Section: Human Rights Watch (USA)
Estonia legalizes same-sex marriage
Click to expand Image Annual gay pride parade in Tallinn, Estonia, July 8, 2017. © 2017 yegorovnick/Shutterstock In a significant step toward greater equality, Estonia’s parliament voted Tuesday in favor of new legislation legalizing same-sex marriage, making it the first Baltic country to do so. The bill expands existing partnership...
Ukraine: Support Needed to End Institutionalization of Children
Click to expand Image A child walks down a hallway of a residential institution where he is staying, April 8, 2022 in Lviv, Ukraine. © 2022 Joe Raedle/Getty Images (London) – Officials and business leaders at the Ukraine Recovery Conference, in London on June 21-22, 2023, should ensure that any “Marshal Plan” for the war-ravaged country includes...
Ukraine LGBT Center Broken Into, Vandalized
Click to expand Image The office of Ukrainian LGBT organization Insight was attacked in Lutsk on June 13, 2023. © 2023 Insight A community center that has become a lifeline for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Ukrainians – and hub of humanitarian activity since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – was broken into and...
“Loss After Loss After Loss”: Dam Destruction in Ukraine
Click to expand Image The flooded town of Oleshky, Ukraine, after the June 6 destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam, June 10, 2023. © 2023 AP Photo In the early morning of June 6, the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine was destroyed, flooding dozens of towns and villages on both sides of the Dnipro River. In the ensuing days, Tanya, 61, lost...
Top Russian Human Rights Defender on Trial
Click to expand Image Oleg Orlov protesting Russia’s abusive war in Ukraine at the Red Square in Moscow, April 2022. His poster reads, ‘Our unwillingness to know the truth and our silence turn us into collaborators in crimes.’ © 2022 Memorial On June 8, Moscow’s Golovinsky district court will hold the first hearing in the...
Russia Moves to Ban Trans Health Care
Click to expand Image A Russian transgender woman walks in Saint Petersburg on April 12, 2019. © 2019 Olga Malsteva/AFP via Getty Images Elected officials in Russia have proposed a new law that would ban transgender people from accessing gender affirming health services – including voluntary surgeries – while allowing operations on intersex...
Cluster Munitions: Renew Global Momentum for Ban
Click to expand Image Collected remnants of Russian cluster munition rockets that were used to attack the city of Kharkiv, at a storage area in Kharkiv, Ukraine, December 22, 2022. © 2022 Evgeniy Maloletka / AP (Washington DC, May 29, 2023) – Greater global efforts are needed to ensure that the international treaty banning cluster munitions...
Fresh Details on Russia’s Forcible Transfer of Ukrainian Children
Click to expand Image Kherson Children’s House, an orphanage from which Russian forces allegedly took 49 children in Kherson, Ukraine, November 27, 2022. © 2022 Chris McGrath/Getty Images The Russian authorities’ forced transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children has made headlines, and last week’s meeting between...
In Praise of Competitive UN Elections
Click to expand Image Valentin Rybakov, permanent representative of Belarus to the United Nations, addresses the Security Council meeting on threats to international peace and security, New York, US, March 31, 2023. © 2023 Manuel Elías/UN Photo Next month’s United Nations Security Council elections show why competition is important. UN...
Russia Threatens Ukrainians Who Refuse Russian Citizenship
Click to expand Image A newly built apartment block, part of Russia’s efforts to swiftly reconstruct severely damaged Mariupol, occupied by Russia since May 2022, February 15, 2023. © 2023 Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters On April 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree establishing a simplified procedure for issuing Russian...
