Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – The victory of Ebrahim Raeesi, Iran’s judiciary chief, on June 19, 2021, in a presidential election that was neither free nor fair raises serious concerns about human rights and accountability in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. Raeesi has had a long career in the country’s judiciary and […]
With Little Hope for Change through the Ballot Box, Iranian Civil Society Debates Strategy
By Tara Sepehri Far | Iran Researcher | – ( Human Rights Watch) – Twenty days before Iran’s presidential election, the Guardian Council, which vets the candidates, sent shock waves through the political elite and public by disqualifying two prominent figures: the former speaker of parliament, Ali Larijani, and the current vice president, Eshagh Jahangiri. […]
Dear UN Human Rights Council: Commission of Inquiry needed on Israel/Palestine to advance accountability, address root causes
HRW statement to Human Rights Council Special Session Human Rights Watch – (Geneva, May 27, 2021) Once again, this Council gathers to address the latest cycle of violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. We could go through the statistics – hundreds of Palestinians, including dozens of children, killed in Israeli airstrikes; at least […]
Gaza Hostilities Underscore Role of Int’l Criminal Court
By Balkees Jarrah | – Associate Director, International Justice Program | – ( Human Rights Watch ) – Israeli forces have launched relentless airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, while Hamas and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza have fired rockets at Israeli population centers. At least 227 people, including 64 children have been killed in Gaza, […]
Danger of Excessive Force by Israeli Security against Israelis of Palestinian Heritage in Mixed Cities
( Human Rights Watch ) – (New York) – Amid escalating violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel visited the central Israel mixed Palestinian-Jewish city of Lod on May 13, 2021, after media reported violence there by vigilante groups, both Jewish groups including West Bank settlers and groups […]
Jerusalem to Gaza, Israeli Authorities’ Escalation Highlights Reality of Apartheid, Persecution for Millions of Palestinians
By Omar Shakir | Israel and Palestine Director | – ( Human Rights Watch) – Forcible takeovers of homes, brutal suppression of demonstrators, places of worship under assault, identity-based communal violence, indiscriminate rocket attacks, children killed in strikes: what to make of the dizzying headlines out of Israel and Palestine in recent days? Without doubt, […]
Killing Schoolgirls in Afghanistan: Fundamentalist Attackers Target Girls Leaving Kabul High School
By Heather Barr | Interim Co-Director, Women’s Rights Division | – ( Human Rights Watch) – Scenes from Sayed ul-Shuhada High School in Kabul, Afghanistan, where as many as 85 people including many schoolgirls were killed in an attack this weekend, should break anyone’s heart. They certainly broke mine. In 2017 a filmmaker and I […]
From Myanmar to Israel, what are the Offenses of ‘Apartheid’ and ‘Crimes Against Humanity?’ and How can we Make sure they are Prosecuted?
By Clive Baldwin | Senior Legal Adviser | – ( Human Rights Watch) – The use of the word ‘apartheid’ in its legal meaning can sometimes, but not always, generate considerable power and attention. The related crime against humanity of persecution never seems to attract the same interest. Our finding in 2020 that the Myanmar […]
US Resuming Arms Sales to United Arab Emirates is Disastrous, Given its Wars on Yemen, Libya
By Afrah Nasser | – Yemen Researcher, Middle East and North Africa Division | – ( Human Rights Watch) – United States President Joe Biden called in early February for “ending all American support for offensive operations in Yemen, including relevant arms sales.” At the time, I, like many human rights advocates who have been […]
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