Bassam Khawaja

The Israeli military’s call for the immediate evacuation of the entire population of Lebanon south of Litani River raises serious risks of laws of war violations. The area makes up 8 percent of Lebanon’s territory and is home to hundreds of thousands www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...

Türkiye: Leading Opponent of Erdoğan on Trial The Istanbul mayor and presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu will stand trial on March 9, 2026 as the central defendant in a politically motivated mass corruption prosecution, Human Rights Watch said ...

HRW: The Istanbul mayor and presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu will stand trial on March 9, 2026, as the central defendant in a politically motivated mass corruption prosecution www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...

Gaza fuel running short after Israel closes borders amid Iran war Gaza is rapidly running out of its limited fuel supply ​and stocks of food staples may become tight, officials say, after Israel blocked the ‌entry of fuel and goods into the war-shattered territory, ...

Gaza rapidly running out of its limited fuel supply ​and stocks of food staples after Israel AGAIN blocked ‌entry of fuel and goods: www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Lebanon/Israel: Civilians at Grave Risk of Abuse Civilians are at grave risk of abuse as the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalates.

Civilians are at grave risk of abuse as the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalates: www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...

A Small Change in Egypt’s Tax Code, A Big Opportunity for Rights In an overdue but welcome step, Egypt’s Ministry of Finance has published data showing state owned enterprises, following 2024 tax reforms to remove their tax exemptions, contributed 67 billion pounds...

Egypt published data showing state owned enterprises contributed $1.4 billion in tax revenue in FY2024/25 following reforms. That an obscure tax reform could generate such huge sums highlights the transformative potential of tax policy for human rights: www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

Israel/OPT: Global impunity fueling Israel’s unlawful annexation measures in the West Bank Since December 2025, Israeli authorities have unleashed a series of unlawful measures deliberately designed to dispossess Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and to make ...

Amnesty: Since December 2025, Israeli authorities have unleashed a series of unlawful measures deliberately designed to dispossess Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and to make the annexation an irreversible reality www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...

Independent Monitoring Critical for Syria’s Transition Syria is at a pivotal moment. After years of devastating conflict and decades of repression, the country’s transitional phase will determine whether it breaks with entrenched patterns of abuse or mere...

After devastating conflict and decades of repression, Syria’s transitional phase will determine whether it breaks with entrenched patterns of abuse or reproduces them. These decisions will shape Syria’s human rights landscape and stability for generations www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

Lebanon: Deliver Justice, Truth, Reparations for War Crimes Victims The Lebanese government should take immediate, concrete steps to help secure access to justice, truth and reparations for thousands of civilian victims of abuses stemming from the armed conflict with ...

The Lebanese government should take immediate, concrete steps to help secure access to justice, truth, and reparations for thousands of civilian victims of abuses stemming from the armed conflict with Israel: www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

Marriage Without Safeguards: The Consequences of Iraq’s Personal Status Code When I went to a Baghdad court in May 2023 to interview a judge, I wasn’t expecting to witness a child marriage.

Sarah Sanbar examines how Iraq’s Personal Status Code has weakened legal safeguards for women and girls, particularly by facilitating child marriage and creating a parallel religious legal regime: www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

Iran: Tsunami of Arbitrary Arrests, Enforced Disappearances Iran’s authorities have waged a brutal campaign to terrorize the population through mass arbitrary detentions, torture, and enforced disappearances in the aftermath countrywide massacres of protesters...

Iran’s authorities have waged a brutal campaign to terrorize the population through mass arbitrary detentions, torture, and enforced disappearances in the aftermath countrywide massacres of protesters and bystanders by security forces in January www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

Israel: Aid Groups Barred From Gaza, West Bank Israeli authorities plan to bar 37 international nongovernmental organizations from operating in Gaza and the West Bank on March 1, 2026, for refusing to provide the government with lists of their sta...

HRW: Israeli authorities plan to bar 37 international NGOs from operating in Gaza and the West Bank on March 1, for refusing to provide the government with lists of their staff and their biodata as part of new registration requirements www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

Northeast Syria: Camp Closures Leave Thousands Stranded The wellbeing of about 8,500 people held in camps housing families of men suspected of ISIS affiliation in northeast Syria remains uncertain.

HRW: the wellbeing of 8,500 people held in camps housing families of men suspected of ISIS affiliation in northeast Syria remains uncertain. The government announced that the camps would be imminently closed. www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

Egypt: Refugees in hiding amid crackdown involving arbitrary arrests and unlawful deportations In recent months, the Egyptian authorities renewed their campaign of arbitrarily detaining and unlawfully deporting refugees and asylum seekers solely on the basis of their irregular immigration statu...

Amnesty: In recent months, the Egyptian authorities renewed a campaign of arbitrarily detaining and unlawfully deporting refugees and asylum seekers in blatant violation of the principle of non-refoulement and Egypt’s own asylum law www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...

Iraq: ISIS Detainees Transferred from Syria at Risk of Abuse The United States transferred 5,700 detainees held for alleged ISIS affiliation from Northeast Syria to Iraq, where they are at risk of enforced disappearance, unfair trials, torture, ill treatment, a...

HRW: The United States transferred 5,700 detainees held for alleged ISIS affiliation from Northeast Syria to Iraq, where they are at risk of enforced disappearance, unfair trials, torture, ill-treatment, and violations of the right to life www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

European Parliament Tries to Bury the Right to Seek Asylum The European Parliament voted today to usher in changes to European Union asylum rules that jeopardize the right to seek asylum.

The European Parliament voted today to usher in changes to EU asylum rules that jeopardize the right to seek asylum. Human Rights Watch detailed human rights abuses in every country on the EU’s “safe countries of origin” list: www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

Tunisia: Prominent Lawyer Arbitrarily Detained A Tunisian lawyer and human rights defender, Ahmed Souab, sentenced to prison on terrorism-related charges, will face a new trial on appeal on February 12, 2026.

A Tunisian lawyer and human rights defender, Ahmed Souab, who was sentenced to prison on terrorism-related charges, will face a new trial on appeal on February 12. Tunisian authorities should immediately drop the unfounded charges and release him www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

Yemen: Houthis Arbitrarily Detain, Disappear Christians Houthi authorities have arbitrarily arrested over 20 Christians in Yemen over the last three months.

Houthi authorities have arbitrarily arrested over 20 Christians in Yemen over the last three months. The Houthis should immediately release them, along with the hundreds of others they are arbitrarily detaining across the areas of Yemen under their control www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

Egypt: Muzzling Dissidents, Narrowing Civic Space The Egyptian authorities during 2025 systematically dismantled basic freedoms and suffocated civic space.

HRW: Egyptian authorities during 2025 systematically dismantled basic freedoms and suffocated civic space. Economic crises, coupled with authorities’ underfunding of public services like education and health care, undermined people’s socioeconomic rights www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

Israel’s Extermination, Ethnic Cleansing Escalate Israeli forces escalated their atrocities in 2025, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, acts of genocide, and ethnic cleansing against Palestinians.

HRW: Israeli forces escalated their atrocities in 2025, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, acts of genocide, and ethnic cleansing. Israeli forces killed, maimed, starved, and forcibly displaced Palestinians and destroyed their homes www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

US: Second Unjustified Killing by Federal Agents in Minneapolis The fatal shooting of another Minneapolis resident by federal agents follows weeks of violent and abusive immigration enforcement actions throughout the city.

Federal immigration enforcement agents unlawfully shot and killed a man in Minneapolis, Minnesota this weekend, marking the second killing by immigration enforcement agents in the city this month. www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

Algeria/Tunisia: Forced return of asylum seeker and political dissident a violation of international law Algerian authorities must clarify the legal basis for the forced return of former parliamentarian and government critic Seifeddine Makhlouf to Tunisia on 18 January, despite the fact that he was a reg...

Amnesty: Algerian authorities returned former parliamentarian and government critic Seifeddine Makhlouf to Tunisia on January 18, despite the fact that he was a registered asylum seeker with UNHCR. This amounts to refoulement—an international law violation www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...

Syria: Civilian Protection Lacking in Northeast Escalation Both sides in the conflict between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Northeast Syria need to protect civilians and respect human rights in their operations.

The Syrian transitional authorities’ ability to protect minority communities is in question following bloody massacres of civilians in 2025. They must urgently take measures to prevent a repeat of such incidents in NE Syria www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

Israel’s continuous assaults on Birzeit University are an attack on education itself: UN experts GENEVA – Israel’s military assault on Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank is not episodic violence but a systematic policy, UN experts* said today.“Raids, arrests, intimidation, and the crimi...

UN experts condemn Israel’s "continuous assaults" on Birzeit University as an attack on education www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

The Need for Progress on Justice and Reparations On January 20, a Belgian court held a closed-door hearing to determine whether to pursue a criminal case against the last living former Belgian official for his alleged involvement in the 1961 assassi...

A Belgian court held a hearing to determine whether to pursue a criminal case against the last living former Belgian official for alleged involvement in the 1961 assassination of the first democratically elected prime minister of the DRC, Patrice Lumumba: www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

Iran: Growing Evidence of Countrywide Massacres Iran’s security forces have carried out mass killings of protesters after nationwide protests escalated on January 8, 2026. Thousands of protesters and bystanders are believed to have been killed.

Iran’s security forces have carried out mass killings of protesters after protests escalated on January 8. Thousands are believed to have been killed, while the government’s severe restrictions on communications have concealed the true scale of atrocities. www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

Syrian government forces and local Bedouin and Druze armed groups are responsible for grave abuses during clashes in Syria’s southern Sweida governorate in July 2025. Syrian authorities should hold those responsible for abuses on all sides accountable www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

UN experts: Egypt must lift restrictions on released human rights defenders GENEVA – Independent human rights experts* today expressed concern over restrictions faced by human rights defenders in Egypt following their release from detention.“We recently raised concerns about ...

UN experts call on Egypt to lift restrictions on released human rights defenders www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

Tunisian journalist Chatha Belhaj Mubarak freed, sentence cut Tunisian authorities have rejected accusations by opposition groups that the prosecutions were politically motivated

Some rare good news from Tunisia - journalist Chadha Hadj Mbarek has been released from prison, her sentence reduced to 2 years suspended www.newarab.com/news/tunisia...

Saudi Arabia: Record Number of Executions in 2025 Saudi authorities executed at least 356 people in 2025, setting a new record in the country for the highest number of executions in one-year since monitoring began.

Saudi authorities executed at least 356 people in 2025, setting a new record in the country for the highest number of executions in one year since monitoring began www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

A Fairer Tax System is a Global Human Rights Imperative [Sarah Saadoun is a senior advisor on economic inequality at Human Rights Watch] Diplomats from dozens of countries gathered in Nairobi, Kenya, in November for a new round of negotiations on a Unit…

Around the world, economic inequality is fueling both the rise of authoritarianism and protesters going to the streets to demand change. Tax policy is inextricably bound up with those issues. opiniojuris.org/2026/01/13/a...