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…
…”: Repression and Forced Return of Refugees in Thailand , May 15, 2024, https://www.hrw.org/feature/2024/05/16/we-thought-we-were-safe/repression-and-forced-return-of-refugees-in-thailand. [5] “Thailand: Lao Refugee Gunned Down,” Human Rights Watch news release, May 24, 2023, htt…
(New York) – Thai authorities should immediately and impartially investigate the killing of an exiled Lao political activist, Bounsuan Kitiyano, Human Rights Watch said today. On May 17, 2023, Bounsuan’s body was found with three gunshot wounds in the forest in Si Mueang Mai dist…
When prospective parents deliberate over baby names – a joyful, private discussion – they tend to make decisions based on hopes for the child, passing on a family name, or some other tradition. Few would ever dream of having to consult a list of banned names – but this is the lat…
(Kathmandu) The screening of Bhutanese refugees by the governments of Bhutan and Nepal is fundamentally flawed, a joint mission of non-governmental organizations said at the end of a two-week mission to India and Nepal. As Nepal and Bhutan prepared for further talks next week, th…
Summary For almost 30 years, including during the period of occupation by the US- and UK-led Coalition Provisional Authority, Iraqi authorities have failed to properly manage and regulate Iraq’s water resources, depriving the people in Iraq’s southern Basra governorate—a populati…
In response to news on 17 May 2023 of the fatal shooting of Bounsuan Kitiyano, a 56-year-old Lao human rights defender and a refugee recognized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in a border town in northeastern Thailand, we, the ten undersigned organizations, urge…
(New York) – The Chinese government should immediately free people held in unlawful “political education” centers in Xinjiang and shut them down, Human Rights Watch said today. Since about April 2017, the authorities have forcibly detained thousands of Uyghurs and other Turkic Mu…
(Bangkok) – Authorities in Laos have failed to seriously investigate or credibly explain the enforced disappearance six months ago of a leading social activist, Sombath Somphone, Human Rights Watch said today. Sombath, 60, the 2005 recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Commu…
…Watch, Laos: End Cover-Up in Activist’s ‘Disappearance’ , 14 June 2013, https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/06/14/laos-end-cover-activists-disappearance; APHR, Lao government’s deceptive game on Sombath investigation must end , 12 September, 2014, https://aseanmp.org/publications/post/…
(Bangkok) – On the 11-year anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone, we, the undersigned civil society organizations and individuals, strongly condemn the Lao government’s continued failure to provide necessary information as to his f…
Truong Duy Nhat, 57, a former journalist known for criticizing the Vietnam government in blog posts, fled to Thailand in January 2019 to escape multiple criminal charges, including an “act of abuse of power and/or authority in performance of official duties.” Bach helped him when…
(New York) – Chinese authorities in Xinjiang are collecting DNA samples, fingerprints, iris scans, and blood types of all residents in the region between the age of 12 and 65, Human Rights Watch said today. This campaign significantly expands authorities’ collection of biodata be…
When a journalist recently asked China’s ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai if the Chinese government would allow international human rights monitors into Xinjiang to observe without supervision, Cui ducked the question. He claimed China was working on a visit for the Un…
(New York) – The Chinese government should ensure the projects it finances or engages in under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) respect human rights, Human Rights Watch said today. On April 25-27, 2019, President Xi Jinping will host heads of state and international organizatio…