Cambodian lenders have marketed microfinance loans as a pathway out of poverty, but they have pushed Indigenous families into over-indebtedness. These loans have cost many people their land, their health, and sometimes their lives. New @hrw.org report www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

Predatory lending by microfinance institutions in Cambodia is driving land dispossession & human rights abuses against Indigenous communities. NEW @hrw report "Debt Traps" released today 👇 www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

When EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič visits Vietnam this week he should use his meetings with officials to address Vietnam’s violations of the 2020 EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement & its broken pledges to the EU on human rights, including labor rights. www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

Utter disregard for the laws of war in Sri Lanka's civil war costing tens of thousands of civilian lives is held up today by some Israeli military strategists as a campaign to be emulated. That is only possible because there were no consequences for atrocities committed. www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

Chinese authorities should immediately and unconditionally release Zhang Yadi, an advocate for Tibetan rights who had been studying in France. She could face 5 - 15 years if convicted of offenses related to "undermining national unity." www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

Illicit gold trade funds abusive armed groups in Venezuela & other conflicts. A new gold industry requirement by the London Bullion Market Assiciation for global gold refiners could help shed light on these illicit trade routes, a first step towards ending them. www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

🚨Did you know that predatory lending by #microfinance institutions in Cambodia is driving land dispossession and human rights abuses against Indigenous communities? New HRW report, going out on Thursday September 25. Reporters can DM me for embargoed report, interview requests etc.

#EU: new #India strategy, same old silence on repression EU leaders should reflect on long-term cost of overlooking #Modi's authoritarian drift, link closer ties to rights progress: hrw.org/news/2025/09... #EUIndia @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu @kajakallas.bsky.social

Germany’s government is set to make major social security cuts, and replace the only recently-created “Citizen’s Income” with a more punitive “New Income for Jobseekers”. These plans will increase poverty. Human rights can help guide the debate back to what matters. www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

It's now 4 years since the Taliban banned secondary education for girls in Afghanistan. The ban is cruel, harmful & unlawful as @hrw.org's @saharfetrat.bsky.social explains here👇https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/09/17/taliban-deny-afghan-girls-their-education-and-future

New UN report finds pervasive surveillance, repression, threats, hunger & pain define the daily lives of millions of North Koreans. This report should be a wake-up call for governments everywhere to refocus attention on one of the world’s worst human rights crises. www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

Human rights and the UN itself are in the crosshairs of powerful governments to an unprecedented extent. World leaders gathering at the UN General Assembly next week should pledge action & resources to protect human rights & stop escalating atrocities. www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

Indian authorities have expelled scores of ethnic Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh and Myanmar without rights protections since May 2025. The authorities have arbitrarily detained several hundred more, mistreating some of them. New from @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

We are hiring! @hrw's Asia Division is looking for a new deputy director with expertise on China to supervise our work on China & other countries. We are looking for a strong manager and editor with a keen sense of political judgement. More details here: job-boards.greenhouse.io/humanrightsw...

107 organizations are calling on the UN Human Rights Council to act where it has long failed & establish an independent investigative mechanism for Afghanistan to advance accountability for past and ongoing grave crimes. Read why this is important 👇 @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

Good news from Thailand - the Thai government has approved measures allowing Myanmar refugees living in camps along the border to work legally. For many, it will be the first formal employment of their lives. www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

The Maldives parliament is considering a new law that could silence independent media amid an escalating rights crackdown. The draft media law is part of a broader effort by the administration of President Mohamed Muizzu to stifle dissent. New from @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

One year since President Dissanayake took office with promises of reform, Sri Lankan security forces still harass families of 'disappearanced' & misuse the country’s draconian counterterrorism law. New from @hrw www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

"Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry." Well-said Tony Burke, Australia's Home Affairs Minister. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...

Vietnam is an important relationship to Australia, but @senatorwong.bsky.social shouldn't lose sight of the fact that Vietnam is also one of the region’s most repressive countries. My take on raising rights concerns, particularly Vietnam’s 170+ political prisoners. 👇 www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

Spoke to @nbcnews.com about why travel influencers visiting Afghanistan do so from a place of privilege. Their experiences do not reflect reality for most Afghans, especially women & girls facing harsh restrictions on daily life & bearing the brunt of Taliban rule. www.nbcnews.com/now/video/tr...

Holding a 77-year-old man in prolonged solitary confinement while his health fails is outrageously cruel. Hong Kong should drop these baseless charges against Jimmy Lai now.

The fourth anniversary of the Taliban takeover is a grim reminder of the gravity of the Taliban’s abuses, particularly against women and girls. All governments should support efforts to hold the Taliban & all those responsible for serious crimes in Afghanistan to account. bsky.app/profile/hrw....

The anniversary of the Taliban's takeover is not just a date. It is a reminder of broken promises of the international community. Afghan women are resisting the Taliban—Germany should show the same courage instead of deporting Afghan refugees. @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

The recent proposal in the Maldives to introduce the death penalty for drug trafficking is in stark contrast to moves elsewhere in Asia where governments are limiting crimes punishable by death. Instead, the Maldives should abolish capital punishment once & for all. www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

More than 100,000 Myanmar refugees in Thailand have lost access to essential food & medical aid due to US funding cuts, putting them at serious risk. The Thai government should immediately permit refugees to lawfully work and travel outside its refugee camps. www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

"Gao Zhisheng has been missing for almost 8 years & the Chinese Government’s refusal to engage on his enforced disappearance is totally unacceptable... authorities must reveal what steps they have taken to ascertain what has happened to him." @marylawlorhrds.bsky.social www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

Israeli strikes on schools sheltering displaced families provide a window into the widespread carnage that Israeli forces have carried out in Gaza. Governments should not tolerate this horrendous slaughter of Palestinian civilians merely seeking safety. New from @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

Joint statement from G7 RRM (🇨🇦🇫🇷🇩🇪🇮🇹🇯🇵🇬🇧🇺🇸🇪🇺) + associate members (🇦🇺🇳🇿🇳🇱🇸🇪) condemning Hong Kong arrest warrants & bounties on those exercising free speech & committing to defend individuals from the overreach of governments trying to silence, intimidate or harm them. www.gov.uk/government/n...

Tomorrow is Australia's Human Rights Dialogue with Vietnam in Hanoi. As @hrw.org 's @dgavshon.bsky.social notes Australia has now held 19 human rights dialogues with Vietnam over 2 decades and it’s virtually impossible to identify any lasting human rights progress. www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

Hearing disturbing news that Hanoi police raided the home of Vietnamese journalist & HRD Doan Bao Chau before charging him in absentia with "propaganda against the state", in apparent retaliation for his legitimate work. These unjustified charges should be dropped.

Macau authorities should unconditionally release former lawmaker & pro-democracy activist Au Kam San - arrested on national security charges. It's rare for @hrw to report on Macao but this is the first time the draconian national security law has been invoked there. www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

The Vietnamese government should immediately release two wrongfully imprisoned activists who have developed serious health problems in prison. Can Thi Theu and Le Dinh Luong are arbitrarily detained and in need of urgent medical care. www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

August 15 will mark 4 years since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. In that time, repression has deepened, restrictions against women & girls have intensified. The Taliban’s abhorrent acts should compel governments to support accountability efforts. www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

#Afghanistan: Since July 16, the Taliban have arrested dozens of women and girls in Kabul for allegedly violating Taliban dress codes. The arrests deepen the Taliban’s enforcement of their outrageous “vice and virtue” decree. @hrw.org's @saharfetrat.bsky.social www.hrw.org/news/2025/07...

Proud of 100k Sydneysiders who spent a rainy Sunday marching over the bridge for Gaza. @hrw's latest research shows how Israeli forces are not only deliberately starving Palestinian civilians, but they are gunning them down as they desperately seek food for their families www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

Your periodic reminder: You shouldn't place your trust in China to lead just because the US has become a mess.

Horrific. New @hrw research documents how Israeli forces at the sites of a new US-backed aid distribution system in Gaza have routinely opened fire on starving Palestinian civilians in acts that amount to war crimes. www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

🚨 Israeli forces have killed hundreds of starving Palestinians seeking food in Gaza. These are not isolated incidents; these are war crimes. Our latest investigation lays out the evidence. #Gaza #WarCrimes 🔗 www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

Citing accounts of 12 Rohingya who had fled to Bangladesh from Buthidaung Township @HRW said Rohingya people are caught between the Myanmar military & the AA, with both forces committing grave abuses. www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/r...

Public interest whistleblowers risk their jobs, reputations & even their personal safety to expose corruption & rights abuses. The Australian government should create a Whistleblower Protection Authority to provide whistleblowers legal protections. New from @hrw www.hrw.org/news/2025/07...

A year on from the protests that ousted Sheikh Hasina’s abusive rule the interim government appears stuck. The security sector is unreformed, religious hardliners & political groups seem more focused on vengeance on Hasina's supporters than protecting rights. www.hrw.org/news/2025/07...

Movement restrictions, pillage, arbitrary detention, mistreatment, unlawful forced labor & recruitment. The Arakan Army is carrying out policies of oppression against the Rohingya similar to those long imposed by the Myanmar military in Rakhine State. New from @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/07...

Thailand/Cambodia: Protect Civilians Amid Border Clashes www.hrw.org/news/2025/07...

India is arbitrarily expelling Bengali Muslims from the country. Officials’ claims they are managing irregular immigration are unconvincing given their disregard 4 due process rights, domestic guarantees & int'l human rights standards. @elainepearson.bsky.social @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/07...

India’s ruling BJP is fueling discrimination by arbitrarily expelling Bengali Muslims from the country, including Indian citizens. New from @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/07...

Join us to discuss the human rights crisis in Afghanistan with UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan @richardbennett.bsky.social and my @hrw.org colleague @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social at @theconduitlondon.bsky.social on August 5th, 6pm www.theconduit.com/upcoming-eve...

It is vital to sustain programs that maintain scrutiny on North Korea - a government that prefers operating in the dark - and instead give North Koreans a window to the outside world. New from @hrw.org fpif.org/north-koreas...

New @hrw.org report shows how Thai security personnel have engaged in racketeering through a semi-formalized system of extortion that involves “selling” unofficial “police cards” to Myanmar nationals looking for a pathway to documentation or just to avoid arrest. www.hrw.org/news/2025/07...

More than 1.4 million Afghans have fled or been deported from Iran since January during a government clampdown on undocumented refugees (500k+ since the Israel/Iran war last month) www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/w...