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Covid-19 Hampers Workplace Safety in Georgia’s Mines

Labor Inspectorate Needs More Resources to Put Reforms into Effect

Two people died in a mining accident in the country of Georgia’s western coal mining town of Tkibuli last week. The accident in itself was tragic, but even more heartbreaking when you consider the context. The dangers of working in Georgia’s mines…
Miners going to work
News

France Should Stop Selling Arms to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia

Macron Should Address Rights Abuses in Gulf Region

This week, French President Emmanuel Macron will visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Qatar, with a large delegation of French ministers and major business executives. In the UAE, he will apparently be finalizing a weapons deal, when…
News

Crunch Time on Killer Robots

Why New Law Is Needed and How It Can Be Achieved

The Sixth Review Conference of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), scheduled to be held at the United Nations in Geneva from December 13-17, 2021, is a major juncture for international talks on lethal autonomous weapons systems. After…
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News

Killer Robots: Negotiate New Law to Protect Humanity

Legal Uncertainty, Growing Concerns Show Urgent Need for Regulation

Governments should open negotiations to adopt new international law on lethal autonomous weapons systems, also known as “killer robots.” Existing international law is not adequate to address the urgent threats posed by such weapons, which several…
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News

New Zealand Comes Off the Fence on Autonomous Weapons

In welcome news, the Aotearoa New Zealand government has announced it will push for the adoption of new international law to prohibit and limit autonomous weapons systems. The policy commits New Zealand to play “a leadership role in building an…
The Broken Chair, a statue in support of the bans on landmines and cluster munitions, stands outside the United Nations in Geneva.
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 from Human Rights Watch to Institutional Shareholders

Re: Energy Companies in Myanmar and Abuses by the Military Junta

October 20, 2021 We are writing on behalf of Human Rights Watch concerning ownership by your firm (or funds or entities under its control) of energy companies, including Total Energies, PTT (and its subsidiary PTTEP), Chevron, and POSCO, which are…
News

Myanmar: Investors Should Act to Halt Funds to Junta

Revenues from Foreign Companies Keep Military in Power

(New York) – Payments by energy and extractive companies to entities under the control of the Myanmar military are providing key funds to sustain the junta and pose serious legal, financial, and reputational risks to investors in those companies.…
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News

Statement to the Mine Ban Treaty Nineteenth Meeting of States Parties

Delivered by Steve Goose, Executive Director

I thank my colleague for that powerful statement reminding us of why we are here. Preventing future victims and meeting the needs and the rights of existing victims is at the heart of what we are collectively doing. The Mine Ban Treaty is rightfully…
A member of the Palestinian security forces takes part in a training session to find and remove landmines, organised by the Palestinian Ministry of Interior and the United Nations, in the West Bank city of Jericho June 25, 2012.
News

Landmines: US Should Support Global Ban

‘Landmine Monitor 2021’ Spotlights Rising Casualties

The annual Landmine Monitor 2021 report recorded at least 7,073 casualties from landmines and explosive remnants of war during 2020, up from the 5,853 recorded in 2019. Myanmar government forces have used antipersonnel mines in 2021, while non-…
Clearance operator from the Halo Trust clearing a steep, rocky hillside in Afghanistan.
News

Chad: Violent Repression of Opposition Protest

Open Civic Space, Ensure Accountability for Excessive Force

(New York) – The Chadian government has failed to take any responsibility for its security forces’ abusive use of force against peaceful protesters in the capital N’Djamena on October 2, 2021, Human Rights Watch said today. The right to peaceful…
Chadian anti-riot police in the capital city, N’Djamena, during opposition-led protests on October 2, 2021
News

Afghanistan: Surge in Islamic State Attacks on Shia

ISIS Affiliate’s Targeted Killings Amount to Crimes Against Humanity

(New York) –The Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP), an armed group affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS), is carrying out bombings and other targeted attacks against Afghanistan’s Shia religious minority that amount to crimes against…
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News

Still No Justice for Killing of South African Mining Activist

Investigate Fikile Ntshangase’s Murder and Hold Killers Responsible

One year ago Fikile Ntshangase, an environmental activist from South Africa, was gunned down in her home in Somkhele in KwaZulu-Natal province, after raising concerns about a coal mine in the area. No arrests have been made. Today, members of her…
Activists from mining communities protesting at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on August 24, 2018, KwaZulu-Natal © 2018 Rob Symons
News

What is the Future of Guinea's Mining Sector After the Coup?

Guinea’s September 5 coup sent shock waves through both West Africa and global commodities markets. Guinea is the world’s second largest producer of bauxite, the ore needed to produce aluminum, and has rich iron ore, gold, and diamond reserves. The…
A woman in Lansanayah, a village 750 meters from a bauxite mine owned by La Société Minière de Boké consortium.
News

Statement on Incendiary Weapons, UN General Assembly First Committee

Delivered by Bonnie Docherty, Senior Researcher

On behalf of: Article 36, Asociación para Políticas Públicas, Campaña Colombiana Contra Minas, Conflict and Environment Observatory, Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic, Human Rights Watch, Mines Action Canada, PAX, Seguridad Humana en…
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US: Commit to Joining Cluster Munitions Ban

Global Report Tracks Progress in Eradicating the Widely Rejected Weapons

The US policy on cluster munitions is outdated and dangerous. Cluster munitions spread bomblets indiscriminately over a wide area, leaving many “duds” that function as landmines and can kill or maim people for years. The Biden administration…
Submunición M77 DPICM sin explotar tendida en el suelo.
News

Palestinian Rockets in May Killed Civilians in Israel, Gaza

Indiscriminate Attacks by Gaza-Based Armed Groups Are War Crimes

(Jerusalem) – Palestinian armed groups’ rocket and mortar attacks during the May 2021 fighting in the Gaza Strip, which killed and injured civilians in Israel and Gaza, violated the laws of war and amount to war crimes, Human Rights Watch said today.…
Rockets launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel.
Report

Underwater

Summary “Dao,” an ethnic Lao man in his 40s, previously lived a largely self-sufficient life in the village of Srekor in northeastern Cambodia’s Stung Treng province. He fished on the Sesan River and farmed rice and fruit on the fertile soil along…