Freedom of assembly is not a gift or privilege governments grant their citizens, it's a right that protects citizens from their governments. @hrw.org report out today about the impact of the UK's increasingly repressive anti-protest laws. www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

AI chatbot Grok used to create child sexual abuse imagery. X, Elon Musk’s social media platform deluged with images of women & children whose clothes have been digitally removed. Corporations only count profits. Enable people to sue platforms. Give them copyright over voice, face, body parts.

If a website appeared overnight that gave hundreds of millions of users the opportunity to create CSAM you'd expect governments to shut it down quickly, so the question is why X gets a pass when it's done just that? www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

“The UK is now adopting protest-control tactics imposed in countries where democratic safeguards are collapsing. The UK should oppose such measures, not replicate and endorse them.” - Lydia Gall, senior Europe and Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch

The UK government should repeal anti-democratic protest restrictions and review and publicly account for all protest arrests and convictions made under laws that courts have ruled unlawful. New report @hrw.org, out now ⤵️

"Seeing Gambia’s landmark case against Myanmar finally enter the merits phase delivers renewed hope to Rohingya that our decades-long suffering may finally end.” - Wai Wai Nu (@waiwainu.bsky.social), founder & executive director Women’s Peace Network @womenspeacenetwork.org #JusticeMatters

#EU leaders should publicly press for rights-respecting transition during first-ever visit to #Syria: 🤝recovery free from abuses 🪖genuine security sector reform ⚖️justice for past & ongoing violation Our take👇 www.hrw.org/news/2026/01... @eucopresident.consilium.europa.eu @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu

The Trump administration’s brazen military assault risks causing a new human rights disaster for Venezuelans. The US appears poised to actively encourage Venezuela to maintain Nicolás Maduro’s repressive apparatus as long as it furthers US interests.

The Egyptian government has severely undermined the rights to education and health care, with spending declining to unprecedented levels. This years-long failure shows that the government’s talk of social and economic rights is essentially lip service.

Journalists are often trained to avoid becoming part of the story. But when you can’t tell the story, you ARE the story! If you are a journalist — or know one — who has been attacked or seriously threatened in the course of reporting, let us know. Email us at [email protected]

Herinneringen aan Capitoolbestorming zijn onvindbaar in Washington D.C.

VN-functionaris beschuldigt Israël van apartheid op Westelijke Jordaanoever

"De rechten van de Palestijnen op de Westelijke Jordaanoever worden systematisch onderdrukt. Dit is een heel ernstige vorm van rassendiscriminatie en segregatie, die lijkt op het soort apartheidssysteem dat we eerder hebben gezien."

Chinese govt has detained the leader + key members of underground Protestant church, the Early Rain Covenant Church. There's been a string of arrests of members of prominent “house churches” in China in past year. They should be freed, faith isn't a crime: www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

In 2022, Chinese authorities released most White Paper protesters but sentenced Kamile to 3 years over a video she posted online, because she is Uyghur. She has now been released. She shouldn’t have been arrested in the first place, like all the other unjustly imprisoned Uyghurs.

ICYMI ⤵️

Out this week "Silencing the Streets’: The Right to Protest Under Attack in the UK” Media inquiries to my colleague Jan Kooy below.

OECD countries, including EU countries & the UK, just forfeited to Trump their sovereign right to tax businesses operating within their own borders. This is an alarming subjugation of state sovereignty – and yet it is being spun as a landmark tax deal. taxjustice.net/press/oecd-c...

Four Freedoms Award voor Zelensky en Oekraïne: 'Zij strijden voor ons allemaal'

No matter how you slice it, Trump’s invasion of Venezuela is an act of naked aggression. It is blatantly illegal and sets a disturbing precedent of indifference to national sovereignty that tyrants worldwide will be eager to exploit. My Guardian op-ed: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The trend has translated into an emphasis on family-friendly benefits like parental leave and health care coverage, as well as protections against sexual harassment.

here we go again

On January 5 India’s Supreme Court denied bail to prominent student activists Umar Khalid & Sharjeel Imam, who have been detained without trial for over 5 years. The prosecution has presented no evidence, such as calls for violence, that would warrant pretrial detention www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

'Inmiddels 29 doden en 1200 arrestaties bij protesten in Iran'

Must-read, inclusief het woord van de dag: fascistfluencer...

🚨Going out on Thursday January 8: "Silencing the Streets’: The Right to Protest Under Attack in the UK”. New, 47-page report @hrw.org. Reporters can DM me for access to embargoed report, interview requests etc.

"America's record of achieving regime change by force in the last 30 years is disastrous." - Jeremy Bowen in BBC must-read

"At this critical juncture, governments in Latin America and the European Union should push for a peaceful transition to a rights-respecting democracy in Venezuela.” - Juanita Goebertus Estrada / @hrw.org Read more ⤵️

Trump just announces the US will be running Venezuela now, until the can do a "safe, proper, and judicious" transfer of power. Announcing an occupation before you've occupied a country is a new one.

Klets. Anti-Europees jammeren in de extreemrechtse traditie. Laat haar nog eens vertellen over dat beeld in Rotterdam.

Explosions rock Venezuela, Maduro government accuses US of carrying out ‘military aggression’. https://cnn.it/4sfenSm

Explosies en rookwolken gemeld boven Venezolaanse hoofdstad Caracas

Trump claimt gevangenname van Venezolaanse president Maduro

Venezuela accuses US after explosions and low-flying aircraft reported in Caracas – live

‘No future for us’: disaffected Iranians say it’s now or never to topple regime

Ja, er moet veel verbeteren in het toeslagensysteem! Maar laten we niet vergeten dat de kern van het probleem is dat té veel bedrijven té lage lonen betalen en zo mensen naar toeslagen duwen. Heeft iemand al eens uitgerekend hoeveel deze onderbetaling onze samenleving eigenlijk kost?

“Since this story was reported, Radio Dabanga has notified NPR that some funding streams outside the United States, including from the Netherlands' government and private donors, have continued to support the station, averting immediate danger of collapse.” Some good news at the start of 2026!

Two people confirmed dead as Iran protests turn into ‘battlefield’

Ga naar de kroeg. Lach autoritaire types uit. Geef aan een goed doel. Abonneer je op een kwaliteitskrant. Drink, dans, heb lief en leef! Op een mooier 2026 voor ons allemaal ❤️ www.volkskrant.nl/cs-bde87c2d/

‘Kamerleden van FVD merken verheugd op dat ze, ondanks het spoor van racisme en antisemitisme dat de partij al jarenlang trekt, er niet langer uitliggen in Den Haag.’ Column in NRC: www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...

2025 was the year we grew tired of celebrity for celebrity’s sake | Nadia Khomami

In 2025, Human Rights Watch’s videos were viewed several million times. From advocating at the European Parliament to celebrating International Women’s Day, revisit some of our most viewed videos of the year.

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán provides a useful case study for those hoping to better understand the authoritarian playbook. Listen to HRW's Rights & Wrongs podcast (from June 2025) ⤵️ Spotify: https://bit.ly/4p6St0K Apple: https://apple.co/4p3INnJ

America has 925 billionaires as of this year. Collectively they have a record $6.9 trillion in wealth. The bottom 50% of Americans control $4.2 trillion in wealth. When 925 people control more wealth than half a country’s population, we have a very serious problem.

Een reminder dat het internet ook democratie-bevorderende functies heeft...

Een nachtje in bizar luxe hotel Rosewood in Amsterdam, opgeschreven zoals alleen @hiske.bsky.social dat kan. "Ik voel de onweerstaanbare drang om dingen uit de kamer te stelen, die hele fucking huisraad van stoel tot deurklopper mee naar mijn hol te slepen." www.volkskrant.nl/kijkverder/v...

#Sudan is one of 2025 'worst crisis' @deutschewelle.dw.com talked to us about this year's trends. We continue to call #EU to step up action on backers of conflict ( #UnitedArabEmirates ), sanction top leaders responsible for crimes, & act to protect civilians. www.dw.com/en/sudan-hum...

How can a company claim to be "apolitical", while actively funding an overtly political TV channel like GB News? /2

"Banning people because you disagree with what they say undermines the free speech the administration claims to seek" www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Turning a health crisis into a WMD threat is dangerous. We need treatment and harm reduction—not war rhetoric. Learn why this matters: www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...