Search Results for: HRW

The Council of Europe’s Venice Commission released an opinion Tuesday criticizing Hungary’s recent sovereignty protection law as a potential threat to free discourse. In light of its analysis, the Venice Commission ultimately recommended that the law be repealed. The opinion centers around Hungary’s Act LXXXVIII on the Protection of National Sovereignty, adopted in December 2023. [...]

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SOS MEDITERRANEE, an international maritime and humanitarian organization, announced on Friday that its affiliated humanitarian ship Ocean Viking rescued 135 people, including a pregnant women and 8 children, from an overcrowded double-decker boat in the Maltese search and rescue region. It stated that the ship was compelled to navigate to a distant port at Ancona, [...]

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Civil society is facing unprecedented challenges globally due to escalating conflicts and crises. In 2023, groups that were pivotal in advocating for human rights, offering humanitarian aid and giving a voice to the marginalized encountered increasing difficulties. Their work has become more challenging due to growing repression and conflict, yet they remain beacons of hope [...]

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The UN Syria Commission of Inquiry released a report Monday concerning the most severe escalation of violence in the country since 2020. Explosions during a military academy graduation ceremony in Homs triggered the escalation, which began in October, leading to a series of indiscriminate attacks by Syrian and Russian forces on opposition-held areas. The commission [...]

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Human Rights Watch urged President Nana Akufo-Addo on Tuesday to “unequivocally reject” The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021 and refuse to sign it. The bill was passed last month by the parliament making it illegal to identify as LGBTQ+ in Ghana.  Under the passed bill, anyone identifying as LGBTQ+ [...]

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US President Joe Biden signed an executive order Monday, in conjunction with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control’s announcement of sanctions against Zimbabwe, that terminated the 2005 national emergency declared in respect to Zimbabwe. Those sanctioned include Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa, his wife and First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa, and other government officials.  In the [...]

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Human Rights Watch (HRW) raised concerns Tuesday over new Egyptian laws which they say will “entrench military power over civilian life.” The new law allows some police and civilian judiciary functions to be taken over by the military. It also further expands the use of military courts to prosecute civilians. Law No.3 requires the armed [...]

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Türkiye bears responsibility for the human rights abuses and potential war crimes committed by Turkish and proxy forces in Turkish-occupied northern Syria, according to a report released Thursday by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The 74-page report documents various abuses, including abductions, sexual violence and torture, by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) and Military Police. “Ongoing [...]

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