HRW is joined by experts to discuss how African human rights defenders are leading the fight to advance rights and justice across the continent, and why the United States government should listen. With Nicole Widdersheim, Fred Bauma, Dr. Lina Zedriga Waru, and Samuel Gebru.

(New York, December 14, 2022) – More than 42,400 foreigners accused of Islamic State (ISIS) links remain abandoned by their countries in camps and prisons in northeast Syria despite increased repatriations of women and children in recent months, Human Rights Watch said today. Kurdish-led authorities are holding the detainees, most of them children, along with 23,200 Syrians in life-threatening conditions. Recent Turkish air and artillery strikes have compounded the danger. But even before Turkey’s attacks, at least 42 people had been killed during 2022 in al-Hol, the largest camp, some by ISIS loyalists. Hundreds of others were killed in an attempted ISIS prison break in January. Children have drowned in sewage pits, died in tent fires, and been run over by water trucks, and hundreds have died from treatable illnesses, staff, aid workers, and detainees said.

Aerial Surveillance Is Enabling Interceptions, Return of Migrants to Harm

The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Moore v. Harper, a consequential case over voting rights. Amanda Klasing is joined by Chihiro Isozaki and Alton Wang to discuss.

Using data analysis and research testimony, HRW and Border Forensics document the role that Frontex-chartered aircraft – several planes and a drone – play in detecting migrants’ boats in the central Mediterranean and their subsequent interception by Libyan forces.

HRW’s Olivia Ensign is joined by Lynda Simmons, Jamie Lau, and Noel Nickle for a conversation on alternatives to the death penalty, in partnership with North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

Enforced Disappearances, Torture, Deaths in Custody, Hundreds of Arbitrary Arrests

Iranian women have been at the forefront of recent struggles for freedom and equality. What can be done to support them? HRW’s Birgit Schwarz is in conversation with Sussan Tahmasebi and HRW researcher Tara Sepehri Far.

Despite incredible suffering, many children repatriated from detention camps for ISIS families in NE Syria are successfully building new lives in their home countries. In this Twitter Space, we discuss how children repatriated from NE Syrian detention camps are doing, and how governments can help with their reintegration.

People across China are taking extraordinary risks to demand their human rights. Yaqiu Wang and Mei Fong discuss China’s stunning spate of "A4 Protests" and the human rights implications.