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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

EU: Sanction NSO Group Over Abusive Spyware

Civil Society Groups, Experts Urge Action Against Company

(Brussels) – The European Union should adopt targeted sanctions against NSO Group, the Israel-based company that produces spyware, 86 human rights groups and independent experts said today in a letter to the EU foreign policy chief and foreign…
NSO Group logo on building
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Joint Letter Urging EU Targeted Sanctions Against NSO Group

Dear EU High Representative Borrell and Foreign Ministers of the EU member states, We are writing following credible revelations that Israeli NSO Group’s Pegasus Spyware was used to hack the devices of six Palestinian human rights activists – the…
News

IOC Doubles Down on Losing China Strategy

International Olympic Committee Should Help Secure Peng Shuai’s Safety

“We have taken a very human and person-centred approach to her situation,” the International Olympics Committee (IOC) said in a December 2 statement, revealing it had held a second closed call with Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai. Meanwhile, Peng has…
Two men speak to each other while seated
News

Congo Investigation a Chance to Fight Corruption

Allegedly Embezzled Millions Helped Deprive Congolese of Their Rights

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo confirmed last week that they had opened an inquiry following allegations of high-level corruption reported by a consortium of media and international groups. Investigators from 18 countries, working…
ormer President Joseph Kabila speaks during the state of the nation address
News

Letter to Public Officials on DHS Statement on Worksite Enforcement

In a public letter to Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Partnership and Engagement Eva Millona, Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ur M. Jaddou, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Tae D. Johnson, and…
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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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
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Afghanistan Facing Famine

UN, World Bank, US Should Adjust Sanctions, Economic Policies

(New York) – Donor countries, the United Nations, and international financial institutions should urgently address Afghanistan’s collapsed economy and broken banking system to prevent widespread famine, Human Rights Watch said today. The UN World…
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When Digital Rights and Cybercrime Collide

A Trial to Watch in Ecuador

Update: The Tribunal established on November 10 that the trial has been scheduled for January 19, 2022. An upcoming trial in Ecuador should put technologists working in the public interest on high alert.  Ola Bini, a Swedish programmer,…
Digital rights defender Ola Bini in Quito, Ecuador.
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EU: Artificial Intelligence Regulation Threatens Social Safety Net

Clear Red Lines, Stronger Safeguards Needed

(Brussels) – The European Union’s plan to regulate artificial intelligence is ill-equipped to protect people from flawed algorithms that deprive them of lifesaving benefits and discriminate against vulnerable populations, Human Rights Watch said in…
EU Media Conference on Artificial Intelligence
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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.
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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.
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Joint NGO Statement in Response to the GSP Draft Regulation

(Brussels) The GSP Platform and the undersigned organisations take note of the draft Generalised Scheme of preferences (GSP) regulation presented by the European Commission. We appreciate the inclusion of several new conventions, such as the UN…
Joint NGO Statement
News

Averting Afghanistan’s Economic and Food Crises

The Taliban’s cruelties are horrendous, but withholding international support and maintaining blanket sanctions will only hurt the long-suffering Afghan people.

Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation is spiraling into catastrophe. Millions of Afghans are now facing severe economic stress and food insecurity in the wake of the Taliban’s August takeover, set off by widespread lost income, cash shortages,…
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Biden’s Best Chance to Tackle US Inequality

Spending Package Would be Groundbreaking Expansion of Social Safety Net

Critics in the United States who argue about the cost of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package pending in the US Congress, which would expand government investment in the country’s broken social safety net and protections for workers, are missing…
US President Joe Biden speaks on how his Build Back Better agenda will lower prescription drug prices, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 12, 2021.