We’re sending our solidarity and support to Jewish communities after a frightening series of targeted antisemitic attacks. Jewish people, like everyone else, have the right to safety and belonging where they worship, work and live.

A Polish Warning for Post-Orbán Hungary: ‘We’ve Been Here Before.’ Wojciech Ciesla is a Polish investigative journalist who witnessed eight years of eroding democratic norms under a populist right-wing government. His country is still recovering. Here’s what he sees ...

Proud to publish this view on Hungary from a Polish colleague.

"As we learned, PiS left a staggering amount of traps and landmines for its successors — and many have proved impossible to defuse. Fidesz, which ruled for twice as long, has done the same in Hungary."

www.occrp.org/en/feature/a...

Hungary: New Government Needs to Restore Rule of Law Hungary’s incoming government should take immediate steps to restore fundamental rights, dismantle abusive laws and institutions, and strengthen democratic institutions, after years of backsliding, Hu...

Hungary: New Government Needs to Restore Rule of Law

- Suspend Sovereignty Protection Office
- End rule by decree
- Restore assembly rights
- Repeal laws used to target critics

Latest from @hrw.org @lydsg.bsky.social

A rights agenda for the incoming government

www.hrw.org/news/2026/04...

Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán is ejected after 16 years in a European electoral earthquake Hungarian voters have ousted long-serving Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power, rejecting the authoritarian policies and global far-right movement that he embodied in favor of a pro-European challenger in a bombshell election result with ...

Viktor Orbán’s 16-year grip on power has ended in Hungary.

The new government should act fast: end rule by decree, suspend Sovereignty Protection Office, drop politically motivated cases, guarantee peaceful protest, restore judicial independence, & meet EU rule of law milestones. Rights can’t wait.

Landmark UN Resolution on the Slave Trade Commemorating the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the United Nations General Assembly passed a landmark resolution on March 25.

A global majority adopted a landmark UN resolution to advance reparations for injustices linked to enslavement legacies.

Who didn't vote in favor of the resolution? Many Global North countries facing calls for reparatory justice.

The time for action is now.

www.hrw.org/news/2026/03... @hrw.org

If peaceful Gaza protest is criminal, what’s left of UK freedom? The conviction of UK civil society leaders Ben Jamal and Chris Nineham over peaceful protest for Gaza is a warning sign for us all, writes Yasmine Ahmed.

🚨My latest opinion piece on the conviction of 2 fellow UK civil society leaders Ben Jamal & Chris Nineham over peaceful protest 4 Gaza @thenewarab.bsky.social

This is a warning sign for us all.

If peaceful Gaza protest is criminal, what’s left of UK freedom?

www.newarab.com/node/6906059

173 countries agree via the Child Soldiers Treaty that children should not be conscripted/used in wars. Good progress but more work to do.

Here's why the future #CrimesAgainstHumanity Treaty should criminalize child recruitment and use: hrw.org/news/2026/04... #CAHTreatyNow

The SRA and over 100 organizations called on the IOC to abandon these plans

Council of Europe Adopts New Social Rights Declaration Amid a bleak political landscape of rising authoritarianism and anti-rights political agendas, the Council of Europe and its member states adopted a new declaration last week in Chișinău, Moldova, rei...

A brief reflection on the potential and possibility of the @coe.int's recent Chișinău Declaration on social rights to help build democratic resilience.

Citing @aoifenolan.bsky.social's op-ed and the joint statement by @commissionerhr.coe.int & @deschuttero.bsky.social.

www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...

Anchored in the story of Muang, a Rohingya refugee now living in New York, HRW’s new podcast season traces his journey of rebuilding at a moment when more people are forcibly displaced than at any point since WWII.

🎙️The Great Unrooting EP1 out now: https://bit.ly/4bLG8M5

Türkiye: Impeded Access to Mayor’s Trial An Istanbul court has imposed arbitrary restrictions on lawyers, journalists and members of the public seeking to follow the trial of the jailed Istanbul mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, Human Rights Watch said...

An Istanbul court has imposed arbitrary restrictions on lawyers, journalists, & members of the public seeking to follow the trial of the jailed Istanbul Mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, @hrw.org says. The court should ensure hearings are open to the public
www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...

Norway: Halt Extradition of Activist to Greece The arrest of a human rights activist, Tommy Olsen, by Norwegian authorities on March 16, 2026, is based on a groundless extradition request by Greece.

The arrest of human rights activist, Tommy Olsen, by Norwegian authorities on March 16, 2026, is based on a groundless extradition request by Greece, @hrw.org says. Norwegian authorities should refuse to extradite him on human rights grounds.
www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...

Want to hear rare good news?

A Belgian court opened a criminal trial against a former Belgian official for his alleged involvement in the killings of Lumumba, the DRC's first PM, & two senior officials during decolonization.

Justice delayed shouldn't be justice denied.

www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...

@hrw.org shares this concern

Social Rights: An Essential Component of the Fight Against Poverty - Commissioner for Human Rights - www.coe.int Chișinău, Republic of Moldova 18 March 2026

A strong statement by @commissionerhr.coe.int Michael O'Flaherty and UN Special Rapporteur @deschuttero.bsky.social on social rights and the fight against poverty

(in advance of the Council of Europe High-Level Conference on Social Rights in Chișinău this week)

www.coe.int/en/web/commi...

Two women visit a Jobcenter in Berlin, Germany, June 25, 2025 © 2025 Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images

The German government’s social security bill has its second reading in the Bundestag today. The plans run counter to Germany’s human rights obligations, and will leave more people, including children in low-income families and single mothers, at risk of poverty.
@hrw.org
www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...

Valuable reflections on the parlous state of media freedom in Europe by the coordinator of the Council of Europe's Platform on Journalists Safety, @jpmarthoz.bsky.social

#EU leaders should never belittle role of int'l law or apply it selectively - as they've done since #USA/#Israel's strikes on #Iran & retaliatory strikes on neighboring countries.

It goes against #EU values & its long-term interests.

Our take 👇
www.hrw.org/news/2026/03... @eudiplomacy.bsky.social

To understand the scale of what has happened, my colleagues have put together a timeline of state actions against the CHP since the autumn of 2024 www.hrw.org/sites/defaul...

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 ...

The trial of jailed mayor and opposition leader Ekrem İmamoğlu, which starts today, follows more than a year of the authorities weaponizing the criminal justice system against the opposition CHP party and its elected officials, harming democracy, @hrw.org research finds
www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...

Greek Court Finds Spyware Executives Guilty An Athens court in a landmark ruling on February 26 delivered the first convictions in Greece’s “Predatorgate” scandal.

A Greek court has found spyware company executives guilty of illegal surveillance activities. The case is an important step towards justice in the "Predatorgate" surveillance scandal. Now those who ordered the surveillance must be held to account, @hrw.org says
www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...

EU Court Rebukes Hungary Over Radio License Cancellation In an important judgment for media freedom, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on February 26 ruled that Hungary violated EU law when it stripped independent radio station Klubrádió of ...

EU Court has rebuked Hungary's government over its decision to cancel the license of a leading independent radio station. The Orban government's efforts to force Klubrádió off air is part of a wider crackdown on media freedom in the country, @hrw.org says
www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...

Three years ago, at least 94 people, including 35 children, died near Italy in what is known as the Cutro shipwreck.

Humane and rational migration policies are possible, and there is now a rare chance for accountability.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3OwsMud

Greece Continues Its Relentless Assault on Civil Society The recent acquittal of 24 humanitarian workers by a court in Lesbos, in what the European Parliament called the “largest case of criminalization of solidarity in Europe”, should have been a turning p...

The acquittal of 24 humanitarian workers by a Lesbos court in Lesbos should have been a turning point in the Greek govt's assault on civil society. Instead, it has doubled down, @evacosse.bsky.social explains, with a surge in state-led intimidation of civil society
www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

Russia’s War on Ukraine Four Years On On February 24, 2022, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The war has been defined by a relentless series of apparent war crimes and crimes against humanity.

On the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, my colleague Yulia Gorbunova reflects on the horrific ongoing impact on civilians and the need for accountability
www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

PM asks Sir Jim Ratcliffe to apologise for saying UK 'colonised by immigrants' Sir Keir Starmer says comments by the businessman and Manchester United co-owner are

Obviously zero reflection in any of this on how operating the largest empire in human history may have turned us into a multicultural nation. We are here because you were there. #Empireland

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

EU ‘caving into the floodgates of anti-migrant rhetoric’ warns Human Rights Watch The EU's obsession with migration has radically shaped its foreign policy — while at home its laws are eroding away asylum, warns Human Rights Watch.

“EU ‘caving into the floodgates of anti-migrant rhetoric’ warns Human Rights Watch”, @philippedam.bsky.social and I speak to @euobserver.com about migration fixation warping EU foreign policy and eroding asylum rights at home euobserver.com/201254/eu-ca...

How Europe Dies

World Report 2026 World Report 2026, Human Rights Watch’s 36th annual review of human rights practices and trends around the globe, reviews developments in more than 100 countries.

1/n Today @hrw.org publishes its World Report 2026. The full text, the introductory essay, and individual chapters can be accessed here: www.hrw.org/world-report...

What follows below in this thread are links to relevant parts on Europe, produced by the team of which I am part.

#Rights2026

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe today called on member states to adopt legislation to “prohibit conversion practices, providing for criminal sanctions and based on a clear and comprehensive definition of the proscribed practices”.
pace.coe.int/en/news/1018...