Human rights watch

‘Risk children’s lives for some extra manpower’: IRGC recruits 12 year olds to fill personnel gaps

“We launched a plan we call ‘For Iran’, which is a registration program for homeland defense fighters,” Nadali told state media. “We set the minimum age at 12 years and above.” 

A SOLDIER from Iran's revolutionary guard helps a child sit on a military display in Baharestan Square to commemorate the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war during "sacred defence week" in southern Tehran September 23, 2006.
The South Yemen flag flies as soldiers from the Southern Transitional Council stand guard outside the compound of the Presidential Palace in Aden, Yemen, December 9, 2025.

Yemeni gov’t killed six protesters, wounded dozens in February demonstrations crackdown - HRW

Israeli tanks on the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in northern Israel, March 8, 2026.

Human Rights Watch accuses IDF of unlawful use of white phosphorus in Lebanon

A bus burned during protests, on a street in Tehran, Iran, January 16, 2026

Torture, sexual violence, forced confessions: Experts reveal mass human rights violations in Iran


Tehran must be confronted: Trump, Netanyahu should lead the West's moral stand - editorial

In Washington, Netanyahu’s appeal to Trump should resonate not just in terms of strategic deterrence but moral clarity.

 L to R: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump. (illustration)

Trump declines to take sides between Vance, Rubio in 2028 successor debate

Trump also endorsed a MAGA prosecutor in Georgia against Marjorie Taylor Greene, stepped back from a major media merger fight between Netflix and Warner Bros, and faced Human Rights Watch criticism.

US President Donald Trump (C), Vice President JD Vance (L) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) pictured in the White House, November 6, 2025; illustrative.

Trump has attacked pillars of democracy, Human Rights Watch alleges

Human Rights Watch Director Philippe Bolopion claimed that "the Trump administration has really undermined all the pillars of US democracy, all the checks and balances on power."

US President Donald Trump sits at his desk, behind a hat that reads "America is back" at the White House in Washington, DC, US, February 3, 2026.

Human Rights researchers resign over ‘pulled’ report accusing Israel of 'crimes against humanity'

HRW said they concluded “aspects of the research and the factual basis for our legal conclusions needed to be strengthened to meet Human Rights Watch’s high standards.”

 A Human Rights Watch flag is pictured on the Mont-Blanc bridge in Geneva, Switzerland, November 7, 2024.

Kurdish women turn braids into symbol of resistance after Syria atrocities - explainer

Across global demonstrations and in thousands of videos posted online, Kurdish women and their allies have begun braiding their hair in honor of a female Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces fighter.

DEMONSTRATORS HOLD a placard featuring a braided hair as a symbolic act of resistance and solidarity with Kurdish women in Syria, during a protest supporting Syrian Kurds after recent clashes between the Syrian army and Kurdish forces, in Istanbul, Turkey, January 24, 2026.

Iranian regime weaponizes judicial systems against Baha'i minority, Human Rights Watch claims

The Baha'i International Community reported that the occurance persecutory acts against Baha’i between July and November 2025 was three times higher than the same time period in 2024.

Members of the Baha'i faith hold flowers as they demonstrate outside a state security court during a hearing in the case of a fellow Baha'i man charged with seeking to establish a base for the community in Yemen, in the country's capital Sanaa April 3, 2016

Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of war crimes in West Bank expulsions

HRW alleges that Israeli forces expelled about 32,000 Palestinians from three West Bank refugee camps during Operation Iron Wall, citing destroyed homes and a ban on residents returning.

Buildings and streets of Jenin refugee camp, November 19, 2025.

Mali army killed 31 villagers in attacks on insurgent area, HRW says

Human Rights Watch reported two attacks, one of them with 21 villagers dead, while the other reported ten people killed, including one woman.

A child sits holding a sponge at a car wash, amid ongoing fuel shortages caused by a blockade imposed by al Qaeda-linked insurgents in early September, in Bamako, Mali, October 31, 2025.

HRW accuses Israel of war crimes in Syria over forced displacement

The Human Rights Watch claims Israel's actions amount to war crimes.

AN IDF APC enters Syria at the ceasefire line (illustrative).

Islamic State group escalates attacks on Niger civilians, rights group says

Witnesses identified the perpetrators of the attacks as members of ISSP based on their attire and because of threats the group had made beforehand, HRW said.

 Illustration of ISIS terrorists.