Khodor Al Hauwsi listens to his battery operated radio in his dark apartment in Beirut.

Spain’s Failure to Protect Rights Amid Rising Pandemic-Linked Poverty

(New York, January 27, 2022) ¬– A New York City program that privatized control and management of some public housing lacks adequate oversight and protections for residents’ rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 98-page report “The Tenant Never Wins: Private Takeover of Public Housing Puts Rights at Risk in New York City” examines the impact of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) program called Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT), which utilizes a federal program called the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) to permit the privatization of some housing. Under PACT, which began in December 2016, NYCHA leases its public housing developments to private companies for 99 years and privatizes the buildings’ management. Human Rights Watch found that PACT conversions also mean the loss of key protections for residents, and, in two developments, may have contributed to increased evictions.

Rural Women in Georgia Need Better Access to Care, Information to Reduce Risks

Effective Law Enforcement, Access to Shelter, Financial Support Are Critical

Greatest Harm for Indigenous, Afro-Descendent People Living in Poverty

Inadequate Support Highlights Need for Expanded Social Security System

The Fight for Reparations in Tulsa, Oklahoma. May 31 marks the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre when a white mob killed several hundred Black people and destroyed a prosperous Black neighborhood. The case for reparations is clear, and urgent.

(London) – The UK government's rigid insistence on automating Universal Credit threatens the rights of people most at risk of poverty, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. A comprehensive redesign of how the government calculates the social security benefit is urgently needed to restore people’s rights to a decent standard of living, particularly as they face severe income loss and other economic shocks caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The 70-page report, “Automated Hardship: How the Tech-Driven Overhaul of the UK’s Benefits System Worsens Poverty,” details how a poorly designed algorithm is causing people to go hungry, fall into debt and experience psychological distress. Human Rights Watch has also found that the government is failing to address the socio-economic inequalities which prevent people from being able to apply for and manage their benefit online.

(New York, August 13, 2020) – The Covid-19 pandemic and related lockdown are making it even harder for the Wayuu, an indigenous group in Colombia and Venezuela, to survive, Human Rights Watch and the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health said in a joint report and accompanying multimedia piece released today.