Lebanese Armed Forces have summarily deported thousands of Syrians, including unaccompanied children, back to Syria between April and May 2023. Syrians in Lebanon are living in constant fear that they could be picked up and sent back to nightmarish conditions, regardless of their refugee status. Lebanese authorities should enable Syrians to regularize their status in […]
Iran: New Charges against Journalists
Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – Iranian authorities have brought vague “propaganda” and “national security” charges against three journalists, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should drop the charges, which stem from the journalists’ reporting and writing on social media, and end the ongoing harassment, prosecution, and punishment of those exercising their rights to […]
Unveiling Resistance: The Struggle for Women’s Rights in Iran
Tara Sepehri Far Iran and Kuwait Senior Researcher, Middle East and North Africa Division @sepehrifar ( Human Rights Watch ) – The sweeping public protests that erupted across Iran in response to the death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini in custody of Iran’s morality police last September have been characterized by many observers as the first […]
Put People’s Rights first in Syria Sanctions
Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – The United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union should urgently renew the earthquake-related humanitarian exemptions they introduced to their Syria sanctions’ regimes in February 2023 to more effectively facilitate aid to the Syrian people, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch issued a question-and-answer document examining […]
Palestinian Rights Groups Face Existential Threat: Human Rights Watch Oral Statement
53rd Session UN Human Rights Council Item 2 – Interactive Dialogue with the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and in Israel Less than a year ago, Israeli authorities, with Yair Lapid as prime minister, raided the offices of and issued closure orders against seven prominent Palestinian civil […]
Governments at Bonn Climate Talks Should Press United Arab Emirates on Rights
Joe Stork Deputy Director, Middle East and North Africa Division (Human Rights Watch ) – Ahmed Mansoor, the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) best-known human rights defender, has been arbitrarily imprisoned, in isolation, since security forces raided his home just before midnight on March 20, 2017. Local media reported he was arrested and convicted for publishing […]
Palestinian Forum Highlights Threats of Autonomous Weapons
Susan Aboeid Associate, Arms Division @aboeidsusan ( Human Rights Watch) – In late May, I addressed a panel on the militarization of digital spaces – specifically on how Israeli authorities use surveillance technologies to deepen systemic discrimination against Palestinians. I warned that the use of autonomy in weapons systems was a dangerous part […]
Saudi Arabia Executes Two Shia Bahrainis on Terrorism Charges in “Grossly Unfair” Trial
By Leila Saad | – ( Human Rights Watch ) – Two Bahraini Shi’a men have been executed in Saudi Arabia following what Amnesty International described as a “grossly unfair trial” on terrorism-related charges. Jaafar Sultan and Sadeq Thamer were arrested in May 2015 and held incommunicado for more than three months, according to Amnesty International. […]
75 Years Later, Israel Blocking Palestinian Refugees’ Return
Omar Shakir Israel and Palestine Director, Middle East and North Africa Division @OmarSShakir From the morgues of Cairo to the cells of Guantanamo, I’ve seen a lot of anguish and cruelty in my human rights work over the years. But often more than blood spilled, it’s the lives stunted, solely because of a person’s […]
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