National drug control policies that impose criminal penalties for personal drug use undermine basic human rights, Human Rights Watch said today. To deter harmful drug use, governments should rely instead on non-penal regulatory and public health (...)
The Cairo Criminal Court's conviction of 43 nongovernmental organization (NGO) workers on June 4, 2013, violates the right to freedom of association. The convictions are based on a repressive law governing organizations as well as penal code (...)
President Obama should make human rights central in his discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the two countries' June 7-8 summit in California. The summit is a critical moment to underscore that better relations with the US will (...)
The Malaysian authorities should stop prosecuting activists and opposition figures involved in rallies protesting the recent elections, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Prime Minister Najib Razak.
At least six alleged organizers of the (...)
North Korea should immediately reveal the whereabouts and well-being of nine North Korean refugees who were forced back to Pyongyang from Beijing on May 28 according to media reports, Human Rights Watch said today, emphasizing that the government (...)
Kenyan police in Nairobi tortured, raped, and otherwise abused and arbitrarily detained at least 1,000 refugees between mid-November 2012 and late January 2013, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Kenyan authorities should (...)
Saudi authorities should ensure a fair trial for the Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr, Human Rights Watch said today. Criminal justice authorities should make sure he gets immediate access to adequate medical care for gunshot wounds received during his (...)
Four Saudi activists are under investigation after forming a human rights group on April 3, 2013, and could face prosecution for “establishing an illegal organization." Saudi authorities should immediately cease harassing the four founding members (...)
Jordanian criminal justice authorities should immediately drop their three-year prosecution of two intellectuals and withdraw all charges against them. The charges, which include “disturbing relations with a foreign state" and “inciting racist (...)
The Ukrainian parliament should reject two draft laws that would discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and infringe on their free expression rights. On April 3, 2013, one of the bills passed a parliamentary (...)
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities have compounded serious pre-trial violations of fair trial rights by arbitrarily denying family members, international observers, and the international media access to the mass trial of 94 critics of the (...)
RABAT: President François Hollande of France should press for further human rights reforms in Morocco during his first state visit to this longtime French ally. Hollande is expected to meet with King Mohammed VI in Rabat and address the parliament (...)
The prosecution of 29 Muslim protest leaders and others charged under Ethiopia's deeply flawed anti-terrorism law raises serious fair trial concerns. The trial is scheduled to resume in Addis Ababa on April 2, 2013, after a 40-day postponement.
The (...)
A Moroccan military court has sentenced 25 Sahrawis to prison, including nine to life sentences, without looking into their allegations that their confessions were extracted under torture and other forms of coerciony. The defendants include several (...)
The government of Nepal should allow lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) groups to operate freely and end arbitrary arrests of LGBT people, Human Rights Watch said. The government should investigate threats and attacks against LGBT (...)
Tunisia's National Constituent Assembly should commit to the creation of an independent judiciary free from government interference. The assembly will consider a proposed law to establish a Temporary Judicial Council (TJC) later this week, which (...)
Russian authorities should immediately and unconditionally free the two members of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot who remain behind bars.
The two women, Nadia Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, have been in detention since their arrest nearly (...)
KUWAIT CITY: Human rights conditions deteriorated in Kuwait in 2012 during an ongoing political crisis, Human Rights Watch said today at a news conference for its World Report 2013. The security forces used what appeared to be excessive force to (...)
OTTAWA: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in northern British Columbia has failed to protect indigenous women and girls from violence, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Women and girls Human Rights Watch interviewed also described (...)
Human Rights Watch has urged Egyptian authorities not to repatriate asylum seekers to Syria, saying such a move would violate international laws since they could face violence and persecution in their home country.
HRW says in a Friday report that (...)
Military prosecutors should immediately refer to the civilian judiciary 25 civilians arrested on November 18, 2012, during an attempted forced eviction by the military police that left one of the inhabitants dead, Human Rights Watch said today. (...)
Egyptian police and military officers have arrested and detained over 300 children during protests in Cairo over the past year, in some cases beating or torturing them, Human Rights Watch said today. Frequently, these children were illegally jailed (...)
Military prosecutors should immediately refer to the civilian judiciary 25 civilians arrested on November 18, 2012, during an attempted forced eviction by the military police that left one of the inhabitants dead. Civilian prosecutors should (...)
Families of the 45 protesters killed and the hundreds injured when police responded to protests over military rule with excessive force and brutality from November 19 through 24 2011, are still waiting for justice a year later, Human Rights Watch (...)
Bahrain's court of appeal should overturn a lower court conviction for illegal assembly against the human rights activist Nabeel Rajab and cancel his three-year prison term, Human Rights Watch said in a statement issued on Sunday.
Because the (...)