Human Rights Watch on Friday warned of the dangerously deteriorating economic state in Afghanistan. Millions of citizens are at risk of severe hunger due to a sharp decline in international aid and restrictive Taliban policies that target women and hinder humanitarian access. Statistics from the United Nations indicate that 46 percent of Afghanistan’s citizens will [...]

The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) and Policing-Free Schools Canada sent a joint letter to the British Columbia Minister of Education and Child Care, Minister or Public Safety and Solicitor General, calling for an end all police-in-school programming in the province.  According to BCCLA policy director Meghan McDermott: Police presence in schools is counter-productive [...]

A company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has hired and transported hundreds of Colombian private military contractors to Sudan to fight for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released on Monday. The recruitment of Colombian private military contractors further demonstrates the UAE’s role in providing support to [...]

Amnesty International on Tuesday criticized the move by Georgian authorities to summon human rights activist Ucha Nanuashvili for questioning, following his contribution to a report by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In a press release, the rights group described the summoning as “a witch-hunt” designed to deter and suppress those who [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Monday called on the newly elected Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to use its recent electoral success as an opportunity to commit to enacting laws and policies that will provide lasting human rights protections. Following Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s election victory last month, HRW and eight other human rights groups wrote a [...]

In a statement given Monday, a UN special rapporteur warned that despite global efforts, children continue to face a serious risk of sale, sexual exploitation, and sexual abuse.  In her report, Special Rapporteur Mama Fatima Singhateh stated that child sexual exploitation is rapidly evolving amid new digital technologies and global crises. Rates of technologically-driven sexual abuse [...]

In a statement Tuesday, Human Right Watch (HRW) called on South Africa to adequately protect the country’s whistleblowers, and pressured authorities to conduct effective and impartial investigations to properly provide justice for the victims of retaliation and their families. In his State of the Nation Address on February 12, South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa stated, [...]

In a statement Friday, at the conclusion of her visit to Ireland, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment, Astrid Peuntes Riaño, said Ireland should consider human rights in all decisions to protect the environment. She stated that “advances in environmental protections are evident, though these may be lost [...]

UN experts released a statement on Monday expressing concern over historic illegal intercountry child adoptions in Guatemala and allegations that Attorney General María Consuelo Porras had handled the transfer of at least 80 Indigenous children who were eventually sent abroad. Experts decried the current lack of transparency and investigatory process, stating: We are particularly troubled that [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday urged the Congress of Mexico City to “seriously consider” a proposal submitted by a disability rights coalition during its new session. The proposal by Cuidados Sí; Apoyos También (Caution Yes; Supports Too) calls on lawmakers to adopt a rights-based framework grounded on “autonomy, participation, and independent living for care [...]