Human rights watch

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.
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

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

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

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

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.

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


Jordan ends emergency laws that stifled public freedoms

This would mean a return to implementing many ordinary laws that were suspended as the government enacted many defense orders that touched every aspect of public life.

 Jordan's King Abdullah and Queen Rania arrive to meet with the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, US February 1, 2023.

Israeli apartheid: A widespread lie difficult to fight - opinion

At its core, the apartheid lie depicts Jews who have returned to their ancestral homeland as “settler colonialists” and “foreign interlopers,” comparing them to South African whites during apartheid.

 People protest with their cellphones as Israel’s Economy Minister Nir Barkat (not pictured) speaks at the 2023 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on February 27.

Israel is 'on rampage' against human rights, new HRW chief says

A planned overhaul of the judiciary by Israel's religious-nationalist government would be "a disaster" for human rights, HRW Executive Director Tirana Hassan said.

 Right wing activists protest the demolition of structures in the illegal outpost of Homesh, outside the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem on January 13, 2021

UAE arbitrarily detaining over 2000 Afghan evacuees - Human Rights Watch

Although the UAE has resettled the vast majority of the Afghan refugees they have sheltered, Human Rights Watch is charging the Gulf nation with arbitrarily detaining as many as 2700 for over a year.

 Evacuees from Afghanistan sit at Emirates Humanitarian City in Abu Dhabi, UAE, August 28, 2021

Bahrain cancels Human Rights Watch parliament conference visas

Rights groups, including HRW, have criticized Bahrain for holding international events as a way of distracting from repression of political opposition

Kingdom of Bahrain flag

UN should follow up on China 'crimes against humanity' - report

Previous bids for China to face a UN debate have failed.

 U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield bumps fists with Permanent Representative of China to the UN Zhang Jun

Harvard University has capitulated to antisemitism - opinion

Harvard has not only exposed its cowardice. It has also contributed to the growth of systemic antisemitism on its campus and campuses across the US.

 OVER HIS long career, Kenneth Roth has blamed the Jews for bringing antisemitic violence upon themselves, says the writer.

Ukraine: Russia sending civilians through landmine fields to find safe routes

Russian forces reportedly send civilians into Ukrainian minefields to find safe routes to Ukrainian positions. * This comes as Human Rights Watch condemned Ukraine's landmine use.

 Ukrainian serviceman examines anti tanks mines near a destroyed Russian Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the town of Izium, recently liberated by Ukrainian Armed Forces, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine September 24, 2022.

Human Rights Watch urges Ukraine to investigate landmine use accusations

Ukraine could be in violation of international humanitarian law if they are found to have been using rocket-fired antipersonnel landmines against Russia.

View of a mine-warning sign as a Ukrainian service member demonstrates clearing a minefield using a remote control for the Armtrac 400 demining machine, capable of clearing 2,400 square metres per hour, amid Russia's invasion, in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine October 27, 2022.

Harvard offers fellowship to Israel critic Ken Roth after controversy

Harvard initially vetoed the decision to offer Roth the fellowship, allegedly because of Roth’s 'anti-Israel bias.'

 Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, attends an interview with Reuters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 12, 2021.