Section: Human Rights Watch (USA)
US-Russia Engagement Should Address Rights Abuses
Click to expand Image U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin shake hands as they meet in Helsinki, Finland July 16, 2018. © 2018 Reuters (Washington, DC, March 18, 2025) – The Trump administration’s engagement with Russian President Vladimir Putin should prioritize the release of detained Ukrainian civilians...
South Africa: Protect Civilians from Use of Explosive Weapons
Click to expand Image A damaged apartment building following an overnight Israeli strike on Deir al-Balah, Gaza, January 8, 2025. © 2025 Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo (Johannesburg, March 3, 2025) – South Africa and other countries that have not yet done so should endorse a widely adopted political commitment aimed at protecting civilians from the...
Germany’s Coalition Talks Should Focus on Rights
Click to expand Image Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), speaks during a news conference at the headquarters of the CDU party in Berlin, Germany, February 24, 2025. © 2025 Martin Meissner/AP Photo Sunday’s federal elections in Germany were held at a time when Germany’s support for human rights both at home...
What Policymakers Should Prioritize on Ukraine
Click to expand Image A woman collects wood for heating from a destroyed school where Russian forces were based in Izium, Ukraine, September 19, 2022. © 2022 Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo Russia’s war against Ukraine will soon enter its fourth year. Since February 2022, violations of the laws of war have led to needless civilian death,...
Russia: Year After Navalny’s Death, Supporters Targeted
(Berlin, February 20, 2025) – Dozens of arrests on the first anniversary of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s death are just the tip of the iceberg in the Kremlin’s continued crackdown on his supporters, Human Rights Watch said today.On February 16, 2025, Russian law enforcement officers detained at least 42 people at...
World Responds to Trump’s Targeting of International Criminal Court
Click to expand Image President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington, DC, February 10, 2025. © 2025 Alex Brandon/AP Photo US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on February 6 authorizing sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) officials and others supporting the court’s...
UN Needs Backup Plan to Keep Saving Lives
Click to expand Image Palestinians receive humanitarian aid from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Khan Younis, Gaza, February 5, 2025. © 2025 Abed Rahim Khatib/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Photo The United Nations leadership and its member countries need a backup plan to ensure lifesaving UN...
US: Trump Authorizes International Criminal Court Sanctions
Click to expand Image The International Criminal Court (ICC) is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, November 7, 2019. © 2019 AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File (Washington, DC) – US government sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC) would undermine international accountability for the worst crimes and deprive victims around the globe of...
Pause in US Funding Puts Ukraine Programs at Risk
Click to expand Image Ukrainian rescuers stand next to the new equipment, which was provided by USAID, in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 17, 2023. © 2023 Alina Smutko/Reuters US President Donald Trump’s executive order to pause all United States foreign development assistance and the subsequent stop-work and stop-spending directives from Secretary of...
New Campaign Focuses on Russia-Ukraine Detainees
Click to expand Image 8 Arbitrary arrests, torture, enforced disappearances, summary executions, and cases of sexual violence by Russian occupation forces, including in the Chernihiv, Kharkivska, Kherson, and Kyiv regions. For example, during the occupation of Kherson and Zaporizka regions, Russian forces tortured people to extract information,...