Human Rights

‘You cannot let more people die on your watch’ in Syria, deputy UN relief chief tells Security Council

With hundreds of thousands of Syrians living in a “nightmarish reality dictated by a conflict that respects few rules and obeys no laws,” the United Nations deputy humanitarian chief told the members of the UN Security Council on 15 January that they...

Tunisia: LGBT Group Suspended

The Tunisian authorities’ decision to suspend the activities of the LGBT rights group Shams is a setback for individual freedoms and equal rights in Tunisia. Shams works on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights.

Training, Awareness Critical in Human Trafficking Fight

The signs of human trafficking could be all around Defense Department personnel: A subcontractor withholds passports and delays payment to its employees, or a company forces potential workers to pay a large fee to obtain a contract job on a DoD...

To Get Syrian Kids in School, Let Parents Work

On Monday, Turkey announced what could be a huge step forward for Syrian refugee children’s access to education – one that European leaders should strongly support. Volkan Bozkir, Turkey’s minister for European affairs, said that his country planned...

China: Subversion Charges Target Lawyers

The Chinese authorities’ formal arrest of at least 11 human rights lawyers, legal assistants, and activists on political subversion charges is an unprecedented and grave escalation of attacks on rights defenders in China, Human Rights Watch said on...

USA: educators play key role in combatting human trafficking

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Thailand: End Impunity for Enforced Disappearances

The Thai government should immediately act to end enforced disappearances in Thailand, Human Rights Watch said Thursday in a letter to Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha. The government should make enforced disappearance a criminal offense and take...

Pakistan: Raid on Journalist Latest Act of Intimidation

The raid by a Pakistani paramilitary force on a journalist’s house is just the latest attempt by Pakistan’s security agencies to intimidate journalists who criticize the government and military, Human Rights Watch said on January 13.

Clock Ticking on Closing Guantanamo - Take Action!

It marks another grim milestone for the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay – the 14th anniversary since the first detainees arrived there, hooded and shackled. On his first full day in office in 2009, United States President Barack Obama signed an...

Lebanon: Stop Forcible Returns to Syria

Lebanese authorities, in violation of their international obligations, sent hundreds of Syrians traveling through the Beirut airport back to Syria without first assessing their risk of harm upon return there. Authorities should halt the forcible...