Incendiary Weapons
Italy: Students with Disabilities Included in Covid-19 Education Plans
Examples of In-Person Education in Pandemic Offer Lessons for All
(Bolzano) – The measures some schools in Italy took to ensure access to quality education for students with disabilities during Covid-19-related school closures should inspire other schools to follow suit, Human Rights Watch said today. The steps…
Russia/Syria: Flurry of Prohibited Weapons Attacks
International Norms Ignored as Civilians Suffer
(Beirut) – The Russian-Syrian joint military operation has used internationally banned and other indiscriminate weapons in unlawful attacks on civilians in northwest Syria in recent weeks, Human Rights Watch said today. According to the…
January 8, 2019 News
Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Detained Children Tortured
Beatings, Electric Shock to Coerce ISIS Confessions
(Beirut) – The Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq is torturing children to confess to involvement with the Islamic State (ISIS), Human Rights Watch said today. Children told Human Rights Watch that in…
Nepal: Barriers to Inclusive Education
Segregation, Lack of Accessibility for Children with Disabilities
(Brussels) – Children with disabilities in Nepal face serious obstacles to quality, inclusive education, Human Rights Watch said today. Despite progress in law and policy, the government segregates most children with disabilities into…
Yemen: Key Concerns for Hodeida Battle
Poor Record of Coalition and Houthi Indiscriminate Attacks and Aid Restrictions
(Beirut) – All parties to the conflict in Yemen should minimize civilian harm during military operations against the western port city of Hodeida, Human Rights Watch said today. The Saudi-led coalition, backed by the United States, and…
Israel: Army Demolishing West Bank Schools
Could Amount to War Crimes
(New York) – Israel has repeatedly denied Palestinians permits to build schools in the West Bank and demolished schools built without permits, making it more difficult or impossible for thousands of children to get an education. On…
Mauritania: Administrative Obstacles Keep Kids from School
Daunting Civil Registration Process Depresses Enrollment
(Tunis) – Mauritania's national civil registration process is preventing some children from attending public school and taking mandatory national examinations, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should change its policies to…
South Sudan: Warring Parties Break Promises on Child Soldiers
UN, AU Need to Impose Sanctions, Get Court Running
(Nairobi) – South Sudanese armed forces and armed opposition groups continue to recruit child soldiers and force them into the conflict, despite numerous commitments to stop, Human Rights Watch said today. The United Nations…
Syria: Children Under Attack in Damascus Enclave
UN Security Council Should Act on Eastern Ghouta Situation
(New York) – Attacks by Syrian-Russian forces in an area near the Damascus in late October and early November 2017 killed eight children and destroyed or damaged four schools, Human Rights Watch said today. The attacks on Eastern Ghouta…
Russia/Syria: Deadly Airstrikes on Trapped Civilians
Cluster Munitions, Attacks on Main Roads, Residential Areas in Idlib Area
(Beirut) – The Russian-Syrian joint military operation has carried out unlawful airstrikes in recent weeks that have killed civilians trapped in northern Syria, Human Rights Watch said today. The ongoing attacks and the lack of…
Russia: Children, Students Targeted after Protests
Protesters, Parents Face Intimidation, Charges
(Moscow) – The authorities in numerous cities across Russia have harassed and intimidated schoolchildren and university students who participated in anti-corruption demonstrations on March 26, 2017, Human Rights Watch said today.…
Turkey: Education Barriers for Asylum Seekers
Afghan, Iranian Children Lack Status, Risk Child Labor
(Brussels) – Many child asylum seekers in Turkey are not going to school because of arbitrary policies for asylum seekers, Human Rights Watch said today. The Turkish interior ministry should revise the policies for non-Syrian asylum…
Yemen: Cluster Munitions Wound Children
Brazil Should Stop Producing Banned Weapon, Join Ban Treaty
(São Paulo) – The Saudi-led coalition launched Brazilian-made cluster munition rockets that struck a farm in northern Yemen in late February 2017, wounding two boys, Human Rights Watch said today. "The Saudi-led coalition's continued use of widely…
Iraq: Armed Groups Using Child Soldiers
Armed Groups Should Immediately Demobilize Children
(Beirut) – Armed groups in Iraq affiliated to the Kurdistan Workers' Party have recruited boys and girls, Human Rights Watch said today. In two cases the armed groups abducted or seriously abused children who tried to leave their forces. The groups should…
Education for Syrian Refugee Children: What Donors and Host Countries Should Do
Education for Syrian children has become a casualty of war: school enrollment rates have fallen drastically, not only in Syria but among children who have fled. Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan have taken generous steps to provide Syrian…
Senegal: New Steps to Protect Talibés, Street Children
Sustain Momentum with Investigations, Prosecutions
(Dakar) – The Senegalese government's recent initiative to remove children including those forced to beg by their Quranic teachers from the streets is an important step in reforming a deeply entrenched system of exploitation, Human…
EU: Don't Send Syrians Back to Turkey
Lack of Jobs, School, Health Care Spurs Poverty, Exploitation
(Brussels) – Delays in registration and limited implementation of temporary protection policies in Turkey mean that many Syrian refugees are left without effective protection or access to jobs and services that they desperately need, Human Rights Watch…
Leave No One Behind
Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Emergencies
The Seleka [an armed rebel group] came and started killing people. I was fast asleep when I heard gunshots and woke up to find myself alone at home. My parents had fled without me. I started shouting and crawled to the entrance of my house but…
April 4, 2016 News
DR Congo: Children Held in Remote Military Prison
Former Child Soldiers Should Be Rehabilitated, Released
(Goma) – The Congolese military is unlawfully detaining at least 29 children in dire conditions in northwest Democratic Republic of Congo. The authorities allege that the boys, ages 15 to 17, were members of a rebel armed group, and have held them in a…
Russia/Syria: Extensive Recent Use of Cluster Munitions
Indiscriminate Attacks Despite Syria's Written Guarantees
(New York) – The military offensive that the Russian and Syrian government forces opened against armed groups opposed to the government on September 30, 2015, has included extensive use of cluster munitions – inherently indiscriminate and internationally…
Attacks on Health
Explosive Weapons in Civilian Areas