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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

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

Thailand: Cambodian Refugees Forcibly Returned

Thai Government Facilitates Hun Sen’s Persecution of Political Opposition

(Bangkok) – Thai immigration officials forcibly returned two Cambodian refugees on November 9, putting them at risk of unfair trials in Cambodia, Human Rights Watch said today. Cambodian authorities should immediately drop the politically motivated…
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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

UN Rights Body Should Reinstate Scrutiny on Sudan

HRW Statement at the 32nd Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council

Madam President, Recent events in Sudan have highlighted the fragile nature of the transition, and the extent to which it was premature for the Human Rights Council at its recent session to allow scrutiny of Sudan to lapse. Within weeks, on…
A crowd of protesters in the street
News

UN Should Create New Yemen War-Crimes Investigation

Saudi Arabia and UAE Fight for Impunity in Yemen Conflict

Last month, the Netherlands’ ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) had “failed the people of Yemen” by rejecting the renewal of an investigation into alleged human rights abuses and war crimes…
People stand in front of a damaged building
News

Support Special Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Sudan

Open letter to Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council

Dear Excellencies, dear colleagues, We are writing to urge you to support a special session of the UN Human Rights Council to address the human rights situation in Sudan, and to create a mechanism, such as a fact-finding mission, to monitor and report…
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

Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan remains vital

HRC48 - Item 10 Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on on technical assistance and capacity-building for South Sudan

The situation of human rights and impunity in South Sudan remains of deep concern. In July we documented how security forces in Warrap state under the orders of the state governor summarily executed at least eight suspected criminals, including two…
Southern Sudanese wave the national flag and cheer at South Sudan's first national soccer match after the country declared its independence, in the capital Juba on July 10, 2011
News

Mozambique Universal Periodic Review Outcome Statement

Item 6 - Universal Periodic Review

*The following statement was made by HRW on 30 September, during the adoption of the Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review of Mozambique by the Human Rights Commission (A/HRC/48/6). Thank you, Madam President. We welcome…
Delegates sit at the opening of the 41th session of the Human Rights Council, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 24, 2019.
News

UN: Noncompetitive Rights Council Election Aids Abusers

Withhold Votes for Serious Rights Violators Cameroon, Eritrea, UAE

(New York) – A noncompetitive United Nations election for Human Rights Council members virtually guarantees seats for candidate countries with abysmal rights records. UN member countries should refrain from voting for Cameroon, Eritrea, United Arab…
UN General Assembly Hall
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

UN rights body should not end scrutiny of Sudan

Item 10 Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the report of the High Commissioner on Sudan - HRC48

Thank you, Madam President.  Hopes that the 2019 transition would usher a new era into Sudan continue to be dashed. The transitional authorities have taken some positive measures, including the ratification of key international treaties,…
Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok chairs a cabinet meeting in the capital Khartoum, Sudan on September 21, 2021. 
News

UN Rights Body Should Increase Scrutiny of Cambodia’s Rights Crackdown

Item 10 Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia

Cambodia’s human rights situation has dramatically worsened since the last Council resolution on Cambodia in 2019. Human Rights Watch has condemned draconian laws adopted in the past two years under the guise of the Covid-19 pandemic that are among…
Delegates sit at the opening of the 41th session of the Human Rights Council, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 24, 2019.
News

UN rights body should renew Libya fact-finding mission, support accountability

Item 10 Interactive Dialogue with the Fact-finding mission on Libya

Thank you, Madam President.  We welcome the report of the independent fact-finding mission on Libya and echo serious concerns raised regarding violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by all parties in Libya. The…
Fighters of Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) during clashes at the Ain Zara frontline, in the southern suburbs of capital Tripoli, with the forces of the Libyan National Army (LNA).
News

UN Rights Body Should Act to Recognize Right to a Healthy Environment

Governments Should Prioritize Addressing Global Environmental Crisis

When the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet spoke to the UN Human Rights Council at the beginning of its current session, three weeks ago, she told governments: “Addressing the world's triple environmental crisis is a…
A woman walks through a flooded street during heavy rains in Mumbai, India on June 12, 2021.
News

UN Rights Body Should Stand with Yemeni People

Renewing Vital Mandate Essential to Support Victims, Stem Abuse

The latest report by the United Nations Group of Eminent Experts (GEE) on Yemen details “over six years of unnecessary suffering” by people in the country. First established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2017, the group is the only international,…
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