By Kenneth Roth | Executive Director | – President Joseph R. Biden 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 RE: US Policy Toward the Middle East Dear President Biden, When you were elected last year, we urged your incoming administration to strive to be a leader in human rights and made a series of recommendations […]
As Saudis, Emirates enjoy Impunity, the UN needs to Create a New Yemen War Crimes Investigation
By Louis Charbonneau | United Nations Director | – ( Human Rights Watch) – Last month, the Netherlands’ ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) had “failed the people of Yemen” by rejecting the renewal of an investigation into alleged human rights abuses and war crimes there. […]
Human Rights? Saudi Arabia put a Child Dissident on Death Row for 10 Years, but has Finally Released him
By Bill Van Esveld | Associate Director, MENA, Children’s Rights Division | – Nearly ten years after Ali al-Nimr was arrested by Saudi authorities in February 2012, he was finally released from prison this week. His mother tweeted a video showing their emotional reunion. But amid the relief and celebration, al-Nimr’s ordeal highlights the cruelty […]
Afghanistan: Taliban Forcibly Evict Minority Shia — Hazaras Targets of Collective Punishment
Human Rights Watch – (New York) – Taliban officials in several provinces across Afghanistan have forcibly displaced residents partly to distribute land to their own supporters, Human Rights Watch said today. Many of these evictions have targeted Hazara Shia communities, as well as people associated with the former government, as a form of collective punishment. […]
Violence has broken out in Beirut Again, but it isn’t Senseless – it is caused by what Lebanon has not Done
By Lama Fakih, Crisis and Conflict Division | – ( Human Rights Watch) – Scenes from Lebanon shocked residents and the world on Thursday when the streets of a residential and commercial district in Beirut descended into a level of violence last seen during the country’s the civil war: Families sheltering in hallways, bathrooms, and […]
Israel/Palestine: Facebook Censors Discussion of Rights Issues
Human Rights Watch – (Washington, DC) – Facebook has wrongfully removed and suppressed content by Palestinians and their supporters, including about human rights abuses carried out in Israel and Palestine during the May 2021 hostilities. The company’s acknowledgment of errors and attempts to correct some of them are insufficient and do not address the scale […]
Expo 2020 Dubai: The Tolerance Narrative of the United Arab Emirates is a Sham
Human Rights Watch – (Beirut, October 1, 2021) – United Arab Emirates authorities are using Expo 2020 Dubai to promote a public image of openness that is at odds with the government’s efforts to prevent scrutiny of its rampant systemic human rights violations, Human Rights Watch said today. Expo 2020 is a prominent global cultural […]
End of Democracy in Tunisia: Unprecedented Confiscation of Power by the Presidency
( Joint Statement of Human Rights Watch et al.) – The promulgation on September 22, of Presidential Decree No. 117 implicitly abrogating the constitutional order in Tunisia is a first step towards authoritarianism. This turning point threatens the human rights and democratic aspirations of the Tunisian people. While recognizing the limits of the current political […]
Tunisia: President’s Repressive Policies Abrogate Rights: Dozens Placed Under Arbitrary House Arrest (HRW)
Human Rights Watch (Tunis) – Arbitrary and politically motivated acts of repression have proliferated in Tunisia since July 25, 2021, when President Kais Saied suspended parliament, Human Rights Watch said today. He also lifted parliamentary immunity, dismissed the head of government, and took control of the office of the public prosecutor. Three parliament members have […]