Human Rights Watch

10/16/2026

Formula One’s decision this week to bring a Grand Prix to Rwanda in the early 2030s could be an important moment for Africa.

But the 10-year agreement between Formula One and Rwanda also brings significant human rights risks.

Formula One’s decision this week to bring a Grand Prix to Rwanda in the early 2030s could be an important moment for Africa. But agreement between Formula One and Rwanda also brings significant human rights risks.

10/14/2026

A Saudi court has sentenced a Sri Lankan migrant worker to death over a Facebook comment that was deemed blasphemous.

Saudi authorities should reverse the judgment and release him immediately. https://bit.ly/4jWqYbh

Update: Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court has set aside the death sentence handed to Anojan Sivarasa.

Learn more: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6x2v0vn7r1do

10/14/2026

A significant step forward for LGBT rights in Hungary: Parliament has rolled back key parts of the discriminatory 2021 law that restricted how LGBT people could be portrayed or discussed in content accessible to children.

Now, the government should remove the discriminatory provisions that remain.

10/14/2026

Police in Türkiye carried out a raid on the widely watched, independent news channel Halk TV on October 14.

The seizure of the channel is part of a wider effort by the government to restrict Turkish citizens’ access to independent news sources.

Police carried out a dawn raid on the widely watched, independent news channel Halk TV on October 14, signaling its takeover by a government-appointed administrator who promptly ordered the station to end its live broadcast.

10/14/2026

“So if someone says we will break [the ICC] down brick by brick, [...] we will defend it brick by brick."

While speaking with Human Rights Watch in Amsterdam, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Rob Jetten discussed defending the International Criminal Court at a time when the institution is under attack.

10/14/2026

High schoolers across France have taken to the streets to protest the government’s continued under-investment in their education.

Police use of force in response to the protests has resulted in serious injuries to children, including a 15-year-old boy who lost a hand to an explosive police stun gr***de.

Images from ongoing student protests in France of heavily armed riot police using tear gas, stun gr***des, batons, rubber bullets, and rough restraint techniques on children have sparked national and international concern.

10/14/2026

Excessive force. Beatings. Arbitrary detentions. Harassment of journalists.

Indian authorities have not let up their assault on peaceful protesters, who are denouncing a voter list revision process that deleted over 130 million names.

The Indian government should uphold the right to peaceful protest and free all those wrongfully detained.

10/13/2026

HRW’s Global Program Director Lama Fakih knew attacks would likely reach Beirut as tensions escalated in the US/Israeli war with Iran. But she never thought they would hit so close to home.

In a new episode of our Rights & Wrongs podcast, Lama discusses the loss of her home and facing human rights abuses following years of reporting on them.

🔉: https://bit.ly/3VzSMbF

10/13/2026

Next month, Türkiye will host , the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference.

Ahead of the conference, authorities in Türkiye are arbitrarily arresting and prosecuting activists and others involved in environmental protests.

New from HRW: https://bit.ly/4ykcSnN

10/13/2026

Senegal’s intensifying crackdown on LGBT people is violating their rights and causing increasing fear and stigma.

The crackdown calls into question Senegal’s compliance with its own laws and international law, as well as the Olympic charter, ahead of hosting the Youth Olympic Games.

Senegal’s growing crackdown on Le***an, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) people is violating their rights, causing increasing fear and stigma, and should be ended immediately. Mass arrests forced HIV testing and barriers to legal representation appear to be part of an increase in punitive gov...