Human rights

MOJAHID NAW/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

'Apartheid': Arab countries including UAE, Jordan decry new Israeli law

A group of foreign ministers struck out at a new Israeli law requiring the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of terrorism in military courts.

Osama Al Maqdoni / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Amid chatter of local uprisings, eyes turn to Iran's minorities: What to know

Ethnic minorities in Iran, historically marginalized and repressed by Iran's central government, are gaining attention as potential political actors amid escalating US and Israeli strikes.

People walk through a heavily damaged street in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Oct. 12, 2025.

'No meaningful protection': Israel’s new Gaza aid rules raise data, security risks

The guidelines expand Israeli authority to deny NGO registration in the Palestinian territories and visas for foreign aid workers as Gaza continues to reel from two years of war.

A displaced Sudanese woman who left El-Fasher after its fall with others, walks amid the remains of a fire that broke out at a camp in Tawila on Feb. 11, 2026.

UN points to 'genocidal path' in RSF assault on Sudan’s El-Fasher

A UN fact-finding mission says the scale and coordination of atrocities in Darfur mark a shift in its assessment of the paramilitary group’s campaign.

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Iran fires TV director over 'Death to Khamenei' blunder: What to know

TOPSHOT - An Iranian crosses a street next to a billboard bearing the portrait of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a quote reads in Persian 'Sing Oh Iran' at the Enqelab Square in Tehran on July, 9, 2025. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran arrests Oscar-nominated writer, civil rights figures in expanding crackdown

A state building is covered with a giant anti-US billboard depicting a symbolic image of the destroyed USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in downtown Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 1, 2026.

European Union adds IRGC to terror list, expands sanctions

SIMON WOHLFAHRT / AFP via Getty Images

Feature

ISIS brides face uncertain future as Damascus clashes with Syria’s Kurds

Roj Camp

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A worker sorts out plastic waste collected at a plastic recycling factory in Kartepe, district of Kocaelion, Turkey, May 11, 2022.

Health of Turkey’s plastic waste workers under threat as European imports grow

A report by Human Rights Watch finds Turkish authorities are not enforcing a law to protect vulnerable workers and local residents from toxic fumes.

Protests in Tehran on Sept. 20.

Iranian government confirms three deaths in hijab protest

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, in New York for the UN General Assembly meetings, called Mahsa Amini's family in an attempt to stem the reaction to her death in police custody.

Protesters hold placards and flags during an anti-LGBT rally organized by pro-Islamic organizations in Istanbul on Sept. 18, 2022.

Thousands gather in Istanbul for anti-LGBTQ rally

Organizers say they are rallying for family values, while rights groups protest the rally as a hate crime.

A picture taken on July 26, 2018 shows Egyptian policemen stand guarding a checkpoint on a road leading to the North Sinai provincial capital of El-Arish.

US releases some military aid to Egypt amid human rights concerns

The administration is providing Egypt with $170 million in military assistance that Congress had made contingent on the country improving its rights record.

Egyptian tanks take part in the Arab Shield joint military exercises at Mohamed Naguib military base in El-Hamam near the Mediterranean coast, about 240 kilometres northwest of the capital Cairo on Nov. 15, 2018.

Analysis

Democrats push Biden to restrict Egypt’s military aid over rights abuses

Egypt’s annual military assistance is shaping up to be another test of the administration’s ability to balance human rights considerations with American strategic interests.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Egyptian journalist Lina Attalah, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Cairo-based online newspaper Mada Masr, gives an interview with AFP, Cairo, Egypt, Dec. 28, 2020.

Egypt's journalism crackdown continues despite 'national dialogue'

The Egyptian authorities' crackdown on Mada Masr has been criticized by civil society groups.

An exhibition calling for an end to executions in Iran on Trafalgar Square on October 10, 2020, in London, England.

Iran revokes death penalties handed to three protesters

The executions were reduced to jail terms in a controversial case that had drawn a furious public backlash.

Smoke from an indoor bonfire exits from the chimney of the tent of Umm Raed at a camp for the displaced.

Fires engulf displacement camps in northern Syria during heat wave

Northern Syria is experiencing a heat wave, which is taking a heavy toll on camps for displaced persons who face chronic diseases, wildfires and water scarcity.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi.

Iranian government intensifies crackdown

Iran has arrested three of its most prominent filmmakers.

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Democratic lawmakers press Egypt to release jailed activist

Fourteen US lawmakers are calling for the release of Alaa Abdel-Fattah, a jailed activist on hunger strike in Egypt.

A participant faces riot policemen wearing a rainbow flag during a Pride march in Istanbul, on June 26, 2022.

Life as an LGBTQ refugee in Turkey

LGBTQ refugees from Middle Eastern countries face multifold hardships in Turkey amid a rise in anti-refugee sentiment and a persisting social stigma against gay and transgender people.

Elizabeth Whelan, sister of Paul Whelan, speaks during a press conference to launch the “Bring Our Families Home" campaign held by family members of hostages being held around the world, Washington, May 4, 2022.

Breaking | Last Updated: July 20, 2022, 7:18 am

Biden issues executive order on hostages amid pressure from families

The executive order will authorize government agencies to impose financial and travel sanctions on those involved in the wrongful detention of Americans.