"President-elect Trump should turn away from his plan to deport millions. Experience shows that the people caught up in that net will be long-time residents often with US citizen families who are needed, loved, and achingly missed by their children, parents, and communities."

Clara Long, researcher

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Mismanagement and lack of coordination among EU governments contributed to a political and humanitarian crisis in 2015, when over one million asylum seekers, migrants, and refugees reached Europe by sea…

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The Week in Numbers

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"Personal drug use shouldn’t be addressed by the criminal justice system, and the results on election day helped move things in the right direction. The US continues to move away from criminalizing marijuana use and toward rational drug policy grounded in a respect for privacy and human rights."

— Antonio Ginatta, US advocacy director

"Donald Trump found a path to the White House through a campaign marked by misogyny, racism, and xenophobia, but that’s not a route to successful governance. President-elect Trump should commit to leading the US in a manner that fully respects and promotes human rights for everyone."

Kenneth Roth, executive director at Human Rights Watch

State’s Double Dealing a Threat to LGBT Rights
in South AfricaThis is a pick-and-choose approach to human rights, and it can only
end badly…

State’s Double Dealing a Threat to LGBT Rights
in South Africa

This is a pick-and-choose approach to human rights, and it can only 
end badly…

Journalist Killed in Kiev Car Explosion

Pavel Sheremet was known for often raising human rights issues in his work, and for his biting criticism of authorities and anti-corruption investigations. Although at this stage, the full facts surrounding the explosion, including those potentially responsible and motives, are unknown, past unresolved attacks on journalists have had a chilling effect on media freedom in Ukraine.

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Extrajudicial Police Killings in Brazil Undercut Security in the Lead-up to the Rio Olympics

Rio police have killed more than 8,000 people in the past decade, including at least 645 in 2015.

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Foreigners Endangered in Libya Newly documented abuses include torture, rape, and killings in squalid detention centers where migrants, including people intercepted at sea by the Libyan Coast Guards, are detained.
The EU isn’t sending people back to...

Foreigners Endangered in Libya

Newly documented abuses include torture, rape, and killings in squalid detention centers where migrants, including people intercepted at sea by the Libyan Coast Guards, are detained.

The EU isn’t sending people back to Libya, knowing that’s unlawful, so it wants to outsource the dirty work to Libyan forces,” said Judith Sunderland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The EU – soon perhaps with NATO’s help – is basically deputizing Libyan forces to help seal Europe’s border.”

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If Ban Ki-moon lets Saudi money silence him, what credibility does the UN have when it speaks for poorer nations?
Hamas Should Halt Executions  On May 26, the authorities in Gaza announced a plan to execute 13 people convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, because it is inherently cruel and...

Hamas Should Halt Executions

On May 26, the authorities in Gaza announced a plan to execute 13 people convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, because it is inherently cruel and irreversible, and has documented serious abuses in criminal justice in Gaza that make the May 31 executions particularly egregious.

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