The Malaysian government should show regional leadership in responding to the crisis in Myanmar rather than threatening to forcibly return people who are the targets of the junta’s brutality. New from @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2026/08...

Malaysia: Forcibly Returning Myanmar Refugees Risks Lives

The Malaysian government should reverse plans that would permit the forced return of refugees to Myanmar, where they face persecution and other rights abuses.

hrw.org

Taliban have entrenched one of the worst human rights crises and systematically dismantled the rights of women and girls since taking power five years ago. Afghanistan is also facing a humanitarian crisis with 40% of the population in need of assistance. www.hrw.org/news/2026/08...

Afghanistan: Taliban Assault on Rights Deepens 5 Years on

Afghanistan’s Taliban have entrenched one of the world’s worst human rights crises and systematically dismantled the rights of women and girls since taking power five years ago.

hrw.org

In August 2020, police committed dreadful abuses during a weeks-long operation in Brazil's Amazon. This was not the work of a few “bad apples.” A community leader said that a military police commander watched as officers tortured him. No one has been held accountable. www.hrw.org/news/2026/08...

Terror in the Amazon

A nightmare for Indigenous people and other communities on the Abacaxis riverbanks in the Brazilian Amazon began on August 3, 2020. That day, three private boats arrived in the town of Nova Olinda do ...

hrw.org

The Thai authorities should immediately take effective measures to protect prominent members of parliament Angkhana Neelapaijit and Romadon Panjor and the human rights defender Anchana Heemmina, all of whom have been facing online death threats and attacks. www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...

Thailand: Investigate Online Attacks Against Rights Defenders

The Thai authorities should immediately take effective measures to protect the prominent members of parliament Angkhana Neelapaijit and Romadon Panjor and the human rights defender Anchana Heemmina, a...

hrw.org

On July 29, 2026, a court in Hanoi convicted Hoang Thi Hong Thai & sentenced her to 6 years in prison for comments she made on social media criticizing the Vietnamese government. She was charged with "anti-state propaganda" under article 117 of the Penal Code. www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...

Vietnam: Quash Conviction of Social Media Commentator

The Vietnamese authorities should immediately quash the criminal conviction of a prominent commentator on social media and release her.

hrw.org

New @hrw report documents how Indonesian authorities are persecuting Indigenous leaders & environmental activists through the misuse of criminal laws to intimidate critics youtu.be/6chTE3aRE5k?...

HRW accuses Indonesia of persecuting Indigenous leaders, environmental activists

YouTube video by Al Jazeera English

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Prosecutors in the Philippines should dismiss criminal libel complaints, including those filed by a mining company, against 4 rights advocates in Nueva Vizcaya province. New from @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...

Philippines: Rights Advocates in Mining Areas Face Prosecution

Prosecutors in the Philippines should dismiss criminal libel complaints, including those filed by a mining company, against four rights advocates in Nueva Vizcaya province.

hrw.org

Successive Indonesian governments have sought to silence activists & Indigenous leaders protesting forced displacement, loss of land & deforestation by prosecuting them for baseless crimes. New @hrw.org report on criminalization of environmental defenders 👇 www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...

Indonesia: Environmentalists, Indigenous Leaders Unjustly Prosecuted

Indonesian authorities are pursuing wrongful prosecutions of environmentalists and Indigenous community leaders who protest deforestation and pollution, or defend land rights.

hrw.org

Victims of grave abuses in Bangladesh deserve justice, but the International Crimes Tribunal's flawed procedures risk repeating past abuses & failing to meet international fair trial standards. Authorities should fix this & ensure accountability. New from @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...

Bangladesh: Fair Trial Concerns at Tribunal

Bangladesh authorities are failing to uphold international legal standards at the country’s International Crimes Tribunal.

hrw.org

“The Indonesian government needs to make clear that arbitrarily dispossessing communities of their land is no longer business as usual. The authorities should fairly arbitrate disputes instead of punishing those who protest egregious abuses.” - @elainepearson.bsky.social New report @hrw.org ⤵️

Indonesia: Environmentalists, Indigenous Leaders Unjustly Prosecuted

Indonesian authorities are pursuing wrongful prosecutions of environmentalists and Indigenous community leaders who protest deforestation and pollution, or defend land rights.

hrw.org

NEW REPORT from @hrw.org - Indonesian authorities are wrongfully prosecuting environmental defenders who protest deforestation and pollution as well as Indigenous leaders who defend their land rights. 👇 www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...

Indonesia: Environmentalists, Indigenous Leaders Unjustly Prosecuted

Indonesian authorities are pursuing wrongful prosecutions of environmentalists and Indigenous community leaders who protest deforestation and pollution, or defend land rights.

hrw.org

Recent actions by Nepal's government threaten the independence of the judiciary says @hrw.org @amnesty.org & ICJ. Political pressure has reportedly been applied to alter the composition of the Supreme Court through the forced resignation or impeachment of sitting justices www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...

Nepal: Government Actions Threaten Judicial Independence

Recent actions by the government of Nepal that threaten the independence of the country’s judiciary are a source of serious concern, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Co...

hrw.org

On August 4, 2006, 17 humanitarian aid workers were brutally murdered in Muttur near Trincomalee in Sri Lanka. 20 years later, those responsible still have not been held to account. The massacre was one of many atrocities by both sides during Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...

No Justice 20 Years Since Sri Lanka’s Muttur Massacre

I was in Sri Lanka on August 4, 2006, when 17 humanitarian aid workers were brutally murdered in the embattled town of Muttur, near the coastal city of Trincomalee.

hrw.org

64 year old Can Thi Theu is serving an 8-year prison sentence in Vietnam because she joined protests against land confiscation and environmental degradation in 2016 and publicly supported other human rights activists and political prisoners languishing behind bars. www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...

Vietnam Should Release Ailing Political Prisoners

Can Thi Theu, 64, is serving an eight-year prison sentence at Prison No. 5 in Vietnam’s Thanh Hoa province because she joined protests against land confiscation and environmental degradation in 2016 a...

hrw.org

US Officials Sound Alarm on Haiti While Preparing to Deport Haitians There www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...

US Officials Sound Alarm on Haiti While Preparing to Deport Haitians There

Fresh from a trip to Haiti, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz offered the UN Security Council on July 20 a harrowing account of the “kill zone” he said Port-au-Prince has become.

hrw.org

Prosecutors in the Philippines should dismiss criminal libel complaints, including those filed by a mining company, against 4 rights advocates in Nueva Vizcaya province. New from @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...

Philippines: Rights Advocates in Mining Areas Face Prosecution

Prosecutors in the Philippines should dismiss criminal libel complaints, including those filed by a mining company, against four rights advocates in Nueva Vizcaya province.

hrw.org

India’s youth wanted to march peacefully to parliament to seek accountability from their elected leaders. Instead, the police met them with batons, tear gas, and internet shutdowns. New from @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...

India: Excessive Force Used Against Student Protesters

Indian security forces used tear gas and batons to suppress largely peaceful student and youth protests in New Delhi on July 20, 2026.

hrw.org

On July 20, tens of thousands of protesters attempted to march to India's parliament to demand the resignation of the education minister. During these protests, scores of people were injured and many were detained. Authorities should investigate alleged use of unlawful and excessive force.

On June 29, Pakistani airstrikes in 3 provinces in eastern Afghanistan killed 28+ civilians and wounded 49+, according to UNAMA. Pakistani authorities assert that they were targeting militants but provided no detail about the strike. www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...

Pakistani Strikes in Afghanistan Raise Civilian Casualty Concerns

On June 29, Pakistani airstrikes in three provinces in eastern Afghanistan killed at least 28 civilians and wounded at least 49, including among them women and children.

hrw.org

Philippine police and their agents carry out extrajudicial killings with impunity as part of the government’s anti-drug campaign, Human Rights Watch said today, 10 years to the day after then-President Rodrigo Duterte began his vicious “war on drugs.” New from @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2026/06...

Philippines: ‘Drug War’ Abuses Persist 10 Years On

Philippine police and their agents carry out extrajudicial killings with impunity as part of the government’s anti-drug campaign.

hrw.org

The World Bank's IFC Board’s decision to reject the findings of its own ombudsman is a blow for accountability in Cambodia’s microfinance sector & for millions of indebted microfinance borrowers in Cambodia. Read @hrw.org's reaction to the IFC statement here 👇 www.hrw.org/news/2026/06...

Cambodia: World Bank’s IFC Rejects Microfinance Harm Findings

The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation rejected its ombudsman’s findings about harm related to investments in Cambodia’s microfinance sector, failing a critical test of accountability.

hrw.org

New @hrw research - how does the Cambodian government silence activists & opposition members? By threatening and jailing them with absurd charges & then coercing & publicizing confessions to secure their release, forcing them to join the ruling CPP. www.hrw.org/news/2026/06...

Cambodia: Coerced Confessions Silence Activists, Opposition

Cambodia’s government is systematically coercing and publicizing confessions from detained political opposition members and activists to undermine their political standing.

hrw.org

Quote from me responding to news in Indonesia and light sentences handed down to 4 soldiers accused of an acid attack on human rights defender - this is a mockery of justice. 👇https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/military-court-jails-four-indonesian-soldiers-over-acid-attack-on-activist

This week marks 37 years since the Tiananmen massacre. Chinese authorities strictly censor anything related to Tiananmen Square or June 4 & since 2020, censorship in Hong Kong on Tiananmen has increasingly resembled the strict controls long imposed in mainland China. www.hrw.org/news/2026/06...

China: No Justice for Tiananmen Massacre 37 Years On

The Chinese government is intensifying efforts to erase the memory of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre while strengthening social control throughout the country.

hrw.org

Quote from me re pardoning on Kem Sokha in Cambodia: “Hun Sen’s decision to pardon Kem Sokha after more than eight years in arbitrary detention partially reverses a grievous injustice, but it is deplorable that Sokha remains barred from participating in politics or leaving the country."

The Indonesian government shouldn't determine who is a human rights defender. That undermines the autonomy needed to objectively monitor the government's conduct. www.hrw.org/news/2026/05...

Indonesia: Plan to Vet Human Rights Defenders

An Indonesian official announced on April 30, 2026, that the government would seek to amend the country’s 1999 Human Rights Law to allow authorities to determine who is a recognized human rights defen...

hrw.org

Details of the massacre in Rakhine State only began emerging more than a year later, after some survivors fled to Bangladesh and Malaysia. HRW interviewed several dozen witnesses and survivors, corroborated their accounts by satellite imagery, and analyzed and verified photographs and videos.

The 56-page report documents the May 2, 2024 attack, in which Arakan Army fighters deliberately fired on unarmed villagers who were seeking safety after the armed group advanced on two Myanmar military bases in the vicinity.

Skeletons and Skulls Scattered Everywhere. Two years after the Arakan Army killed and wounded 100s of Rohingya Muslims and burned down their village in Myanmar, the survivors remain unable to return home, with many effectively detained. New report @hrw.org⤵️ www.hrw.org/report/2026/...

New @hrw.org report documents how the Arakan Army committed war crimes killing hundreds of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine State & burning down their village, the survivors are still denied justice & cannot return to their homes. Read more here 👇 www.hrw.org/news/2026/05...

Myanmar: No Redress for Rohingya Muslims in Arakan Army Massacre

Two years after the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group, killed and wounded hundreds of Rohingya Muslims and burned down their village in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, the survivors remain unable to return ...

hrw.org