BELARUS AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY As President Lukashenka's rule has grown increasingly undemocratic, the Republic of Belarus has become isolated from the international community. The United States, the countries of Western Europe and many international organizations saw th…

In many Eastern European and Central Asian countries, media discourse suffers from the freedom of expression not being respected. Nonetheless, the situation is not hopeless, according to Hugh Williamson of Human Rights Watch. He shared his insights in a D+C/E+Z interview, which w…

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the presidential elections in October at a critical time for Brazil’s democracy. Throughout his term, former President Jair Bolsonaro harassed and insulted Supreme Court justices and journalists. He tried to undermine trust in the electoral system, m…

(New York) – The Chinese government has increased its groundless prosecutions with long prison sentences for Uyghurs and other Muslims in recent years in China’s Xinjiang region, Human Rights Watch said today. Since the Chinese government escalated its repressive “Strike Hard Cam…

Summary Spurred by increasing public recognition of the dangers posed by police responses to mental health and substance use crises—particularly for people of color and individuals with disabilities —communities have sought new mental health crisis response models. This report ex…

Summary The training has only one purpose: to learn laws and regulations…to eradicate from the mind thoughts about religious extremism and violent terrorism, and to cure ideological diseases. If the education is not going well, we will continue to provide free education, until th…

Summary Getting a passport is harder for a Tibetan than getting into heaven. This is one of those “preferential policies” given to us Tibetans by [China’s] central government. —Post by a Tibetan blogger on a Chinese-language website, October 2012 This report focuses on the way th…

… its cruel asylum plan once and for all.” For a Q&A on the report, see: https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/10/rwandas-repression-across-borders

Correction: Reports received from multiple sources that Anousa “Jack” Luangsuphom died on the way to the hospital on April 29, 2023, proved to be false. On the evening of May 3, Anousa’s family and other sources provided Human Rights Watch verbal confirmation and photographic evi…

H.E. Mr. Thongloun Sisoulith Prime Minister Prime Minister's Office, Vientiane Lao People’s Democratic Republic H.E. Mr. Bounnhang Vorachith President President’s Office, Vientiane Lao People’s Democratic Republic H.E. Mr. Xaysi Santivong Minister of Justice Ministry of Justice, …

…hich are referenced throughout this report and are available online at: https://www.hrw.org/node/329384. To reverse engineer an app means to disassemble it, looking at the data it contains and its design, to understand how it works. In this case, we sought specifically to underst…

Bhutan’s image as an otherworldly and harmonious kingdom was rocked on 20 January by coordinated bomb blasts in the capital, Thimpu, and three other locations. The bombs caused minimal damage but generated political shockwaves at a time when the Himalayan state is struggling to t…

(Beirut) – An Israeli strike on an emergency and relief center in south Lebanon on March 27, 2024, was an unlawful attack on civilians that failed to take all necessary precautions, Human Rights Watch said today. If the attack on civilians was carried out intentionally or reckles…

Human Rights Watch has determined based on verified video and witness accounts that Israeli forces used white phosphorus in military operations in Lebanon and Gaza on October 10 and 11, 2023, respectively. The videos show multiple airbursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus ove…

Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission on June 10 boldly entered uncharted waters by accusing state officials of the enforced disappearance of nine exiled Thai activists in neighboring countries. Under the military rule of Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha, who took power following a co…