Human Rights

The euphoria of the Arab Spring has given way to the sobering challenge of creating rights-respecting democracies, Human Rights Watch said today in issuing its World Report 2013. The willingness of new governments to respect rights will determine whether those…

From the moment you arrive at the Dhaka airport, it’s clear that the apparel industry is vital to Bangladesh’s economy. Airport walls are lined with posters advertising local garment manufacturers, textile mills, and trims suppliers. Apparel accounts for between 70…

A new report proposing ways to tackle violence against women in India represents a groundbreaking basis for action, the United Nations human rights chief said today, urging the Government to follow through with its recommendations. The report was produced by…

Vicious attacks on gay rights protesters in Russia in recent days underscores the need for the Russian Duma to reject a draft law on “propaganda for homosexuality,” Human Rights Watch said today. Russian authorities should thoroughly investigate the violence and new…

A United Nations expert today urged the United Kingdom (UK) to revise a series of legal and policing measures that are having a negative impact on its citizens’ right of peaceful assembly and association. Measures such as the use of…

By Mirjam van Reisen* Arab Spring has arrived in the Horn of Africa. Young people have been campaigning for the last year, inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, phoning households in the country that has been in the grip…

Italy is summarily returning unaccompanied migrant children and adult asylum seekers to Greece, where they face a dysfunctional asylum system and abusive detention conditions, Human Rights Watch said in a report published today. Stowaways on ferries from Greece, including children…

The French National Assembly should approve a bill for marriage equality, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to members of the assembly. “From a human rights perspective, broadening the scope of civil marriage to couples of the same…

Aaron Swartz wanted nothing more than to change the world. He was doing just that until he ended his own life, at the age of 26, on Jan. 11. Aaron was a social justice activist, gifted with deep understanding of…

Dozens of Hong Kong-based migrant workers, including Sri Lankans; migrant and human rights groups, protested today the execution of Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan maid, in Saudi Arabia. Nafeek was executed on January 9 for the death of her employer’s…