Jailed Critic in Rwanda Faces 30-Year Sentence
Six Years after Kizito Mihigo’s Death, Free Speech Crackdown Continues Last week marked six years since Rwandan gospel singer and peace advocate Kizito Mihigo died in police custody. While his suspicious death remains unexplained, it clearly signaled the government’s deepening repression of free speech. A survivor of the 1994 genocide, Mihigo’s music centered on forgiveness […]
Angola: Reject Bill to Restrict Civil Society
Revise Draft Law to Conform with International Legal Standards A bill passed by Angola’s parliament on January 22, 2026, to regulate nongovernmental organizations would significantly expand government control over civil society and undermine fundamental freedoms, Human Rights Watch said today. President João Lourenço should not sign the bill into law but return it to parliament for revisions […]
Sudan: People with Disabilities Targeted in North Darfur
Executed, Abused by Rapid Support Forces During El Fasher Takeover The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), one of Sudan’s two main warring parties, targeted, abused, and killed people with disabilities during and after their October 26, 2025, takeover of El Fasher, North Darfur’s capital, Human Rights Watch said today. The Rapid Support Forces singled out people […]
UN Body Finds ‘Hallmarks of Genocide’ in Darfur
Report on El Fasher Crimes Should Spur Action to Halt Atrocities The United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) for the Sudan has released a damning report on atrocities by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during their takeover of El Fasher, North Darfur, in late October 2025. It concludes that the RSF, which is fighting Sudan’s military […]
South Africa: Whistleblowers Under Attack
Enact New Protection Law; Ensure Accountability South African authorities have failed to protect whistleblowers, who expose corruption and criminal activities in government and state-owned enterprises, from attacks and killings, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities need to conduct effective, prompt, and impartial investigations to hold those responsible to account and to ensure justice for […]
Cameroon: Massacre Trial Short on Justice
UN Should Support Victims’ Appeal, Reparations The lenient prison terms for defendants on trial for the February 2020 massacre in Ngarbuh, in Cameroon’s North-West region, compounds the authorities’ insufficient efforts to hold senior military officers accountable and compensate victims’ families, Human Rights Watch said today. On February 20, 2026, a military court in Cameroon’s capital, […]
Abuses in Cameroon After US Deports Third-Country Nationals
US and Cameroon Partner in Rights Violations; Cameroon Not Safe for Deportees Cameroonian authorities are arbitrarily detaining non-Cameroonian nationals deported from the United States and detaining and abusing journalists who tried to interview them. But US President Donald Trump’s administration doesn’t seem to care. In January and February, under a secret agreement, the US government […]
Senegal Arrests 12 Men Using Punitive Anti-LGBT Laws
Release the Men; Repeal Anti-Gay, Anti-HIV Laws The recent detention of 12 men in Senegal using homophobic laws have intensified concerns over the country’s criminalization of same-sex relations and the safety of people living with HIV and/or AIDS. On February 9, gendarmes in Dakar arrested 12 men on various charges, including “acts against nature” and the […]
The Injustice in Chagos Continues
Last year’s deal handed sovereignty to Mauritius but did not resolve US and UK responsibility for crimes against the islands’ Indigenous people – the Chagossians. President Donald Trump’s description earlier this month of the UK–Mauritius agreement on the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands as “an act of great stupidity” briefly turned the world’s attention to […]
Global Leaders Should Speak Out on Ethiopia Crisis
African Union Summit Crucial Opportunity to Address Protection of Civilians The 39th meeting of heads of state and governments is taking place amid Ethiopia’s deteriorating human rights situation and the apparent unravelling of the fragile peace in the country’s Tigray region. Tigray’s population is still reeling from the 2020-2022 armed conflict and a man-made humanitarian […]
