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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

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…
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News

Submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child Concerning Cambodia

89th Session, 2021

This update submission relates to articles 2, 9, 23, 28, and 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and focuses on access to education during the Covid-19 pandemic and shackling and discrimination against children with disabilities. Access…
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

African Leaders Meet in Niger to Support Girls’ Rights

Address Discrimination Against Pregnant Students, Widespread Teenage Pregnancy

(Nairobi) – African leaders should prioritize education for pregnant girls and married adolescents at the Third African Girls’ Summit in Niamey, Niger, from November 16-18, 2021. Governments attending the summit should commit to stronger human rights…
A 17-year-old girl from western Kenya who dropped out of lower secondary school when she got pregnant. She received no information that would have allowed her to continue going to school while she was pregnant, but she wants to continue studying so she can find a job and care for her child.
News

Papua New Guinea: Address Abuses Raised at UN Review

Countries Criticize Failures on Women’s and LGBT Rights and the Death Penalty

(Geneva) – The Papua New Guinea government should seriously address the criticisms of its human rights record and scores of recommendations raised by United Nations member countries, Human Rights Watch said today. Papua New Guinea appeared…
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News

Afghan Girls’ Education: ‘I Don’t Think I Have a Future’

Closing Secondary Schools to Girls Causing Lasting Harm

“I want to go to school and become an independent woman who chooses and decides for her life,” 16-year-old Nasiba told me. “If I am educated, men wouldn’t dare to interfere but if I am not, they will decide my whole life for me.” She lives in Kabul…
Women demonstrate for their rights during a gathering for National Teachers Day in Kabul, Afghanistan, October 5, 2021.
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

Lebanon: Planning Lapses Endanger School Year

Re-opening Delayed; 700,000 Out of Classes Last Year

(Beirut) – The education system in Lebanon is at risk of collapse, with devastating consequences for children, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities’ egregious planning failures have aggravated the impact of the country’s financial and Covid-…
Students sit inside a school bus at the end of their school day in Beirut, Lebanon,
News

Tanzania: Pregnant Student Ban Harms Thousands

Revoke Decree; Allow Pregnant Girls, Young Mothers to Attend School

(Nairobi) – Tanzania’s ban on pregnant students and adolescent mothers attending school has denied tens of thousands of girls their right to education, Human Rights Watch said today. Public schools across mainland Tanzania conduct compulsory pregnancy…
The flag of the United Republic of Tanzania.
News

Africa: Rights Progress for Pregnant Students

Five More Sub-Saharan Countries Act to Protect Girls’ Education; Barriers Remain

(Nairobi) – African countries have taken important steps in recent years to protect the right to education of pregnant students and adolescent mothers, Human Rights Watch said today. Since 2019, at least five sub-Saharan African countries –…
Young mothers at secondary school in Kenya
News

How Schools in South Korea Can Help LGBT Youth Thrive

Lee Bo-reum found school almost intolerable. As a young woman, she was outed to her peers as a lesbian, and was ostracized and bullied by her classmates for her sexual orientation. As the mistreatment persisted, she eventually became depressed and…
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“I Thought of Myself as Defective”

Summary Park Beom-seok, a 22-year-old gay man, suspected that he might be gay when he was eleven or twelve years old. Still, he struggled to find support in his school environment. Classmates in middle school used “gay” as a slur, targeting boys who…
News

Will Greek Schools Open for All Kids This Year?

Action Needed to End Lost Learning for Refugee, Asylum-Seeking Children

The first day of school in Greece, September 13, signals the return to in-person schooling for children after a year of Covid-19 related disruptions and learning loss. Today will be especially important for refugee and asylum-seeking children, most of…
Children play in a playground in the Ritsona refugee camp, north of Athens, Greece on October 22, 2019.