Israeli troops fire ‘warning shots’ at 25 diplomats visiting occupied West Bank Shots force delegation representing 31 countries, including Italy, Canada, Egypt and UK, to run for cover * Middle East crisis – live updates Israeli troops have fired “warning shots” at a group of 25 diplomats who were visiting Jenin, in the Israel-occupied West Bank, on an official mission organised by the Palestinian Authority to observe the humanitarian situation there. The Israeli military said the visit had been approved, but the delegation “deviated from the approved route” and Israeli soldiers fired warning shots to distance them from the area. Continue reading...

Israeli troops fire ‘warning shots’ at 25 diplomats visiting occupied West Bank

After deliberately blocking humanitarian assistance from entering Gaza for 78 days, Israel has begun allowing in a “basic amount” of aid.

Israeli authorities’ blockade and use of starvation of civilians as a weapon of war amounts to war crimes and acts of genocide.

Gaza: UN Child Rights Committee condemns mass starvation of children amid aid blockades GENEVA  - The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child condemned the continued obstruction of humanitarian aid to Gaza, urging the international community to pressure Israel to allow immediate and sust...

The UN Child Rights Committee condemns mass starvation of children in Gaza amid aid blockades: www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

The UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) says nearly 3,000 aid trucks are piled up at Gaza’s border, unable to cross due to Israel’s now two-month blockade.

🔴 Follow our LIVE coverage: aje.io/aszkn6

The Trump administration’s first 100 days in office have been a relentless barrage of actions that violate, threaten, or undermine human rights.

This is what a descent into autocracy looks like:

www.hrw.org/feature/2025...

Myanmar earthquake: Junta continues air strikes after devastating quake A UN Special Rapporteur tells BBC it is "nothing short of incredible" that the military would "drop bombs when you are trying to rescue people".

Reports that Myanmar’s military has continued with airstrikes after the earthquake tells you everything you need to know about the junta - obsessed with its brutal repression of civilians and desperately trying to win the war whatever the human cost. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Gaza people surviving on canned food as fresh produce ‘rotting’ at border UN relief chief warns food ‘rotting’ at Gaza border as Israel breaching humanitarian law with blockade since March 18.

UN relief chief warns that food is ‘rotting’ at the Gaza border as Israel continues to breach humanitarian law with the blockade imposed on March 18 ⤵️ aje.io/43pq7y

Myanmar-Thailand earthquake live updates: Myanmar earthquake death toll rises to more than 1,000 as hundreds trapped under rubble In Mandalay, Myanmar, more than 1,500 houses are damaged as Bangkok rescue officials believe 15 people could be alive under the rubble of a collapsed building.

Prior to the earthquake, Myanmar was already facing a humanitarian crisis as a result of the junta's aid blockages & economic collapse which has left millions of people at risk of starvation and half the population in poverty. Now it's even worse. www.bbc.com/news/live/c4...

Get a Passport or Leave: Russia’s Ultimatum to Ukrainians A decree Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on March 20, 2025, requires Ukrainian citizens living in the Russian-occupied parts of Zaporizka, Khersonska, Donetska, and Luhanska regions to either ...

Russia tightens its grip on occupied Ukraine, forcing Ukrainians there to "regulate their legal status"—get a Russian passport or register as a foreigner—or leave. This paves the way for forced deportations, a potential war crime and crime against humanity
@hrw.org bit.ly/41TTyzC

“If we tolerate an Israel exception to our rights of free speech, we can be sure that other exceptions will follow.“

Israel carried out “genocidal acts” against Palestinians by systematically destroying women’s healthcare facilities during its war on Gaza and using sexual violence as a war strategy, say UN experts.

Read more: aje.io/pup0ac

Syria: End Coastal Killing Spree, Protect Civilians Summary executions and other atrocities have taken place in Syria’s coastal region following insurgent attacks on Syrian security forces and during subsequent government security operations, with the ...

Recent atrocities in Syria's coastal regions are deeply alarming. Government action to protect civilians and prosecute perpetrators of summary executions, and other grave crimes must be swift and unequivocal.

www.hrw.org/news/2025/03...

Philippines: Duterte Arrested on ICC Warrant The arrest of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his transfer to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague is a historic step toward justice, Human Rights Watch said today.

“Duterte’s arrest is a long-overdue victory against impunity that could bring victims and their families a step closer to justice. This momentous event sends a message to rights abusers everywhere that one day they could be held to account.”@HRW

www.hrw.org/news/2025/03...

For comment and updates on #Duterte for @hrw.org follow @carlosconde.bsky.social

Cutting off electricity to an entire civilian area, as collective punishment, is a war crime. #TurnItOn

Israel has cut off electricity to Gaza’s last functional desalination plant, forcing the plant—which served 500K people—to come to a halt.

Letter to the U.N. Secretary-General in Advance of His Visit to Bangladesh - Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Bangladesh is now undergoing unprecedented changes following widespread protests that led to the ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government in August 2024.

(1/3) We join human rights orgs in asking UNSG Antonio Guterres ahead of his trip to #Bangladesh to urge the Interim Govt to ensure justice for victims of abuses, protect civic space, and reform institutions including the security sector, with UN support.
rfkhumanrights.org/our-voices/l...

UK, France and Germany say Gaza aid freeze could breach international law Ministers issue joint statement after Israel cuts off supplies in effort to push Hamas to accept change in ceasefire deal Britain has joined Germany and France to warn that Israel could be in breach of international law by halting the entry of aid into…

UK, France and Germany say Gaza aid freeze could breach international law

Zambia: Mining in Toxic Lead Waste Poisons Children Zambia’s government is facilitating hazardous mining and processing of toxic lead waste in the city of Kabwe that poses major health risks to children.

In two words: this is Poisonous Profit. The Zambian government should urgently suspend operations and revoke the licenses of companies involved in hazardous mining activities in Kabwe. Profit should never come before children’s health.
#leadfreekabwe
www.hrw.org/news/2025/03...

from my brilliant colleague @eminacerimovic.bsky.social

The Trump Administration Said These Aid Programs Saved Lives. It Canceled Them Anyway. The axing of some 10,000 programs has consigned untold numbers of children and refugees to death, officials say. Documents and interviews reveal that the State Department appears to have made the cuts...

Inching toward a full-on break with the rule of law: @propublica.org reports on what looks like the administration's "fake" review of aid programs, which would mean it "will have defied a federal judge’s order in a brazen gambit to continue dismantling USAID." www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Thailand: Don’t Send Uyghurs to China A group of 48 Uyghur men who have been held for over a decade in Thai immigration detention face risks of enforced disappearance, long-term imprisonment, torture, and other severe mistreatment if Thai...

Deeply troubling that 40+ Uyghur men held in Thai detention for more than a decade are now at imminent risk of being sent to China.

We iterate our call to Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra not to send them to China where they risk imprisonment & torture.
www.hrw.org/news/2025/01...

Sudan: Armed Group Allied to the Military Attacks Village The Sudan Shield Forces, an armed group that fights alongside the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), intentionally targeted civilians in an attack on January 10, 2025, Human Rights Watch said today.

New @hrw.org report: The Sudan Shield Forces, an armed group fighting alongside the Sudanese Armed Forces, intentionally targeted civilians in a January attack on Tayba village, killing at least 26 people including a child. This constitutes war crimes. www.hrw.org/news/2025/02... 🧵

Just in time for #RightsCon2025, see our joint statement with techglobalinstitute, @peninternational.bsky.social, @accessnow.org, @article19.bsky.social + @rfkhumanrights.bsky.social on the digital legal landscape in #bangladesh, and why we're concerned.

www.hrw.org/news/2025/02...

After the Monsoon Revolution The 50-page report, “After the Monsoon Revolution: A Roadmap to Lasting Security Sector Reform in Bangladesh,” offers recommendations for systemic reform after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s autocrati...

5. The report issues key recommendations for justice, accountability, and reform. Many of which are also reflected in our @hrw.org report.

Among them is an important call to disband the rapid action battalion.

www.hrw.org/report/2025/...

4. The army was involved in abuses: the report found that army soldiers fired military rifles with live ammunition directly at protesters on at least 3 occasions. They also provided physical cover for police and RAB carrying out abuses.

“Where No Sun Can Enter” The 57-page report, “‘Where No Sun Can Enter’: A Decade of Enforced Disappearances in Bangladesh,” finds that, despite credible and consistent evidence that Bangladesh security forces routinely commit...

3. Intelligence forces contributed to and concealed abuses, these include: The DGFI, NSI, NTMC, and the specialised branches of the Police (DB, CTTC).

These units have previously been implicated in abuses, including extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. www.hrw.org/report/2021/...

2. Attacks on healthcare: security forces denied/obstructed medical care for injured protesters + interrogated patients. They intimidated medical personnel and seized hospital CCTV footage without due process, in an apparent effort to identify protesters and to conceal evidence of state abuses.

1. Command responsibility: extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and torture "were carried out with the knowledge, coordination and direction of the political leadership and senior security officials as part of a strategy to suppress the protests.”

🚨 Read paras 282-289 re the "core committee"

Bangladesh: UN report finds brutal, systematic repression of protests, calls for justice for serious rights violations GENEVA – Bangladesh’s former Government and security and intelligence services, alongside violent elements associated with the Awami League party, systematically engaged in a range of serious human ri...

The much anticipated UN human rights report on the #monsoonrevolution in #Bangladesh estimates 1,400 people were killed and thousands injured, the vast majority of whom were shot by Bangladesh’s security forces. More than 10% were kids.

www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

Key takeaways 🧵👇

Bangladesh: Reforms Needed to Restore Democracy An interim government has embarked upon much-needed institutional change and accountability in Bangladesh, but recent cases of arbitrary arrests and reprisal violence underscore the need for long-term...

Nearly 1,000 Bangladeshis lost their lives fighting for democracy, ushering in a landmark opportunity to build a rights-respecting future in Bangladesh.

What’s next after Bangladesh’s Monsoon Revolution?

Read the new report from HRW ⤵️