News Release
Middle East/North Africa
Children's Rights
Millions of children have no access to education, work long hours under hazardous conditions and are forced to serve as soldiers in armed conflict. They suffer targeted attacks on their schools and teachers or languish in institutions or detention centers, where they endure inhumane conditions and assaults on their dignity. Young and immature, they are often easily exploited. In many cases, they are abused by the very individuals responsible for their care. We are working to help protect children around the world, so they can grow into adults.
@2010 David Høgsholt/Reportage by Getty Images for Human Rights Watch
- Europe/Central Asia
- Africa
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Reports More Reports
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“Everyone Must Confess”
Abuses against Children Suspected of ISIS Affiliation in Iraq
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Syria: Deadly School Attack Was Unlawful
Idlib Attacks Reaffirm Need for Civilian Protection
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Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Detained Children Tortured
Beatings, Electric Shock to Coerce ISIS Confessions
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Jo Becker
Advocacy Director, Children's Rights Division jobeckerhrw
Bede Sheppard
Deputy Director, Children's Rights Division BedeOnKidRights
Juliane Kippenberg
Associate Director, Children's Rights Division KippenbergJ
Michael Garcia Bochenek
Senior Counsel, Children’s Rights Division MichaelBochenek
Elizabeth Calvin
Senior Advocate, Children's Rights Division FairSentencing
Bill Van Esveld
Senior Researcher, MENA, Children's Rights Division @billvanesveld
Elin Martínez
Researcher, Children's Rights Division Martinez_Elin
Margaret Wurth
Senior Researcher, Children's Rights Division MargaretWurth
Joanna Naples-Mitchell
NYU School of Law Fellow @joanna_nm
The Distant Barking of Dogs
Ten-year-old Oleg lives in the eastern part of Ukraine — a conflict zone that often echoes with anti-aircraft fire and missile strikes. By sticking close to Oleg, The Distant Barking of Dogs shows the effect of conflict on children.
Witness: Tobacco Farmers Kept in the Dark
Tobacco companies fail to warn Zimbabwe’s farmers of nicotine poisoning’s dangers. Human Rights Watch researcher Margaret Wurth spoke to one family about their experiences farming tobacco.
Interactives More Interactives
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Trapped
Lesbos, a postcard-perfect vacation island in the northern Aegean Sea, is a haven for people fleeing war in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. It symbolizes the hope that somewhere in Europe there is refuge. It is also a graveyard for the countless corpses that have washed ashore on its beautiful coastline. And it’s hell for the thousands who are trapped there, victims of the European Union’s determination to stem the tide of asylum seekers and other migrants by sending a message that they are unwelcome. For all of its natural beauty, there is much fear on Lesbos. Fear caused by the traumas of war, violence and displacement and of harsh camp conditions, insecurity and uncertain futures. Fear of rejection, detention, and deportation. Fear of going to the toilet in the dark at night, or not eating after two hours in a food line. Fear of lice and scabies. Fear of winter, cold and damp.
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The War for Girls' Education
The war for girls' education in Afghanistan - 16 years after the US & allies toppled the Taliban and promised to get Afghan girls back into school, why are more than half of them still out of school?
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Exodus: Asylum Seekers Flee Into Europe
“What will happen to us?” “Will they fingerprint us?” was the constant refrain as we watched a human wave of asylum seekers and migrants from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan crossing the Serbia-Hungary border.
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