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Rohingya Facing Risks Everywhere, at All Times
Dawood is 19 years old and living in a crowded Rohingya refugee settlement in Bangladesh. He says his life is shattered.
In February 2024, the Myanmar military conscripted Dawood and other Rohingya men and boys to fight the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group, in Rakhine State. They received little or no training, and dozens were killed or injured. Dawood spent a month in the hospital before being redeployed to the front lines. In May, with his unit besieged, he deserted, returning to his home village in Buthidaung township.
Home provided no sanctuary from the fighting. Neither the military nor the Arakan Army cared much for protecting Rohingya civilians, and before long, Dawood and other villagers were on the move again, this time fleeing shelling and gunfire. Local observers estimate that hundreds are dead or missing. The Arakan Army corralled the survivors and detained about 80 men, including Dawood, whom they accused of being former Myanmar soldiers. He was able to escape, hiding in the forest before making the long and perilous journey to Bangladesh.
Bangladesh was already home to a million Rohingya refugees who had fled Myanmar military atrocities, when Dawood and tens of thousands of others started arriving. The Bangladesh government said it was unable to support these new arrivals. “We are working very hard to make sure that we can repatriate those people,” Muhammad Yunus, head of the interim government said recently, adding that US government funding cuts had depleted humanitarian assistance.
United Nations rights experts have been clear that Rohingya cannot safely return to Myanmar. The ongoing fighting is not their only threat, as the community remains at risk of ethnic persecution by both the Myanmar military, responsible for crimes against humanity and acts of genocide against the Rohingya, and the abusive Arakan Army, which now controls most of Rakhine State.
In September, the UN will convene to discuss the future of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar. But later this month, countries at the UN Human Rights Council will consider its annual resolution that highlights the dire situation facing the Rohingya.
This resolution is a crucial opportunity for states to urge host countries to end any pushbacks and coerced returns. They should call for Myanmar’s junta to cease its abuses and permit humanitarian aid. Countries should strengthen and expand existing sanctions, particularly on arms transfers, jet fuel, and oil and gas revenues. Most crucially, countries should work to deliver justice and reparations for the abuses that Dawood, and refugees like him, have endured.
Zimbabwe Court Strikes Down Provisions of Repressive Law
On Wednesday, a High Court in Zimbabwe struck down provisions of the country’s Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act, commonly referred to as the “Patriotic Act,” as unconstitutional.
The Patriotic Act, which President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed into law in July 2023, contains overly broad provisions that make the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association a criminal offense.
The act created the crime of “willfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe,” which effectively criminalizes Zimbabwean civil society groups and human rights defenders who criticize the government at international forums and prohibits them from seeking external avenues for accountability for rights violations.
In its ruling, the court stated that the drastic penalties prescribed under section 22A(3) of the act, which include life imprisonment, the death penalty, termination of citizenship, and suspensions from voting and holding public office, infringed on various sections of the Zimbabwean Constitution.
Media Alliance of Zimbabwe and Zenzele Ndebele, a private citizen, who brought the case before the court, argued that section 22A(3) and other provisions had high potential for abuse and misuse. They contended that the sections had the effect of silencing dissenting voices and were therefore unfair, unnecessary, and unreasonable in a democratic society. They also said that the law did not sufficiently define what constituted “willfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe.”
When President Mnangagwa signed the bill into law, domestic and international human rights and civil society organizations, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, and Human Rights Watch, expressed concern that the law would further threaten and erode freedoms of expression and association in the country. Several other groups signed a statement calling for the repeal of the law, stating that it carried provisions “not necessary or justifiable in a democratic society.”
While striking down sections of the law as unconstitutional is a positive step, the Zimbabwe government should repeal the draconian Patriotic Act altogether, as it contains overly broad and vaguely defined provisions, such as those criminalizing participation in meetings “with the intention of promoting calls for economic sanctions against the country.” Such provisions amount to serious violations of the fundamental human rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association protected under international human rights law.
Journalists in Chad Entitled to Pretrial Release
Last week marked three months since Olivier Monodji, editor of Le Pays and a correspondent for Radio France Internationale, and Mahamat Saleh Alhissein, a reporter with state broadcaster Télé Tchad, were arrested in Chad. There are other co-accused in their case. Prosecutors alleged the journalists colluded with the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary group present in Central Africa and the Sahel, and charged them with espionage, conspiracy, and endangering state security.
Part of the evidence in the case are documents that were allegedly translated from French to Arabic by Alhissein and an article by Monodji in Le Pays on the opening of a Russian cultural center.
The journalists appear to have been targeted for their perceived links to the Wagner Group, whose dealings in Chad are a sensitive topic. In 2023, media reported evidence of a plot by the mercenary group against the Chadian government. The group is actively supporting various armed groups in nearly all the surrounding countries, and Human Rights Watch has reported on how Russians thought to be from the Wagner Group have been instrumental in the authoritarian crackdown in the neighboring Central African Republic.
This week, a judge who has been investigating the case for two months reclassified the charges under article 95 of Chad’s Penal Code, which relates to sharing intelligence with agents of a foreign power and carries a sentence of one to five years’ imprisonment, and referred the accused for trial. Their detention was extended however, despite the dismissal of the more serious conspiracy and security charges. Their continued detention goes against international human rights law, which provides that defendants in general should not be held in pretrial detention, and underscores a disturbing trend toward repression.
In the run-up to the 2024 elections, authorities targeted media houses, civil society, and opposition voices. Authorities have revoked the licenses of media outlets, banned reporting on political rallies, shut down the internet, suspended media platforms, and made legal threats to silence dissent. Succès Masra, the former prime minister and leader of Chad’s main opposition party, has been detained for nearly one month. He is accused of inciting hatred and violence through social media posts.
Chad has been especially volatile since the death of former President Idriss Déby Itno, father of current President Mahamat Idriss Déby, in 2021, which ushered in a transitional period marked by violence, unrest, and bloodshed. Just months before the 2024 elections, a main political opponent was killed during an attack in N’Djamena, Chad’s capital.
However, none of this context justifies the prolonged detention of the journalists, which would require individualized evidence of necessity and lawful purpose. The Chadian government should uphold its commitment to due process by ensuring the men are released and guaranteed a fair trial.
G7 Should Prioritize Action to End Israeli Atrocities
(Ottawa) – G7 leaders should commit to taking concrete actions to halt Israeli atrocities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory at their upcoming summit, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to G7 leaders.
Leaders of the G7 will be gathering in Kananaskis, Alberta from June 15-17, 2025, for the Leaders’ Summit hosted by Canada. The summit takes place in the context of ongoing hostilities and Israel’s unlawful blockade of Gaza, where the world’s foremost experts on food security warn that there’s a high risk of imminent famine for the entire civilian population.
“The double standards of many G7 nations have, over many months, effectively given Israel a green light to escalate its destruction of Gaza and the killing, starvation, and forced displacement of its people,” said Bruno Stagno, chief advocacy officer at Human Rights Watch. “While some states have taken important steps to review bilateral agreements and sanction Israeli officials, much more significant action is needed to stop Israeli authorities from destroying the rest of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure and ethnically cleansing the entire area.”
Human Rights Watch has documented grave abuses by Israeli authorities and forces during the hostilities in Gaza and in the region, from war crimes, to ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, including extermination and forcible displacement, and acts of genocide. Human Rights Watch has also documented Israeli authorities’ crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians, and war crimes and crimes against humanity by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups during and after the October 7 attacks.
Israeli authorities have also flouted three binding orders by the International Court of Justice to take steps to prevent genocide in a case brought by South Africa alleging that Israel is violating the Genocide Convention of 1948.
International Criminal Court (ICC) judges issued warrants of arrest for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024 for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, as well as for Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (known as Mohammed Deif), commander-in-chief of the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing.
On May 30, the United Nations described Gaza as “one of the most obstructed aid operations, not only in the world today, but in recent history” and “the hungriest place on Earth.” In the West Bank, Israeli forces have ratcheted up their repression, displacing tens of thousands of Palestinians in the northern West Bank at a scale not seen there since 1967. Recent sanctions by states including Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia against Israeli officials for their facilitation of settler violence represents an important step, but much more is needed.
In the letter addressed to G7 leaders, Human Rights Watch urged governments to use the summit as an opportunity to focus on concrete, time-bound measures to ensure their enforcement and to end decades of impunity for egregious violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. These measures include adopting further targeted sanctions against Israeli officials responsible for serious abuses; suspending all arms transfers to Israel; banning all trade and business with Israel’s illegal settlements; review and consider suspending bilateral agreements with Israel; and unequivocally supporting the ICC.
“The G7 Summit risks becoming an exercise in empty rhetoric, unless leaders attending commit to concrete actions to stop Israel’s atrocity crimes and hold those responsible to account,” said Stagno.
Japan Acts to Protect Athletes from Abuse
Four years after hosting the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Japan is finally taking action to protect athletes from abuse in sport. This month, the Japanese National Diet passed a revision to the Basic Act on Sport (2011), requiring the national and local governments to adopt measures against any form of physical or sexual abuse, and against verbal and other abuse when committed by coaches and others in positions of power.
Human Rights Watch released a report in 2020 documenting Japan’s use of corporal punishment in sport, exposing systemic child abuse in sports training from school level up to elite institutions. We called for a ban on all forms of abuse against child athletes in organized sport. Soon after, we launched #AthletesAgainstAbuse with partner organizations, an international campaign to stop abuse in sports.
These reforms remain desperately needed. This April, a high school baseball coach was punished for slapping players. And in February, a junior high school kendo coach was disciplined for hitting students with a shinai (kendo stick) and refusing to allow an ill student to drink water during summer practice.
Years of courageous leadership from Japanese athletes, alongside domestic and international pressure, have helped drive the momentum for legal reform.
In August 2020, the International Olympic Committee told the Japanese Olympic Committee to end abuse and harassment in Japanese sports. In April 2023, six major Japanese sport’s governing bodies launched the “No! Sports Harassment” campaign to raise awareness about the issue.
Other notable interventions include the Japan Sports Agency (JSA), a national agency responsible for promoting sports in Japan publishing a list of abuse-reporting hotlines for each sport organization, and the Japan Sport Association, a national umbrella organization for sport, introducing a disciplinary code for coaches. The JSA also now plans to establish guidelines for disciplinary actions against external school coaches.
The Basic Act on Sport amendment could mark a turning point in ending the tradition of using physical violence as a coaching technique. But Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba should not stop there. To achieve the goal of addressing abuse in sports, he should also establish an independent body tasked solely with reporting and addressing child abuse in sport. This will be an invaluable addition if Japan wants to get serious about ending the abuse of its athletes.
ILO Commits to International Standards on Gig Work
(Geneva) – The agreement by the International Labour Organization (ILO) on June 13, 2025, to develop binding global standards on decent work in the “platform economy,” or gig work, is a positive breakthrough, Human Rights Watch said today. A majority of ILO member states and the workers’ delegates backed the decision at the International Labour Conference, an annual meeting that sets international labor standards and agreements on ILO policy. Employer delegates and some government delegates, including from Switzerland, India, and the United States, opposed the move.
“It’s a major win that the ILO is advancing binding standards for platform work,” said Lena Simet, senior economic justice researcher and advocate at Human Rights Watch. “Gig workers long have been denied their rights. Global minimum standards could be a game changer, but only if they cover all workers and adequately address key issues like low and unpredictable pay, widespread misclassification, and opaque algorithms that control workers without accountability.”
Weak national laws allow companies to misclassify platform workers as self-employed or independent contractors, despite the nature of their work and the degree of control exercised by companies often meeting the criteria for employee status. This leaves gig workers with limited, if any, labor protections.
Negotiations, which took place between June 2 and 12, and were based on a report prepared by the ILO focused on types and scope of standards as well as how to define both these workers and their companies. The negotiations revealed deep divisions on key elements that will ultimately determine the strength and impact of the standards, which are expected to take the form of a binding treaty and accompanying guidance.
A joint statement by 33 organizations—including Human Rights Watch, Privacy International, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and Global Social Justice—outlines crucial areas the standards should cover.
The definitions of what constitutes a digital labor platform and who qualifies as a platform worker will be critical, as a narrow scope would exclude millions of workers.
Platform workers often spend 30 to 40 percent of their pay from apps on work-related expenses like fuel, phone plans, or vehicle maintenance. Those classified as self-employed also carry additional expenses, including tax and social security contributions that would otherwise be covered by employers. A recent Human Rights Watch report found that when accounting for these expenses, platform workers’ wages in the US fall far below a living wage.
In many countries, these workers are also excluded from social security systems, leaving them without protection in the event of work-related accidents, illness, or unemployment.
Platform companies often use algorithmic systems that affect working conditions, such as allocation of work, reduction of pay, other forms of discipline, and firing of workers. These systems are often opaque, error-prone, and discriminatory, with little remedy to challenge automated decisions.
Some negotiators at the June meeting repeatedly proposed use of the phrase “in accordance with national law and practice.” Such language in the final documents would allow national frameworks to override intended protections, Human Rights Watch said.
The final round of negotiations will take place at the 2026 International Labour Conference. Topics on the table will include social security, occupational health and safety, violence and harassment, details on renumeration, algorithmic management, data privacy, and steps to address worker misclassification.
The new standards should guarantee just and favorable conditions of work for all platform workers, regardless of classification or employment status, and should also address the widespread misclassification of workers, Human Rights Watch said.
Platform workers should have a major role in the negotiations. Because these workers are often denied the right to organize and bargain collectively, they are rarely recognized as unions, and as a result, some were also excluded from the initial negotiation process.
“The stakes couldn’t be higher,” Simet said. “The ILO should close the legal loopholes that many companies exploit while increasing their profits and market shares. Anything less would be a missed opportunity to create a global foundation for just and fair conditions of work in the digital economy.”
Denmark: Put Fundamental Rights at Top of EU Agenda
(Stockholm, June 13, 2025) – Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen should use Denmark’s upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union to champion human rights, the rule of law, and accountability across the EU and beyond, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the Danish government.
Denmark will hold the rotating EU presidency from July to December 2025, a pivotal period for the protection of EU values amid democratic backsliding within the bloc and ongoing crises at Europe’s borders and further afield.
“Denmark has a real opportunity to show principled leadership at a time when some EU governments are undermining fundamental rights and democratic safeguards,” said Måns Molander, Nordic director at Human Rights Watch. “This presidency should be defined by bold, concrete action to uphold the rule of law and protect people’s rights, both within Europe and globally.”
Human Rights Watch urged Denmark to take a firm stance on Hungary’s systemic rule-of-law violations and help advance the stalled article 7 proceedings against Hungary. Denmark should also press for a rights-respecting EU migration policy, defend corporate accountability measures, and promote justice and accountability for serious international crimes, including in Ukraine and Gaza.
“EU credibility as a defender of rights depends on leaders willing to act when those rights are under threat,” Molander said. “Denmark should lead by example.”
UN Afghanistan Expert Renews Call for Wide-Ranging Accountability Body
The United Nations special rapporteur on Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, reiterated in his latest report his call for states to establish a comprehensive mechanism to advance accountability in Afghanistan for grave past and ongoing rights abuses, particularly against women and girls.
Bennett documents the many forms of discrimination that women and girls in Afghanistan face and their difficulty accessing justice and protection. He also notes how the “justice” system itself is being used to oppress and silence women and girls, rather than protect them.
Among his recommendations for advancing justice, Bennett calls upon states to establish an independent accountability mechanism with a comprehensive mandate to collect and preserve evidence of grave abuses and international crimes, including gender persecution, and prepare case files to support prosecutions of those responsible.
A dedicated accountability mechanism could be a key tool in addressing the impunity that has emboldened the Taliban’s oppression of women and girls and wider rights crackdown. It could support access to justice including through ongoing and future efforts at the International Criminal Court, the initiative under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women at the International Court of Justice, and through universal or other forms of jurisdiction to hold perpetrators of abuses to account.
While justice for gender crimes should be a priority for an Afghanistan accountability mechanism, Bennett aligns with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, a cross-regional group of countries, and a coalition of Afghan and international rights groups in insisting that any such mechanism should have a comprehensive mandate, able to address both past and ongoing rights abuses in Afghanistan. As the coalition notes, genuine justice for victims of rights abuses should not be undermined by double standards or cherry-picking in investigations and prosecutions.
Given the growing consensus on the need for an Afghanistan accountability mechanism, there is hope that the European Union will move to propose such a mechanism when it presents its annual resolution on Afghanistan in September. When the UN Human Rights Council meets to discuss the report next week, states from all regional groups should express their support.
UN Panel Finds Guatemala Responsible for Forcing Girl into Unwanted Pregnancy, Motherhood
The United Nations Human Rights Committee has issued a landmark ruling holding Guatemala accountable for violating the rights of Fátima, a 13-year-old girl who was forced to continue a pregnancy resulting from rape and become a mother when she was still a child herself. This decision highlights the need for Guatemala to take action to prevent sexual violence and ensure that survivors, especially girls, receive the support and justice they deserve.
The committee found that Guatemala’s failure to investigate the multiple rapes suffered by Fátima, and to prosecute the perpetrator (a teacher and public official), constituted a violation of Fátima’s rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The committee concluded that her right to a life with dignity was harmed due to the impact of pregnancy resulting from rape on Fatima’s mental, physical, and social health, along with the trajectory of her entire life. The committee emphasized that forcing Fátima to carry the pregnancy against her will subjected her to treatment akin to torture and put her life at risk.
The committee noted that Fátima lacked effective recourse due to the government’s failure to provide access to comprehensive sexuality education and abortion. While Guatemala’s legal framework permits therapeutic abortion—an option in cases where there is a risk to the life of the pregnant person—girls are often not informed about their right to access this care, effectively denying them necessary support.
Fátima’s case reflects a broader pattern of sexual violence as a pervasive and systemic issue in Guatemala. Between 2018 and 2024, 14,696 girls under 14 gave birth and became mothers, in many cases against their will. Research by Human Rights Watch shows that girls who have experienced sexual violence in Guatemala are often pushed out of education, struggle to access health care and social security, and face enormous barriers to justice. These obstacles indicate that Guatemala lacks a gender-sensitive and child-centered approach to preventing and responding to sexual violence. Indigenous girls and deaf girls face additional challenges due to language barriers.
This ruling represents a critical step in addressing the rights of women and girls in Guatemala and is the result of years of advocacy by the Niñas, No Madres (Girls, Not Mothers) movement.
Guatemala needs comprehensive reforms to better prevent sexual violence, including against girls, and to guarantee that girls have full access to health care, education, social security, and justice, including adequate reparations.
Ethiopia Should Immediately Release Prominent Journalist
Ethiopian authorities have been detaining the renowned journalist Tesfalem Woldeyes since Sunday on allegations of “dissemination false information,” despite a court order to release him on bail. Tesfalem is editor-in-chief of the independent media outlet Ethiopia Insider and has faced repeated harassment by the authorities.
The media reported that a plainclothes intelligence official arrested Tesfalem on June 8 at a hotel near a soccer stadium in Addis Ababa, the country’s capital. Dozens of fans were detained at the same time.
On June 10, Tesfalem appeared before a first instance court in the capital. The court ordered his release on bail, but the police argued they needed more time to investigate and have held him in a crowded police cell since. On June 11, the high court upheld the lower court’s decision, and on June 12, the cassation court rejected the police’s appeal.
Ethiopia’s police have long flouted court orders to release someone on bail, particularly when it comes to high-profile detainees.
The police also have a notorious reputation for investigating journalists under provisions of Ethiopia’s 2020 Hate Speech and Disinformation Prevention and Suppression Proclamation. The law contains an overbroad definition of “disinformation,” providing the authorities with excessive discretion to declare unpopular or controversial opinions “false.”
Throughout his career, Tesfalem has been targeted for his independent work, spending over a year in detention in 2014 on spurious terrorism charges during broader clampdowns on the media and social media groups. He was again briefly detained in 2021 after attending an ethnic Oromo cultural festival and reposting about protests at the event calling for the release of Oromo political detainees.
Over the past year, the Ethiopian authorities have tightened the screws on what remains of civic and media space in the country, intimidating journalists and rights activists, including with enhanced surveillance, as well as suspending key human rights organizations and raiding a key independent media outlet.
Ethiopia’s donors and partners need to call out this blatant harassment, urge Tesfalem’s immediate release, and press the government to end its clampdown on independent voices.
FIFA’s World Cup Ignores a Child Labor Nightmare
In March 2025, Muhammad Arshad, a Pakistani migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, fell to his death while working on the construction of Al Khobar’s Aramco Stadium, a 2034 FIFA World Cup and 2027 Asian Football Confederation Cup facility. Arshad’s death and the loss of his income leaves his family, including three sons under age eight, without their sole line of support.
As we mark World Day Against Child Labor, FIFA’s awarding of mega-sporting events to Saudi Arabia masks a harsh reality true for many families like Arshad’s: When migrant workers die in Saudi Arabia, they can no longer send money home. This and a lack of compensation for deaths can lead to severe economic crises for families.
Saudi Arabia’s migrant workers, who largely come from South Asia and Africa, face disability, illness, death, and other labor abuses like wage theft while constructing FIFA facilities. Human Rights Watch has found that Saudi Arabia does not adequately protect migrant workers against abuses including forced labor, exorbitant recruitment fees, rampant wage theft, and horrific deaths. The majority of deaths are attributed to “natural causes,” a euphemism that masks extreme heat exposure and dangerous worksite conditions and makes families ineligible for compensation.
The loss of a breadwinner compels families to make hard choices, such as taking children out of classrooms and sending them to work. Though some governments of migrants’ countries of origin provide critical assistance such as scholarships to children of deceased workers, it is often not enough.
A Bangladeshi worker’s widow told Human Rights Watch: “To make ends meet, I have put my 14-year-old son to work, and the little money he earns is used for our daily expenses.”
The pattern is chillingly familiar. Thousands of unexplained worker deaths ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar put migrant workers’ children at risk. Though FIFA concluded it “has a responsibility” to compensate families of those deceased workers, they are still waiting.
FIFA needs to take steps to uphold its human rights obligations and minimize risks that migrant workers’ children will be driven into child labor. FIFA should use its leverage for significantly stronger worker protections to prevent worker deaths in Saudi Arabia and beyond. It should call on the Saudi government to ensure that all worker deaths are properly investigated and certified. Finally, FIFA should compensate families of workers who died delivering World Cup infrastructure and provide scholarships for their children.
EU’s Rights Dialogue with China Still Going Nowhere
This year marks some big numbers for the European Union-China relationship: it is the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations and the 40th iteration of the annual human rights dialogue, scheduled in Brussels on June 13. However, the number is closer to zero when assessing the progress that these dialogues have delivered for human rights in China.
Human Rights Watch, in a May 15 submission to the EU, reiterated its regret that the EU continues to hold a human rights dialogue with China. Along with other rights organizations, Human Rights Watch has repeatedly criticized the box-ticking nature of the exercise, in which criticism behind closed doors yields no concrete improvements.
For example, despite raising their cases for years, the EU has been unable to obtain the release of Gui Minhai, a Swedish bookseller whom Beijing arbitrarily arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison, or to receive a sign of life from Ilham Tohti, a Uyghur scholar and Sakharov Prize laureate who was sentenced to life in prison for his peaceful activism and has been denied family visits since 2017.
These cases are emblematic of the EU’s failure to meaningfully address Beijing’s repression, which has reached new peaks under Xi Jinping’s rule, including in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong.
Notably, a landmark 2022 report on Xinjiang by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights found Beijing’s abusive policies against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims may amount to “international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.” The EU and its member states should press the Chinese government to allow unrestricted access to the UN human rights office for a follow-up visit.
Of course, pressuring the Chinese government for human rights improvements is difficult. But by demoting human rights to a lower-level and private dialogue, the EU and its member states risk complicity in Beijing’s attempts to marginalize and delegitimize human rights. Instead, the EU should be incorporating human rights across all areas of engagement with China, particularly at high-level meetings, to break the artificial silos created by separately addressing unfair trade practices, security concerns, foreign interference, and economic security and sovereignty.
EU leaders should more forcefully raise human rights concerns during the upcoming summit and strategic dialogue, and lay out concrete consequences should Beijing fail to rein in its repression. Not doing so will be at the expense of all people in China
Burundi: Elections Without Opposition
(Nairobi) – Legislative and local elections in Burundi on June 5, 2025, took place in a context of severely restricted free speech and political space, Human Rights Watch said today.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (Commission électorale nationale indépendante, CENI) announced on June 11 during a press conference that the ruling party had won 96.5 percent of votes and all elected national assembly seats. The ruling party also won almost every seat in the commune-level election. Ruling party officials and youths intimidated, harassed, and threatened the population and censored media coverage to secure a landslide victory.
“Burundians voted in an atmosphere devoid of genuine political competition as the ruling party further consolidated power,” said Clémentine de Montjoye, senior Great Lakes researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Against a backdrop of growing discontent over a deepening economic crisis and systemic human rights failings, the ruling party took no chances in the elections.”
The National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces pour la défense de la démocratie, CNDD–FDD), in power since 2005, has sought to dismantle all meaningful opposition, including from its main rival, the National Congress for Freedom (Congrès national pour la liberté, CNL). Several opposition parties, including the CNL, the Patriots’ Council (Conseil des Patriotes, CDP), and the Union for National Progress (Union pour le progrès national, UPRONA) denounced irregularities in the vote. Senatorial and further local elections are scheduled for July 23 and August 25, respectively, and the next presidential polls will be in 2027.
In the days following the vote, Human Rights Watch spoke with local activists, journalists, private citizens, and a member of the ruling party’s youth league – the Imbonerakure – who spoke of intimidation and irregularities in both the lead-up to the election and during the voting.
Media reports and witness accounts indicate that the voting on June 5 was overwhelmingly dominated by the ruling party. “The Imbonerakure were in front of the polling station telling people to vote for the ruling party,” said a voter in the town of Bururi. “All the workers at the polling station were members of the ruling party. The head of the polling station himself told me to vote for the ruling party.”
People interviewed in Bujumbura, the country’s largest city, Cibitoke, and Rumonge described similar scenes at their polling places. A Burundian civil society organization reported the same patterns in Bubanza, Gitega, Makamba, and Ngozi. “We were told to do everything necessary to make sure that people only voted for the CNDD-FDD,” the Imbonerakure member said.
Opposition parties and witnesses said that opposition party representatives, journalists, and observers were prevented from entering polling places, including when votes were being counted.
In several communes (municipalities), the number of votes cast reportedly exceeded the number of registered voters. Media and witnesses also reported ballot stuffing and the selective distribution of voter cards, excluding opposition members from voting.
A coalition of radio stations, television channels, and print or online media outlets coordinated coverage of the elections, reportedly funded by the Ministry of Communication, Information Technology and Media, and all content produced had to be submitted to a central editorial team, which censored reports that did not align with the official narrative, media reported. A journalist told Human Rights Watch that officials of the electoral body told the media “not to talk about irregularities.”
In December, the electoral commission barred opposition candidates, including members of the opposition Burundi for All (Burundi Bwa Bose in Kirundi) coalition and the CNL, from contesting the June elections, effectively sidelining major opposition voices. Some were able to appeal the decision at the Constitutional Court, but presidential runner-up and former leader of the CNL, Agathon Rwasa, was among those still barred from running.
In January 2024, the interior minister accused the CNL of collaborating with a terrorist organization, after which the party’s general assembly voted to remove Rwasa from leadership. In April 2024, Burundi adopted a new electoral code that significantly raised candidate registration fees and imposed a two-year waiting period for those leaving political parties before they can run again, effectively ensuring that Rwasa would not be eligible.
The authorities, aided by the Imbonerakure, forced the population to register to vote in late 2024, according to media reports and witness accounts. “The population wanted to show that they don’t see the point in this election, and tried to boycott the registration process,” said an observer in Cibitoke. “They were forced [to register], prevented from accessing markets, healthcare centers, administrative services or going to the fields. The Imbonerakure were everywhere to intimidate people.”
The African Union deployed an observation mission and issued a preliminary report on June 7 praising the “peaceful” conduct of Burundi’s legislative and communal elections. It also praised high voter turnout, the “climate of freedom and transparency,” and media coverage. This stands in stark contrast to the AU’s own normative framework on democracy, elections, and human rights, which emphasizes credible, inclusive, and transparent electoral processes. The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and the Economic Community of Central African States also deployed observer missions. The Catholic Church, which has criticized previous elections, deployed observers but some were turned away from polling places.
General elections in May 2020 took place in a highly repressive environment, marred by allegations of irregularities. Throughout the pre-election period, Imbonerakure members committed widespread abuses, especially against people perceived to be against the ruling party, including killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, beatings, extortion, and intimidation.
Burundians have told Human Rights Watch that they feel growing frustration at the ruling party’s governance, at a time when the population is facing a 40 percent annual inflation rate, chronic shortages, significant discrepancies between official and unofficial exchange rates, limited foreign currency reserves, and a fuel crisis that has crippled transport for years. The escalating conflict in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, which has jeopardized cross-border trade and prompted the arrival of over 70,000 refugees and asylum seekers since January 2025, as well as cuts in donor funding have further compounded the situation.
In February, Burundian authorities expelled the director and security officer of the United Nations World Food Programme from the country, after they reportedly advised staff to stock up on essential goods. Civil society and opposition figures continue to report ongoing harassment, extortion, arbitrary detention, and beatings by the Imbonerakure and the authorities as the government remains deeply hostile to perceived criticism.
Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Burundi is a party, states, “Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity … [t]o vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors.”
“Burundi’s democracy has been hollowed out, with a ruling party unaccountable to its people and unwilling to tolerate dissent, even as economic desperation grows,” de Montjoye said. “Without credible opposition, this election only further entrenches authoritarian rule and pushes Burundians further into a deeply rooted governance crisis.”
Australia’s Sanctions on Israeli Officials Add Crucial Pressure
Australia, along with the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway have imposed Magnitsky-style sanctions on Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.
These ministers have been sanctioned for their role in inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Since October 2023, Israeli military demolitions and settler violence have displaced more than 6,400 Palestinians in the West Bank. Ben-Gvir instructed police not to enforce the law against violent settlers, an Israeli investigative journalist reported.
These are Australia’s first sanctions placed on senior Israeli officials. In November 2023, in response to the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on Israel, the Australian government imposed sanctions on Hamas and some of its affiliates. In July 2024, the government sanctioned seven Israeli settlers and one entity for their involvement in attacks on Palestinians. Until now, however, the Australian government has not sanctioned additional Israeli individuals or entities, despite mounting abuses on the West Bank. It has also not adopted measures in response to atrocities being committed in Gaza.
Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry and sits on the security cabinet, has called for ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip. In May, he said that an Israeli victory means Gaza will be “completely destroyed and its Palestinian population will leave in great numbers to third countries,” even if the hostages are released. Last month, Ben-Gvir stated that Israel must “encourage the migration of Gazans to countries around the world.”
These sanctions suggest that Australia is willing to play a stronger role, but further measures are urgently needed. Israeli authorities continue to use starvation as a method of war, flouting three rounds of provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel. Australia should sanction additional Israeli officials implicated in grave abuses and ban trade with illegal West Bank settlements.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for serious crimes in Gaza. But in February, after US President Donald Trump’s executive order authorized sanctions targeting the ICC, Australia did not join the 79 countries that reaffirmed their “unwavering support” for the court. Australia should publicly back the ICC and commit to executing all pending warrants.
At a time when senior officials as well as military forces are undermining international law, the Australian government should be using its leverage to prevent further mass atrocities and hold those responsible accountable.
World Cup: A Year Out, Growing Attacks on Rights
(Amsterdam) – The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) should take immediate and demonstrable steps to safeguard human rights for all people involved in the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, the Sport & Rights Alliance said today. With just one year until the monumental event kicks off across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and only days until the Club World Cup kicks off on June 14, 2025, escalating attacks on human rights and civil freedoms threaten to undermine FIFA’s human rights commitments and responsibilities.
“In 2018, the US, Mexico, and Canada provided clear human rights commitments in their bid documents to host the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup,” said Andrea Florence, executive director of the Sport & Rights Alliance. “Despite FIFA’s mantra that ‘football unites the world,’ a World Cup held under discriminatory and exclusionary policies risks deepening social divides rather than bridging them. FIFA should exert its leverage and demand concrete, legally binding guarantees that human rights won’t be further sacrificed for the sake of the game.”
In its statutes, Human Rights Policy, and 2026 Bidding Process Guide, FIFA accepts its responsibility to respect human rights in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The Bidding Process Guide specifically requires would-be hosts to document their commitment to “ensur[ing] that the hosting and staging of the Competition do[es] not involve adverse impacts on internationally recognized human rights.” The guide gives particular attention to “labor rights, the rights of children, gender equality, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and protecting all individuals from all forms of discrimination.”
The Sport & Rights Alliance has identified several critical areas where government policies in the 2026 host countries, particularly the United States under President Donald Trump, pose significant and immediate risks to the human rights of immigrants; freedom of the press and free expression; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) rights; safety for children; and the right to be free from discrimination, requiring urgent and transparent intervention.
Discriminatory Immigration Policies
FIFA anticipates that as many as 6.5 million people could attend the 2026 tournament across the host countries. The current US administration’s abusive immigration policies, including enforced disappearances under the Alien Enemies Act, travel bans, increased detention, and visa restrictions, threaten the inclusivity and global nature of the World Cup.
Despite President Trump’s executive order stating that teams qualifying for the 2026 Men’s World Cup will be exempt from travel bans, as of now fans and extended family members from banned countries will not be allowed to enter the United States. Delays, denials, and the real prospect of detention for fans, media, and other participants from specific countries could severely disrupt the tournament.
“FIFA should publicly acknowledge the threat US immigration and other anti-human rights policies pose to the tournament’s integrity and use its leverage with the US government to ensure that the rights of all qualified teams, support staff, media, and fans are respected as they seek to enter the United States regardless of nationality, gender identity, religion, or opinion,” said Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch. “FIFA should establish clear benchmarks and timelines for the US policy changes needed to ensure respect for immigrants’ rights during the 2026 World Cup and beyond.”
Human Rights Watch wrote to FIFA on May 5 to say that it should use its leverage to push the Trump administration to roll back discriminatory immigration policies in the United States. FIFA responded on June 3, stating that it “expects ... host countries take measures to ensure that any eligible persons who are involved in the Competition are able to enter the respective countries,” and “is actively working on this matter with relevant authorities.” FIFA also said it would engage with relevant authorities if it becomes aware of human rights concerns.
“Fans travel to the World Cup to celebrate and express their passion, and any attempt to curtail our fundamental rights, including the right to free speech, is a betrayal of the spirit of football,” said Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe. “We’re particularly concerned about the potential for selective enforcement and discrimination against fans based on our perceived political views or national origin. FIFA must obtain the necessary guarantees to ensure fans from all over the world are able to safely travel and attend the games.”
Right to Protest; Freedom of Expression
With the 2026 Men’s World Cup potentially serving as a spotlight for public criticism and controversy, the escalating crackdowns on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, particularly for people engaged in speech and protest related to Palestinian rights, is deeply troubling, the alliance said. Students and activists have been detained and their visas revoked for speaking out about their views. The Trump administration has also deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles following protests against immigration arrests, claiming they constitute an act of “rebellion” against the government.
FIFA’s stated commitments to free expression have also previously been contradicted when it has imposed rules prohibiting players and fans from making political or religious statements. At the 2022 Men’s World Cup in Qatar, for example, Iranian fans displaying “Woman, Life, Freedom” banners were removed from stadiums, while rainbow flags were confiscated at a number of matches.
“The ability to peacefully protest without fear of retribution is a cornerstone of a free society, yet is increasingly under threat in the United States,” said Daniel Noroña, Americas advocacy director at Amnesty International USA. “There is a long history of peaceful protest in global football. FIFA and the US authorities must ensure that the World Cup does not become a pretext for stifling dissent or expanding mass surveillance, and every player, fan, journalist, and resident can participate and protest without fear of sanction, arbitrary detention or discriminatory treatment.”
Discrimination, Violence against LGBTI People
The increasing legislative and rhetorical attacks on the rights of LGBTI people, particularly transgender people in the United States, underscore the current administration’s intention to erase transgender people from public life and dismantle crucial human rights protections. Discriminatory laws and the hostile political climate around LGBTI rights in the United States could directly threaten the security, bodily autonomy, dignity, and inclusion of LGBTI fans, players, and workers at the 2026 Men’s World Cup.
In Mexico, LGBTI people, and especially trans and gender-diverse people, face violence across the country, which affects their daily lives and participation in public events. Federal and state authorities should take urgent steps to prevent and punish violence against LGBTI people, with particular attention to the specific risks faced by trans and gender-diverse communities.
“The alarming discrimination and violence against LGBTI individuals in the United States and Mexico cast a chilling shadow over the promise of an inclusive World Cup,” said Gurchaten Sandhu, director of programs at ILGA World. “As organizer of the event, FIFA should demand that all host cities and states uphold universal human rights, ensuring no fan, worker, or athlete faces discrimination based on their sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, or sex characteristics, and that any discriminatory laws are actively challenged and nullified.”
Press Freedom
Journalists covering the 2026 Men’s World Cup face distinct and alarming risks in both Mexico and the United States. Mexico consistently ranks among one of world’s most dangerous and deadly countries for media professionals, who face threats, harassment, and violence from both organized crime and public officials. The pervasive impunity for these crimes creates a chilling effect and zones of silence in which critical information is suppressed. In the United States, journalists could face intrusive screening, social media monitoring, and be denied entry based on perceived political views, undermining their ability to report independently.
“Journalists covering the World Cup must be granted unimpeded access, free from arbitrary restrictions, detention, or violence,” said Antoine Bernard, advocacy and assistance director at Reporters Without Borders (RSF). “FIFA and the local authorities must implement exceptional measures to protect all media workers – not only ensuring smooth entry for foreign press but actively safeguarding all journalists who will be covering large crowds, excited spectators, and potential protests, and addressing the systemic impunity that allows violence against them to persist. Local law enforcement’s policies need to be strengthened to ensure the distinction of journalists from demonstrators, bystanders, and fans, and they must clearly communicate the policies they intend to follow in ensuring this distinction, in full respect of journalists’ freedom and independence.”
Labor Rights
The immense scale of the 2026 Men’s World Cup will necessitate a massive workforce in host cities to staff stadiums, hospitality, transport, and more. The Trump administration’s dismantling of federal programs and anti-union sentiment increase the risk of exploitation and child labor, wage theft, and unsafe working conditions for these critical workers.
“The extensive network of contracts for stadium construction, hospitality, and event services in the host cities must be built on a foundation of respect for workers’ rights,” said Luc Triangle, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). “We are gravely concerned that without strong, enforceable labor protections, this tournament will inadvertently fuel precarious work and child labor, suppress wages, and deny workers their fundamental rights to organize and bargain collectively. FIFA must demand robust social dialogue and binding agreements to protect every worker contributing to this World Cup.”
Transparency and Anti-Corruption
The Sport & Rights Alliance also harbors significant concerns related to low governmental transparency and weak anti-corruption regulations in and around the 2026 Men’s World Cup, particularly given recent policy shifts in the United States and Mexico. As the tournament approaches, robust oversight and unwavering commitment to ethical principles are needed to prevent the exploitation of this global event for private gain at the expense of human rights and public trust.
“The 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place in a global context where anti-corruption efforts are increasingly under strain,” said Tor Dølvik, special adviser at Transparency International. “All host countries and FIFA must uphold their anti-corruption responsibilities by establishing comprehensive risk management mechanisms that close potential loopholes for corruption, and reliable systems for detecting and reporting irregularities. Full transparency regarding all expenditures related to the World Cup—before, during, and after the events—will be vital in building trust and ensuring integrity throughout the process.”
FIFA’s Responsibility
FIFA, as the chief actor responsible for an event that will leave a tremendous footprint, needs to conduct an updated human rights due diligence assessment and unequivocally leverage its influence to ensure that the 2026 Men’s World Cup is a rights-respecting and rights-advancing event.
A new human rights due diligence assessment should consider the need for tangible commitments to reverse discriminatory policies, strengthen protections for historically marginalized groups, ensure substantial accountability for human rights abuses, and establish truly effective, transparent, and independent grievance mechanisms for people to seek support and a remedy. Failure to act decisively risks irrevocably tarnishing the legacy of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup and setting a dangerous precedent for future mega-sporting events.
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The Sport & Rights Alliance’s mission is to promote the rights and well-being of those most affected by human rights risks associated with the delivery of sport. Its partners include Amnesty International, The Army of Survivors, Football Supporters Europe, Human Rights Watch, ILGA World (The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association), the International Trade Union Confederation, Reporters Without Borders, Transparency International, and World Players Association, UNI Global Union. As a global coalition of leading nongovernmental organizations and trade unions, the Sport & Rights Alliance works together to ensure sports bodies, governments, and other relevant stakeholders give rise to a world of sport that protects, respects, and fulfills international standards for human rights, labor rights, child wellbeing and safeguarding, and anti-corruption.
Brazil Should Reject Bill Gutting Environmental Licensing
Legislators in Brazil are currently deliberating the General Environmental Licensing Law (LGLA), a new bill which dismantles environmental licensing requirements and, if approved, could accelerate oil and gas extraction, cattle ranching, and deforestation in the Amazon. The Chamber of Deputies should reject the bill. If it does not, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva should veto it.
Backed by Brazil’s agribusiness and oil and gas sectors, Bill 2.159/21 creates a “special environmental license” that allows speedy approval for projects the government deems strategic, such as oil exploration in the Amazon rainforest, despite their potential environmental impacts. The bill would exempt a broad range of high-impact industries, like agroforestry and livestock farming, from an obligation to obtain licenses for projects simply by filling out an environmental adherence form, without any need for environmental impact assessments.
Oil and gas projects will still require prior assessment, but these will be confined to the activity’s “directly affected area,” ignoring the catastrophic climate impacts of burning oil and gas after extraction (scope 3 emissions). Some legislators expect the move will “enable oil exploration in the Amazon”, which President Lula has openly supported. Last month, Brazil’s main environmental agency, IBAMA, authorized Petrobras, the state oil company, to carry out an oil spill response exercise in the Amazon. This may clear the path for potential oil drilling despite opposition from IBAMA staff.
Thousands of Brazilians have gathered in state capitals nationwide to demand legislators scrap what they call the “devastation bill”. Environmental and human rights defenders in Brazil warn that the bill, if approved, would dismantle the country’s environmental protections. Indigenous peoples and United Nations experts have also warned that the bill would exclude participation of competent authorities in projects on wide swaths of Indigenous and Quilombola lands yet to be formally titled by the state but long inhabited and stewarded by their peoples. They call upon Brazil to respect the right to development and the right of Indigenous people to give their free, prior, and informed consent to development on their lands.
Brazil’s environmental minister, Marina Silva, is anticipating an “avalanche of litigation” due to the bill’s “clear unconstitutionality,” calling it a “demolition of environmental legislation.” In Senate hearings, legislators eager to advance oil, mining, and highway projects across the Amazon clashed with Silva, leveling sexist and other derogatory remarks at her.
With the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) looming, Brazil’s credibility as a climate leader hangs by a thread. Protecting rights in face of the climate emergency demands the Brazilian government and legislature unequivocally reject this bill.
Damaging Denial of DR Congo’s Ex-President’s Media Coverage
Last week authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo imposed a 90-day ban on any media coverage of former President Joseph Kabila or his party in response to his recent statements and visit to the country’s embattled east after he returned to Congo from exile.
Kabila led the Congo for 18 years after succeeding his father, Laurent-Desiré Kabila, who was assassinated in 2001. Joseph Kabila’s presidency achieved some important progress, but was marred by serious human rights abuses. As he clung to power past the constitutional two-term limit, Kabila increasingly resorted to violence and repression.
Before returning to Congo in late May, Kabila broadcast a speech on YouTube criticizing current President Félix Tshisekedi and proposing peace plans in the east. He has since been holding consultations in Goma, which is controlled by the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group. After he finally stepped down in 2019, Kabila was given the title of “senator for life,” a constitutional provision granting him broad immunities. But last month, the Senate stripped him of immunity for treason charges, paving the way for his prosecution for allegedly backing the rebels.
Congo is facing its most acute crisis in years. The M23 occupies the eastern provincial capitals Goma and Bukavu, and has committed numerous war crimes. In response, the Congolese government has provided financial and military support to a coalition of abusive militias, and risks being complicit in their war crimes.
But what Congo desperately needs during this difficult time is greater respect for human rights, not less.
Since the conflict escalated in late 2024, the government has threatened action against journalists covering it. The authorities suspended international journalists for reporting on “alleged advances of terrorists” and authorities have warned that journalists who share information about the M23 and Rwandan forces could face severe legal consequences, including the death penalty.
Congolese authorities once tolerated public criticism, if often unhappily. Now the restrictions on the media are tightening. Journalists have a free expression right to cover Kabila’s return, and the Congolese people have every right to debate his role in the country. The authorities should recognize that banning his media coverage will surely backfire: after all, one way to draw people’s attention to Kabila is to forbid them from hearing about him.
Colombia: Presidential Candidate Attacked, Severely Injured
(Bogota) – The June 7, 2025, attack against the Colombian congressman and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay is a blow to democracy, Human Rights Watch said today.
A 15-year-old boy shot and severely injured Uribe Turbay during a campaign event in Bogota, the country’s capital. Uribe Turbay, a congressman for the right-wing party Centro Democrático, was speaking to supporters in Bogota in the lead-up to the party’s internal process for selecting its presidential candidate for the May 2026 elections. Uribe Turbay remains in critical condition.
“The attack against Miguel Uribe Turbay is a chilling reminder of the darkest chapters of political violence in Colombia,” said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “Colombian authorities should investigate this heinous crime, avoid incendiary political rhetoric, and strengthen protections for all political candidates.”
Colombia will hold presidential elections in May 2026 to choose the successor to President Gustavo Petro, whose administration was elected on a left-wing platform. These elections come at a time when the country is facing an increased presence of illegal armed groups in many remote areas.
Violence has increased in recent years. Since 2016, homicides have increased by 20.9 percent, and kidnappings by 34.8 percent; mass forced displacements have reportedly quadrupled. Confinements – where communities are unable to move freely because of violent clashes in the area – increased more than tenfold. Colombia is the country with the highest number of human rights defenders killed worldwide, according to Frontline Defenders.
Colombia has a long history of political assassinations, which have been closely linked to waves of violence. Ahead of the 1990 elections, within less than eight months, three presidential candidates were assassinated by drug cartels and paramilitary groups: Luis Carlos Galán, Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa, and Carlos Pizarro Leongómez. Uribe Turbay’s own mother, the journalist Diana Turbay, was kidnapped in 1990 by Pablo Escobar, a Colombian drug lord, and killed in 1991 during a failed rescue operation.
In the latest local elections, in 2023, the Electoral Observation Mission documented 176 acts of violence against candidates, including 6 assassinations.
The boy accused of shooting Uribe Turbay was apprehended a few blocks from the attack thanks to the swift response of Uribe Turbay’s bodyguard. The Attorney General’s Office and the police said at a news conference, that the Glock-type firearm used by the shooter was purchased in United States. Authorities are trying to trace how the weapon entered the country.
The Attorney General’s Office announced that its investigators and the police are gathering evidence and other elements that will help build the case and identify and prosecute both the attackers and anyone who may have ordered the attack.
Colombian authorities should urgently investigate, prosecute, and hold accountable all those involved in the attack against Uribe Turbay, Human Rights Watch said. To do so effectively, they should ensure the protection of the suspect and his family. The government and leaders from opposition political parties should abstain from sharing theories about the attack that could compromise the independence and impartiality of the investigation.
The minister of interior had convened state institutions and political parties to a national commission to guarantee security and protection of candidates. Uribe Turbay’s lawyer told media that they repeatedly requested that the National Protection Unit, the state entity in charge of security details, strengthen the candidate’s security details, but that those requests were denied. Political leaders and other potential candidates have called on the government to guarantee protection for all candidates as the campaign proceeds.
Authorities should take effective steps to guarantee the safety of all presidential candidates ahead of the 2026 elections, Human Rights Watch said. This includes reassessing the risk levels and protection plans for every candidate, strengthening intelligence capabilities of security forces, improving coordination between institutions, and ensuring that rapid response mechanisms are in place.
Creating a safe and democratic electoral process will also require commitment to lower inflammatory rhetoric and reject hate speech that fuels polarization. This responsibility lies with the highest levels of the Colombian government, starting with President Gustavo Petro himself, and with all political parties and presidential candidates.
“Ensuring that every candidate can campaign free from fear or violence is essential to safeguarding Colombia’s democracy,” Goebertus said. “Colombia’s political leaders need to defend peaceful political participation and refrain from using hate speech that can incite political violence and put lives at risk.”
Germany-Sri Lanka Summit Should Address Rights, Accountability
Both Sri Lanka and Germany have newly elected leaders, but key human rights concerns that Chancellor Friedrich Merz should raise with visiting President Anura Kumar Dissanayake in Berlin on June 11 have lingered for decades.
The Sri Lankan government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fought a brutal civil war from 1983 to 2009 in which both sides committed widespread abuses, including killings, torture, and sexual violence. During the conflict’s final months in particular, government forces attacked civilians and forcibly disappeared suspected combatants.
Since the LTTE’s defeat, the United Nations Human Rights Council has passed several resolutions highlighting the need for accountability and established an evidence-gathering process. But Dissanayake’s government so far seems no different from its predecessors, protecting former senior officials implicated in war crimes and rejecting the council’s resolutions.
Dissanayake was elected in September on a platform intended to unite Sri Lankans and respond to an economic crisis. But despite a large parliamentary majority, his government has not addressed ongoing human rights violations, much less advance justice for past atrocities.
Sri Lankan government agencies continue to discriminate against Tamil and Muslim minorities, for instance seizing their land on various pretexts. In war-affected areas, hardline Buddhist monks and security forces have seized numerous Hindu temples and turned them into Buddhist monasteries.
Since 2017, Sri Lanka has benefitted from a trading relationship with the European Union known as GSP+, which gives tariff-free market access in exchange for ratifying and implementing 27 conventions on human rights, labor rights, and environmental standards. Sri Lanka is still failing to keep its end of the bargain. A notable issue is the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), a notoriously abusive law that has long enabled torture and arbitrary detention, mostly targeting Tamils and Muslims. Before the election, Dissanayake promised to repeal the PTA, a pledge successive governments have made to the EU since 2017. Instead, his government has repeatedly used it to detain people without any evidence of terrorism.
Germany was previously a leading state on the Human Rights Council’s resolution on Sri Lanka but stepped away from that role in around 2022. To maintain pressure for accountability and ensure evidence gathering, it is vital the resolution is renewed later this year.
Merz should build on UN efforts and GSP+ ties to urge Dissanayake at their Berlin meeting to deliver on his pledges and obligations for accountability and human rights reforms. Such opportunities should not go to waste.
Trump Takes Advantage of Anti-ICE Protests in California
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump wrested control of 2,000 California National Guard forces from the state’s Governor Gavin Newsom and deployed them in Los Angeles where police and protestors clashed in the streets.
President Trump claims that the move is necessary to protect federal workers and buildings, but this is dubious. Neither Newsom nor Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass believes this deployment is needed, with Newsom arguing that the “move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.”
Almost as though aiming to prove Newsom’s point, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to send active-duty troops if the protests continue; a threat that became reality when 700 marines were deployed from Twentynine Palms to Los Angeles.
The protests, which are happening nationwide, including in Los Angeles, New York City, and Phoenix, Arizona, are against ramped-up raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
As a candidate, Trump said he would conduct “mass deportations” of people who are not authorized to be in the United States and vowed to start with the “worst of the worst.” Now, however, the administration has instructed ICE to do everything possible to deport 3,000 people a day.
To meet this goal, immigration officials are carrying out harrowing raids at stores, such as the Home Depot in Westlake, California, as well as at hotels, elementary school graduation ceremonies, and construction sites.
In other words, ICE is going after families and people who are working.
Additionally, weeks ago, ICE agents started showing up outside immigration courts, where asylum and other immigration cases proceed. After court hearings, people walking out of the courtroom have been handcuffed by ICE enforcement agents, often in front of their family members and loved ones. Those left behind are devastated, many breaking down into tears.
In some instances, ICE detained people after judges had reportedly dismissed their deportation cases – normally a positive outcome for immigrants hoping to stay in the US. Even cases that were not dismissed by the judges were reportedly interrupted by ICE arrests outside of the courtroom.
Most of those apprehended are being placed in rapid deportation procedures, known as “expedited removal,” which largely deny individuals the chance to make their case in immigration court. Immigrants have the right to make an asylum claim to prevent being placed in expedited removal, however, Human Rights Watch’s research on third-country nationals deported to Panama and Costa Rica puts into question whether the administration will follow the law and listen to the request for asylum.
It is these actions by ICE that are triggering protests. The Trump administration has stepped way over the line with its abusive immigration policies, and it looks poised to cross another with its threatened use of national guard and military forces to confront protests.