Human Rights Watch Canada

We are Human Rights Watch Canada. Investigate. Expose. Change.

***

Nous sommes Human Rights Watch Canada. Enquêter. Exposer. Influencer.

[人权观察 HRW Chinese @hrw_chinese]

By severely punishing three Tiananmen vigil organizers for conducting ordinary democratic activities, the Hong Kong High Court has violated their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

- @hrw @PearsonElaine

Read more: https://t.co/9K9YDKF8zM

[Human Rights Watch @hrw]

Iranian authorities are unlawfully executing protesters and political dissidents on a weekly basis, a relentless attack on the right to life.

Between March 18 and the end of August 2026, Iran’s authorities announced the executions of 29 people in connection with recent protests.

New from HRW and @IranRights_org: https://t.co/0I9fL0TXMp

[Ramzi Kaiss / رمزي قيس @kaiss_ramzi]

In a new report. @hrw has documented 23 verified incidents of Israeli use of white phosphorus over southern lebanon, between March and May 2026.

https://t.co/w1fPdrLYb9

[Human Rights Watch @hrw]

The United Kingdom, France, and Canada have announced a trade ban with Israel’s illegal settlements, joining Norway, Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Belgium, who already adopted such measures. 

Other governments and institutions, including the European Union as Israel’s main trading partner, should follow suit.

Read more: https://t.co/QIuWfeR3ri

[Human Rights Watch @hrw]

As schools in Ukraine opened for the new academic year on September 1, repeated air raid alerts in Kyiv and elsewhere have disrupted classes and sent children into shelters, sometimes for hours.

In Kyiv alone since February 2022, 314 educational facilities have been damaged, according to city authorities, including at least 107 so far in 2026. https://t.co/DxuThuE5tw

[Human Rights Watch @hrw]

Five years on, the Taliban's repression continues in #Afghanistan.

Women and girls are denied their rights. Critics face persecution. Accountability remains overdue.

Renew the UN expert's mandate and urgently operationalize the new accountability mechanism.
Learn more⤵️

[Human Rights Watch @hrw]

This week, we're at the Venice International Film Festival (@la_Biennale) for the world premiere of "Solwata," a new immersive documentary spotlighting the climate crisis.

What are the human rights consequences of climate change?

Learn more about "Solwata" ⤵️

[Human Rights Watch @hrw]

NEW: The Sri Lankan government’s prosecution of past grave abuses has lagged, raising concerns for future progress.

Many cases of forced disappearance, torture, and killing remain stalled, while families of victims and human rights defenders face threats and intimidation.

Learn more:
https://t.co/IBymCapY2M

[Human Rights Watch @hrw]

As people in Nepal and across the Chinese border in Tibet reel from horrific mudslides, the Chinese government has turned to censorship and control.

Information controls can make it harder for families to locate loved ones, and hamper understanding of the disaster and any future response. https://t.co/b0NHKx0qrt

[Human Rights Watch @hrw]

“This is the story of here and everywhere.”

In just one week, "Solwata," created by NowHere Media, will premiere at the Venice International Film Festival.

Narrated by @MarkRuffalo and co-produced by Human Rights Watch and Agog, the immersive documentary spotlights the human consequences of climate change in the Pacific nation of Solomon Islands.

Come stand alongside the communities facing rising tides.

[Human Rights Watch @hrw]

Nine years after the Myanmar military killed Rohingya and razed their homes, the Rohingya are still at grave risk.

Rohingya have waited too long for justice, safety, and respect for their rights. Learn more:

[billvanesveld @billvanesveld]

A new Turkish law lets courts sentence 12-year-olds to 27 years in prison, 15-yr-olds to life. But decades of research show that draconian punishments for kids don’t help public safety. This law is not a deterrent—it’s just a gross child rights violation. https://t.co/rOJ5gnJRsI

[Hiba Zayadin @ZayadinH]

Syria's former grand mufti Ahmad Hassoun was sentenced to life today, the latest verdict in the Assad-era trials. Our Q&A digs into the fair trial concerns raised by the first verdict in this process, and what's needed for credible justice going forward.
https://t.co/cSZ8J9QRyK

[Human Rights Watch @hrw]

Attacks by settlers in the occupied West Bank are increasingly driving the forced displacement of Palestinian communities, with dozens at risk of erasure.

Israeli authorities are arming, funding, and granting impunity to the violent settlers responsible for these escalating deadly abuses.

Learn more: https://t.co/95LWctwVPD

[Sarah Sanbar @SarahSanbar]

Behind housing units in E1 are Palestinian families facing displacement. Companies bidding to build those houses are bidding on complicity in a war crime. Cancel the tender and stop settlement expansion.
https://t.co/Nz4fpTfjWe

[Human Rights Watch @hrw]

The US government sanctioned two additional International Criminal Court officials this week under an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in February 2025.

ICC member countries should strongly condemn this misuse of sanctions and act to ensure that the court can continue its critical work on behalf of survivors of the world’s worst crimes, whether in Afghanistan, Palestine, Sudan, or Ukraine.

Read more: https://t.co/P3egB9dUin

[Elaine Pearson @PearsonElaine]

Thai authorities should halt the imminent deportation of 26 ethnic Karen villagers from Phetchaburi to Myanmar and release them from immigration detention. New from @hrw
https://t.co/GN0xOLMe6A

[Human Rights Watch @hrw]

In 2025, we published an episode of our Rights & Wrongs podcast asking if the International Criminal Court could survive the year.

This week, HRW and partner organizations launched a lawsuit challenging US President Donald Trump’s executive order authorizing sanctions on ICC officials, judges, and others.

Revisit the episode: https://t.co/8NyD89i01E

[Human Rights Watch @hrw]

The Chinese government is interrogating Uyghur Australians visiting Xinjiang, pressing them to collect information on Uyghurs in Australia.

Chinese authorities demand daily reporting while in Xinjiang, and on their return, pressure them to inform on activists, and monitor community events.

These interrogations and strict monitoring have a chilling effect emblematic of Beijing’s transnational repression in Australia.

Learn more: https://t.co/cpnuWhr0Wp

[Fereshta Abbasi @FereshtaAbbasi]

My latest op-ed for The Hill:
Migration deals will take the pressure off the Taliban for their ongoing abuses. This kind of “technical” engagement will send a dangerous message that no range of rights abuses will stop others from making deals with you.
https://t.co/OgAlF2UhFa