joint Oral Intervention

Madam President, Israeli authorities are committing the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution against millions of Palestinians. While living under Israeli apartheid and occupation, Palestinians in the West Bank - which remains under…
Palestinian laborers line up to cross a checkpoint at the entrance to the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, near Jerusalem, June 30, 2020. 
News

UN: World Leaders Should Address Rights Crises

Warn Violators They Will Be Held to Account

(New York) – World leaders gathering at the United Nations General Assembly in New York should support actions to address the world’s major human rights crises, Human Rights Watch said today. They should warn abusive governments, including the most…
A woman and child at a camp for internally displaced people in Kabul, Afghanistan, September 13, 2021.
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.