Human Rights Watch

Draconian Migration Measures Put Lives, Rights at Risk Italy’s Democratic Party-Five Star Movement coalition government should revoke anti-asylum and anti-rescue measures held over from the previous government, Human Rights Watch said today. The government is expected to propose modifications to two so-called security decrees pushed through by the previous coalition… »

Women and girls face relentless insecurity in Greece’s overcrowded Moria “hotspot” for asylum seekers and migrants on Lesbos island, Human Rights Watch said today, releasing a video that shows the dire conditions. The Greek government should take immediate action to ensure safe, humane conditions for women and girls in line… »

Greece’s recently announced border control plans for the Aegean islands should not come at the expense of asylum seeker and migrant rights, Human Rights Watch said today. The government has said it will relocate 20,000 asylum seekers from overcrowded reception centers on the islands to the mainland by early 2020,… »

New Research Shows Child Farmworkers Unprepared for Workplace Dangers New research published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine reinforces just how dangerous agricultural work is for children in the United States – and how unprepared most are for what they face in the fields. More … »

Halt Abusive Operations; Justice Needed Croatia should immediately stop summarily returning migrants and asylum seekers to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in some cases with force, Human Rights Watch said today in an open letter to President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic. The president’s recent admission during an interview on Swiss televisionthat Croatian officials… »

Drop Bogus Charges, Free Kavala and Aksakoğlu The trial of 16 people accused of organizing and financing peaceful protests which began in Istanbul’s Gezi Park in 2013 is scheduled to begin on June 24, 2019, Human Rights Watch said today, releasing a short video about the case. The 16 are… »

Government Policy Failings Exacerbate Food Poverty, Violate Right to Food  Government cuts to welfare over the past decade have resulted in tens of thousands of poor families in England left without enough food to eat, a clear breach of the government’s duty to ensure adequate food, Human Rights Watch said… »

Athens Fails to Act on European Court Ruling Against Detaining Migrant Kids By Eva Cossé The European Court of Human Rights recently confirmed what many have long known: that Greece’s practice of locking up unaccompanied migrant and asylum-seeking children in police cells and detention centers leads to serious rights abuses. »

The criminal accusations brought by Greek prosecutors against activists for their efforts to rescue migrants and asylum seekers at sea appear entirely unfounded, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch analyzed court records and other documents in the cases of two of the four activists currently in pretrial detention. »

European leaders should act quickly to help the Aquarius, the last nongovernmental search and rescue ship operating in the Mediterranean, register after its flag was withdrawn by Panamanian authorities, five international rights organizations said today in an open letter. The letter was sent to European leaders on the fifth anniversary… »