Latest Human Rights Watch News

Argentina's president promises to quash corruption then shocks with his Supreme Court pick

Jun. 21, 2024 00:12 AM EDT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Campaigning last year as a libertarian outsider, Javier Milei electrified rallies with his vows to destroy Argentina’s corrupt political elite. But the eccentric economist-turned-president now faces accusations of hypocrisy over his Supreme Court nomination. ...

Religious and cultural mentions removed from names of China's Xinjiang villages, rights groups say

Jun. 18, 2024 19:05 PM EDT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Authorities in China’s western Xinjiang region have been systematically replacing the names of villages inhabited by Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities to reflect the ruling Communist Party’s ideology, as part of an attack on their cultural identity, a report released...

Rights groups urge Thailand not to extradite Vietnamese activist, saying he's at risk if sent home

Jun. 13, 2024 06:48 AM EDT

BANGKOK (AP) — Human rights groups urged Thailand on Thursday not to extradite a Vietnamese activist detained in Bangkok, saying he could be at risk if handed back to Vietnam. Y Quynh Bdap, who had United Nations refugee status in Thailand, was picked up by local police on Tuesday,...

One year later, migrants who survived wreck off Greece seek justice and struggle to cope with life

Jun. 13, 2024 04:15 AM EDT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Desperate hands clutched at Ali Elwan's arms, legs and neck, and screams misted his ears, as he spat out saltwater and fought for three hours to keep afloat in the night, dozens of miles from land. Although a poor swimmer, he lived — one of just 104...

Rights group accuses Israel of hitting residential buildings with white phosphorous in Lebanon

Jun. 05, 2024 13:11 PM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — A global human rights group accused Israel of using white phosphorus incendiary shells on residential buildings in at least five towns and villages in conflict-hit southern Lebanon, possibly harming civilians and violating international law, in a report published Wednesday. ...

China is accelerating the forced urbanization of rural Tibetans, rights group says

May. 21, 2024 20:34 PM EDT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China is accelerating the forced urbanization of Tibetan villagers and herders, Human Rights Watch said, in an extensive report that adds to state government and independent reports of efforts to assimilate rural Tibetans through control over their language and traditional...

Rights group urges Thailand to stop forcing dissidents to return to countries they fled for safety

May. 17, 2024 00:02 AM EDT

BANGKOK (AP) — Human Rights Watch urged the Thai government to stop forcing political dissidents who fled to Thailand for safety to return to their home countries, where they may face torture, persecution or death. The international rights group analyzed 25 cases that took place...

An Islamist group used child soldiers in Mozambique attacks, says Human Rights Watch

May. 15, 2024 09:48 AM EDT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — An Islamist group operating in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province used boys as young as 13 in attacks on a town last week and residents who were forced to flee the fighting recognized some of the child soldiers as their missing relatives, advocacy group Human...

Sudanese paramilitary forces have carried out ethnic cleansing in Darfur, rights group says

May. 09, 2024 11:34 AM EDT

CAIRO (AP) — A leading rights group said on Thursday that attacks by Sudanese paramilitary forces and their allied militias, which killed thousands in the western region of Darfur last year, constituted a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the area’s non-Arab population. The...

An extremist group and ethnic militias committed atrocities in Mali, Human Rights Watch says

May. 08, 2024 06:56 AM EDT

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — An extremist group linked to al-Qaida carried out mass killings in two villages in central Mali in January, Human Rights Watch said in a report Wednesday, in an apparent war crime that caused thousands to flee their homes. The group known as JNIM killed at least...