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Human Rights Watch

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HRW Africa plays a crucial role in advocating for the protection of vulnerable populations, such as refugees, internally displaced people, and marginalized communities. Through its extensive network of researchers, activists, and advocates, HRW Africa highlights issues related to political repression, discrimination, violence against women, child exploitation, and attacks on freedom of expression and assembly. The organization works tirelessly to ensure its findings reach policymakers and create meaningful change.

HRW Africa’s commitment to impartiality, credibility, and accuracy has earned it a reputation as a trusted source of human rights information in the region and globally. By shedding light on human rights abuses, HRW Africa continues to be a driving force for positive change and justice, promoting respect for human rights and the rule of law in Africa. 

Most Recent

202511africa senegal football supporters

Youth Football Dream Turned Into Nightmare

Senegalese Player Cheikh Touré’s Death Reignites Football Trafficking Debate On November 2, a funeral was held for Cheikh Touré, a promising young Senegalese goalkeeper, after his body was finally returned to his family from Ghana. According to media reports, Touré had traveled to Ghana to meet people he believed to be football scouts. They allegedly […]

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202511afr kenya phone protest

Kenya: New Cybercrime Amendments Threaten Online Expression

Authorities Should Repeal Provisions that Undermine Free Speech Kenya’s newly enacted Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendments) Act, 2025, risks criminalizing legitimate online speech and its overbroad provisions should be repealed, Human Rights Watch said today. The amendment was passed by Parliament and assented to by President William Ruto on October 15. The Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act […]

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202311africa uganda eacop protest

Uganda Continues Targeting Fossil Fuel Activists

Authorities Should Drop Charges Against EACOP Protesters On November 6, a court in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, gave the go-ahead for the trial of twelve activists, eight of whom are students. The group faces charges stemming from their protests against the planned East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), one of the largest fossil fuel infrastructure projects […]

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202511afr tanzania protest Kigoma

Tanzania: Killings, Crackdown Follow Disputed Elections

Security Forces Use Live Ammunition Against Opposition Protests The authorities in Tanzania responded to widespread protests following the October 29 elections with lethal force and other abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. On November 1, Tanzania’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission, announced that the incumbent president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, won the election with […]

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202510africa sierraleone hospital waitingroom

Obstetric Violence Deadly for Sierra Leone Women, Newborns

Reform Systems that Undermine Women’s Rights Women giving birth in public hospitals in Sierra Leone who are unable to pay informal fees face dangerous neglect and abuse by health care providers, in some cases leading to the deaths of women or their newborns. Sierra Leone’s progress on maternal healthcare is being undermined by a lack […]

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Screenshot 2025 11 25 at 20 31 07 Convicted in Mali for Expressing ‘Unwavering Solidarity’ Human Rights Watch

Convicted in Mali for Expressing ‘Unwavering Solidarity’

Former Prime Minister’s Prosecution, Prison Sentence Signals Shrinking Civic Space On Monday, Mali’s national cybercrime court convicted former Prime Minister Moussa Mara for posting a message online expressing solidarity with political prisoners in the country. The prosecution represents the military junta’s starkest expansion yet of its campaign against free expression. Authorities arrested Mara in August for expressing his […]

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202510afr burkinafaso courtroom

Burkina Faso: Judicial Officers Feared Forcibly Disappeared

Heightened Crackdown against Justice System, Media Burkina Faso authorities should urgently investigate and publicly report on the whereabouts of six judges and prosecutors as well as one lawyer who are feared to have been forcibly disappeared, Human Rights Watch said today. The abductions of the judicial officers and lawyer since October 10, 2025, could amount […]

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202510afr chad deby

Chad: Constitutional Change Threatens Rule of Law, Democracy

Abolition of Term Limits Risks Entrenching President, Further Endangering Rights Chad’s new constitutional amendment abolishing presidential term limits is a serious setback for the rule of law and democracy, Human Rights Watch said today. The change paves the way for President Mahamat Idriss Déby to remain in power indefinitely, further weakening the prospects for a meaningful, […]

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202306africa burkinafaso soldiers

Two Burkina Faso Activists Unlawfully Conscripted are Released

Junta Abuses Emergency Law, Wrongfully Detains Critics Burkina Faso authorities on October 6 released Rasmané Zinaba and Bassirou Badjo, two members of the civil society group Balai Citoyen, who had been unlawfully conscripted into military service after criticizing the country’s military junta. Their release is an encouraging if not unprecedented development in a country where the government has […]

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202510afr chad Charfadine Galmaye Saleh and Makaila Nguebla

Chad’s Weaponization of Citizenship

Dangerous Turn Violates Human Rights and Sends Messages to Activists On September 17, the Chadian authorities published a decree purporting to strip blogger Makaila Nguebla and journalist Charfadine Galmaye Saleh of their nationality. The move marks a chilling escalation in the repression of dissent. By wielding citizenship as a political weapon, the government not only violates international […]

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202510afr mali Moussa Mara

Mali Puts Free Speech on Trial

Prosecution of Former Prime Minister Embodies Heightened Repression On Tuesday, former Prime Minister Moussa Mara stood calmly before a court in Mali’s capital, Bamako, while the judges rejected his lawyers’ application for his release on bail. The prosecution instead sought a two-year prison sentence, an action encapsulating the military junta’s crackdown on political opposition and dissent. Security forces […]

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202506afr drc Joseph Kabila

Vendetta in Democratic Republic of Congo

Former President Kabila’s Trial Exposes Country’s Democratic Crisis A Congolese military court’s conviction and death sentence imposed on former President Joseph Kabila on September 30 highlights the fragile balance between accountability and political stability in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The trial, for charges ranging from treason to war crimes, had all the trappings of a political […]

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Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people in Africa, spotlighting abuses and bringing perpetrators to justice.

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