Human Rights Watch

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Aquarius, the last nongovernmental search and rescue ship operating in the Mediterranean, register after its flag was withdrawn by Panamanian authorities, five international rights organizations said today in an open letter.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… »

A humanitarian worker’s defamation conviction on September 25, 2018, for an ironic tweet represents a dangerous escalation in official harassment of groups providing crucial aid to migrants, Human Rights Watch said today. It is the first conviction of its kind in France. A court in Boulogne-sur-Mer, northern France, found … »

The Greek government’s move on April 20, 2018, overturning a binding court ruling ordering it to end its abusive policy of trapping asylum seekers on Greece’s islands raises rule of law concerns, 21 human rights and humanitarian organizations said today. Rather than carrying out the April 17 ruling by the… »

Others should reconsider joining treaty. Sri Lanka joined the international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines on December 13, 2017, Human Rights Watch said today. The action is especially significant because Sri Lanka used antipersonnel mines in the past and has since undertaken an extensive, ongoing mine clearance effort. “Sri Lanka’s… »

The decision to prosecute scores of academics for signing a January 2016 petition criticizing the Turkish government’s actions in southeastern Turkey seriously violates the right to free speech and academic freedom, Human Rights Watch said today. The charges are also a misuse of terrorism laws. The trials of academics start… »

Eleven human rights defenders go on trial in Istanbul on October 25, 2017, facing terrorism charges despite the absence of any credible evidence of criminal wrongdoing, Human Rights Watch said today. The prosecution should ask for the defendants to be acquitted of all charges, including membership in terrorist organizations and… »

Joint NGO letter to Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council Excellency, We, the undersigned nongovernmental organizations, urge you to support the creation of an independent international investigation into violations and abuses of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in Yemen since the… »

Thousands more refugees and migrants could be at risk of dying at sea if a flawed code of conduct for nongovernmental groups conducting search and rescue in the central Mediterranean is put into practice, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today after reviewing a leaked draft of the document. »

Top EU Official Should Use Visit to Press Budapest to Comply with International Law By Lydia Gall Hungary’s new asylum law allowing for the blanket detention of asylum seekers, including some children, will come into force on March 28. It’s the latest of Hungary’s abusive laws and policies… »