Human rights violations

Child among protesters sexually assaulted in Iran, rights group says

HRW and Amnesty warn that Tehran uses rape, sexual violence, and torture to suppress dissent, continuing a pattern of violence following previous protests.

|ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
Illustrative People step on an Iranian flag at a march in support of nationwide protests in Iran, Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 18, 2026.
PEOPLE ATTEND a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022.

Iran had highest number of executions in over a decade, human rights report says

Iran's treatment of prisoners in 2025 was also rife with abuses, according to the report, with 2,513 cases of prisoners being held in inappropriate conditions.

|ByTZVI JASPER
Members of the Baha'i faith hold flowers as they demonstrate outside a state security court during a hearing in the case of a fellow Baha'i man charged with seeking to establish a base for the community in Yemen, in the country's capital Sanaa April 3, 2016

Iranian regime weaponizes judicial systems against Baha'i minority, Human Rights Watch claims

The Baha'i International Community reported that the occurance persecutory acts against Baha’i between July and November 2025 was three times higher than the same time period in 2024.

|ByGOLDIE KATZ
Members of Venezuela's Bolivarian National Guard stand in formation as they carry out an increased security patrol along Lake Maracaibo amid rising tensions between Venezuela and US, in Maracaibo, Venezuela, October 26, 2025.

Venezuela's GNB guilty of crimes against humanity, including rape and torture, UN finds

"The torture, ill-treatment, and acts of sexual violence we have verified were not isolated incidents. They form part of a pattern of abuse used to punish and break victims," said head of UN mission.

|ByREUTERS

High profile hate speech case heard in South Africa’s Constitutional Court

Trade unionist Bongani Masuku threatened Jewish community in blog post and during a speech at a Johannesburg university

AUGUST 28, 2019ByILANIT CHERNICK
Protestors call for the severing of diplomatic ties with Israel during a march in Cape Town, South Africa.

Tentative allies lead the Mideast anti-trafficking effort

Creative and determined: a program makes a difference

AUGUST 13, 2019ByFELICE FRIEDSON, JULIA ALTMANN/THE MEDIA LINE
Refugees in Israel

Rashida Tlaib accuses 'Netanyahu's regime' of human rights violations

JULY 29, 2019ByMAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) listens to testimony during a hearing of the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee on "Confronting White Supremacy (Part I): The Consequences of Inaction" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 15, 2019

Facing realism in Europe

These options can be summarized under three major policy prescriptions along which a new immigration policy would have to be designed.

JULY 20, 2019ByRALPH SCHOELLHAMMER
European Union flags flutter as people take part in the demonstration "One Europe for all", a rally against nationalism across the European Union, in Vienna, Austria, May 19, 2019.

Exposing cheating human rights organizations

JULY 11, 2019ByMANFRED GERSTENFELD
A balloon found at Gaza crossing to be used as an incendiary device.

Netanyahu: U.N. set new hypocrisy record with Israeli war crimes allegation

"Israel rejects outright the report of the UN Human Rights Council, which sets new records of hypocrisy and lies, out of obsessive hatred of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East.”

FEBRUARY 28, 2019ByTOVAH LAZAROFF
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the 45th Israel mission of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, February 18th, 2019

Human Rights NGO condemns Iran for forty-years of continued violations

Progetto Dreyfus is a "non-profit association that fights against antisemitism, fundamentalism and any kind of discrimination" and as noted, has recently set its sights on Iran.

FEBRUARY 12, 2019ByZACHARY KEYSER, BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
Demonstrators wave Iran's flag and hold up a picture of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a ceremony to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, in Tehran's Azadi square February 11, 2012.

B’Tselem slams Israel at French human rights award ceremony

“The occupation is organized, continuing state violence that leads to dispossession, killing and oppression,” El-Ad said at the French Justice Ministry.

DECEMBER 10, 2018ByLAHAV HARKOV
B’Tselem CEO Hagai El-Ad in his acceptance speech for the Human Rights Awards of the French Republic in Paris December 19, 2018

UNHRC appoints new Gaza probe chairman

Canton replaces US legal expert Michael Crane, who was appointed to the post on July 25 and resigned from the position on August 23 for unspecified personal reasons.

SEPTEMBER 21, 2018ByTOVAH LAZAROFF
UNHRC 521

UN: Israel among 'shameful' countries abusing human rights activists

Israel earns a spot for ongoing legal battle against Omar Shakir.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2018ByREUTERS
Omar Shakir from Human Rights Watch