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Bede Sheppard

@bedeonkidrights.bsky.social
1.1K followers 199 following 86 posts

Deputy Director for #ChildRights at @hrw.org. Passionate about: children’s right to free education, from pre-primary through secondary; and keeping students safe, even during war. Photography for fun. Xoloitzcuintli fan. 🇳🇿🇪🇺

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Reposted by Bede Sheppard
Bassam Khawaja @khawaja.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Egyptian authorities have still not released any information about the fate of the six arrested @matsda2sh journalists, raising concerns that they have been disappeared. Authorities should immediately disclose their whereabouts and grant access to lawyers www.hrw.org/news/2026/10...
hrw.org
Egypt: Authorities Arrest Entire Investigative Newsroom
Egyptian security forces arrested six journalists working for the independent investigative journalism platform Matsda2sh on September 28 and 29 and appear to have forcibly disappeared them.
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Fereshta Abbasi @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The Taliban leadership wants the world to believe that their rule is unified. It is not. The uneven implementation of its own edicts proves that pressure can shape behavior. fpif.org/the-taliban-...
fpif.org
The Taliban Aren’t United. Accountability Can Exploit the Gaps. - FPIF
The Taliban’s authoritarian rule isn’t uniformly enforced. International accountability can exploit those divisions, preserving evidence for future justice while improving conditions for some Afghans ...
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Juliane Kippenberg @jkippenberg.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
An unusual trial starts next week in London: on one side, an influential gold industry body, on the other a group of Tanzanians whose loved ones were killed at North Mara gold mine in northern Tanzania. www.hrw.org/news/2026/10...
hrw.org
UK Trial Challenges Gold Industry’s ‘Responsible Gold’ Certification
An unusual trial will begin next week in London’s High Court, brought by the families of two 23-year-old Tanzanian men who were fatally shot in 2019 at a Canadian-owned gold mine in northern Tanzania
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Bassam Khawaja @khawaja.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Human Rights Watch joins 80 organizations in demanding the release of six journalists at the investigative platform @matsda2sh—the entire newsroom— detained by Egyptian authorities timep.org/2026/09/30/g...
timep.org
Global Call for the Release of Entire Newsroom at Egyptian Investigative Journalism Platform Matsadaash
Civil society organizations and independent media outlets join together to condemn the escalating crackdown on independent Egyptian investigative journalism platform Matsadaash.
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Jan Kooy @kooyjan.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
“World leaders should use the UN podium to speak out forcefully against efforts by some major powers to trample on human rights and make it easier to get away with atrocities and other grave crimes.” - @loucharb.bsky.social, UN director @hrw.org #JusticeMatters #UNGA
hrw.org
UN: Commit to Human Rights, Justice for Grave Crimes
World leaders at the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City from September 22-28, 2026, should commit to defending human rights, Human Rights Watch said. They should co...
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Jan Kooy @kooyjan.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
What we all need, is some positive news! And @bedeonkidrights.bsky.social, Deputy Director in HRW's Children's Rights Division, has got you covered ⤵️ "A United Nations process is moving forward to consider a new legally binding treaty to strengthen children’s right to free education." Read more⤵️
hrw.org
UN Talks on Free Education Advance as States Weigh Next Steps
A United Nations process is moving forward to consider a new legally binding treaty to strengthen children’s right to free education. The proposed Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of ...
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HRW Brussels @hrw-brussels.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
A UN process could make free pre-primary and secondary education a binding right for children worldwide. New comment by @bedeonkidrights.bsky.social⤵️
hrw.org
UN Talks on Free Education Advance as States Weigh Next Steps
A United Nations process is moving forward to consider a new legally binding treaty to strengthen children’s right to free education. The proposed Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of ...
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Lou Charbonneau @loucharb.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
🚨It's UN General Assembly time again! Here's a short thread🧵 on @hrw.org's preview. ➡️ World leaders should recommit to defending human rights & resist the push by the US, #Russia #China & others to undermine the UN and other intl orgs & kill off accountability avenues for grave crimes.
hrw.org
UN: Commit to Human Rights, Justice for Grave Crimes
World leaders at the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City from September 22-28, 2026, should commit to defending human rights, Human Rights Watch said. They should co...
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Just Fair @justfairuk.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
📜 The UK recognised economic, social and cultural rights 50 years ago. It's time to make that promise real. Your donation helps us campaign for a UK where everyone can rely on the foundations they need to live well. justfair.org.uk/donate/
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Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
My new book is out! “Lessons from Long-Haul Activists” draws on candid conversations with 25 remarkable activists who have spent decades working for change. It shares their stories, strategies, hard-won lessons, and sources of resilience and hope. shorturl.at/R1VG8
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 09/09/2026
NEW: Women in South Korea face systemic gender discrimination at every stage of their working lives. These adverse impacts accumulate as women get older. In a new report, HRW found that the older women get, the fewer work opportunities they have. Learn more: bit.ly/4xowIhq
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Ben Ward @bpward.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
The shameful response in Serbia to the death of convicted genocidaire Ratko Mladic shows the limits of justice, the continued contestation of wartime abuses in Bosnia & Herzegovina, and need for a regional truth commission, Elizabeth Evenson and I explain @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2026/09...
hrw.org
Serbia’s Genocide Denial in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Survivors’ groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina have condemned the announcement that the Serbian government plans to bury the convicted genocidaire Ratko Mladić with “highest military and state honors.” M...
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Bede Sheppard @bedeonkidrights.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Int'l law takes a fragmented approach to free education. I argue that a new Optional Protocol could bring clarity, coherence, and urgency to a legal framework that leaves many kids unable to access their right. Via @ejiltalk.bsky.social: www.ejiltalk.org/harmonizing-... #ChildRights
ejiltalk.org
Harmonizing the Fragmented Right to Education: The Proposed Free Education Optional Protocol
Nothing inherent in children’s development explains why their right to education should be more or less accessible depending on whether they are 4, 8, or 16. Yet international law treats financial bar...
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Bede Sheppard @bedeonkidrights.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
For most students in France's overseas department of Mayotte, the new academic year is a return to overcrowded schools often ill-equipped to meet their needs. Mayotte's future depends on a better education system, not more restrictions on migrant rights: www.hrw.org/news/2026/08... #ChildRights
hrw.org
Mayotte's Future Depends on Education, Not More Restrictions on Migrant Rights
Students return to school this week in France’s overseas department of Mayotte. For most, the start of the academic year is a return to overcrowded schools that are often ill-equipped to meet their ba...
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Bede Sheppard @bedeonkidrights.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
A new Turkish law lets courts sentence 12-year-olds to 27 years in prison, 15-yr-olds to life. But decades of research show that draconian punishments for kids don’t help public safety. This law is not a deterrent—it’s just a gross child rights violation. www.hrw.org/news/2026/08... #ChildRights
hrw.org
Türkiye: Long Prison Terms for Children Accused of Crime
A new Turkish law that imposes heavy prison sentences on children found guilty of committing crimes is likely to cause harm and moves Turkish policy further away from international norms.
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Michelle Reyes Milk @mreyesmilk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
#Liberia #WarCrimesCourt Thank you to @justsecurity.org for the opportunity to share my views on the Liberian justice process. President Boakai’s commitment to establishing a war crimes court has been a key step in the path for the Liberian people’s long-awaited justice.
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César Muñoz @cesarmunoz.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
In August 2020, police committed dreadful abuses during a weeks-long operation in Brazil's Amazon. This was not the work of a few “bad apples.” A community leader said that a military police commander watched as officers tortured him. No one has been held accountable. www.hrw.org/news/2026/08...
hrw.org
Terror in the Amazon
A nightmare for Indigenous people and other communities on the Abacaxis riverbanks in the Brazilian Amazon began on August 3, 2020. That day, three private boats arrived in the town of Nova Olinda do ...
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Lou Charbonneau @loucharb.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
🚨 New from @hrw.org: The US is withholding most of its UN dues & China is paying late. Other states are doing the same. This has forced UN to trim critical human rights & humanitarian work. UN member states took steps to ease funding crisis but only paying in full & on time will end it. More here 👇
hrw.org
Q&A: The UN Funding Crisis and Human Rights Work
The United Nations General Assembly took a crucial step on June 30, 2026, towards easing the world body’s deepening liquidity crisis by amending a longstanding rule that would have required it to refu...
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Almaz Teffera @almazteffera.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
#France's new anti-racism action plan falls short of - tackling systemic racism - tying anti-racism actions to a reparatory justice framework that tackles contemporary inequalities & racism rooted in France's colonial & enslavement legacies. @hrw.org's full commentary www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...
hrw.org
France’s New Anti-Racism Plan Falls Short
The French government announced a new national plan last week aimed at combating racism, antisemitism, and discrimination. Unfortunately, the plan fails to tackle the systemic and institutional nature...
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Lou Charbonneau @loucharb.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
🚨 New from @hrw.org: UN Takes Key Step to Ease Financial Crisis Fueled by US and #China But the Cash Crunch Still Threatens Human Rights, Humanitarian and Peacekeeping Operations Meanwhile, China & #Russia tried again (mostly unsuccessfully) to cut human rights posts from peacekeeping budget.
hrw.org
UN Takes Key Step to Ease Financial Crisis Fueled by US, China
United Nations member countries took an important step last week to protect the world body from financial ruin.
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Bede Sheppard @bedeonkidrights.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Yes! Parliamentarians like Conrad Sackey, Sierra Leone's education minister, who explained to @ipned.bsky.social that a human rights treaty recognising FREE pre-primary & secondary education as part of #ChildRights to education will expand educational opportunities: www.ipned.org/news-and-vie...
ipned.org
"It's time to strengthen the right to free education" — International Parliamentary Network for Education
Conrad Sackey, Minister of Education in Sierra Leone, wrote in support of a new human rights treaty that would strengthen the right to free pre-primary and secondary education.
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Zama Neff @zamahrw.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
With record-level abuses against children in war, many countries are working together to hold abusers to account. Still a long way to go for an effective crimes against humanity treaty, but growing support to include justice for crimes against children www.hrw.org/news/2026/06...
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Almaz Teffera @almazteffera.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
*New report by @hrw.org, (RE)CLAIM & MCDS* Did you know that French police use fixed penalty fines to harass & evict particularly boys perceived as Black/Arab/North African from public spaces in their neighborhoods & they end up trapped in debt before they turn 18? 👉🏽 www.hrw.org/report/2026/...
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Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Free education is one of the most powerful tools to combat child labor. As we mark #WorldDayAgainstChildLabour, governments should back a new global education treaty that would guarantee free education for every child. My new piece in @passblue.bsky.social: passblue.com/2026/06/10/f...
passblue.com
Free Education Is Crucial to Combating Child Labor - PassBlue
Free Education Is Crucial to Combating Child Labor - PassBlue
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 11/06/2026
🧵1/5 The appalling scenes of xenophobic violence that broke out on June 9 in #Belfast are a frightening reminder of how normalized racism & organized racist violence have become in the UK. A devastating knife attack should never be used to justify more violence. HRW's thoughts are with all victims.
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Almaz Teffera @almazteffera.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
#French President Macron addressed the need for #reparations for France's role in the transatlantic trade of enslaved people. A first step but comprehensive reparatory frameworks need to follow to address past and present harm rooted in enslavement legacies. www.hrw.org/news/2026/05... @hrw.org
hrw.org
France Acknowledges Need for Slavery Reparations
French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the need for reparations in connection with France’s role in the transatlantic slave trade on May 21.
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 20/05/2026
In Liberia, only 17 percent of children complete grade 9, and 1 in 3 children never attend school at all. In a new report, HRW documents that mandatory fees place a heavy financial burden on families and violate children’s right to education. Read more from HRW: bit.ly/4nNJ0MX
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Bassam Khawaja @khawaja.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Come work with us: HRW is hiring a coordinator in the Middle East and North Africa Division based in Beirut job-boards.greenhouse.io/humanrightsw...
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Just Fair @justfairuk.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
📬 Everyday rights—like housing, health, education, and social security—are fundamental human rights. If you care about dignity, justice, and equality, sign up to our newsletter and stay informed on how to protect these rights for all.
justfair.us15.list-manage.com
Just Fair
Just Fair Email Forms
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 22/04/2026
Authorities and security forces in Ethiopia’s contested Western Tigray Zone are arbitrarily detaining ethnic Tigrayans and imposing a discriminatory system that severely restricts their movements, employment, and access to services.
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Prof Melanie O'Brien @drmelob.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
My piece in @opiniojuris.bsky.social on the arrest & charging of Ben Roberts-Smith for 5 #warCrimes of murder. An incredibly significant legal development in #Australia, but also in the general global fight against impunity for international crimes. #intLaw #IHL opiniojuris.org/2026/04/15/a...
opiniojuris.org
Australia’s ‘Most Decorated’ Soldier Charged with Five War Crimes of Murder
[Melanie O’Brien is Professor of International Law and Deputy Head of School (Research) at the University of Western Australia Law School; and visiting scholar with the University of Minnesota Law …
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Nathalye Cotrino @nathalyeco.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
🇭🇹Members of the Kenya-led mission in Haiti were allegedly responsible for sexual violence according to the UN. As the Gang Suppression Force deploys, urgent safeguards, independent investigations, and accountability are essential to prevent further abuse. Read more: www.hrw.org/news/2026/04...
hrw.org
International Force in Haiti Allegedly Responsible for Sexual Violence
A United Nations report has found that members of a UN-authorized force operating in Haiti, the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, were responsible for four cases of sexual violen...
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Juliane Kippenberg @jkippenberg.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Toxic lead from a Zambian mine has poisoned generations of children. This week @hrw.org & IHRDA will spotlight the case & call for justice: PANEL: Spotlight on Kabwe 🗓 16 April 09h00 – 10h40 📍 ACERWC CSO Forum, Lesotho With experts, activists & Kabwe residents Join online tinyurl.com/458yy5kd
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Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
The number of out-of-school children has risen for 7 years in a row, reaching 273 million. A proposed free education treaty could push countries to act. www.hrw.org/news/2026/04...
hrw.org
273 Million Children Out of School
A new United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report delivers a sobering message: the number of children out of school has risen for the seventh consecutive year, re...
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Zama Neff @zamahrw.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Dozens of child rights experts agree: how the future #CrimesAgainstHumanity treaty can provide justice for children: cahtreatynow.org/justice-for-... Children are mentioned only twice in the treaty's current draft. Countries can fix that. Children deserve justice. @Veroaubert
cahtreatynow.org
Justice for Children in the Future Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity – Crimes Against Humanity Treaty Now
Download paper
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Zama Neff @zamahrw.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Countries are working towards a NEW treaty on #CrimesAgainstHumanity that could criminalize recruitment and use of children. This new paper from @PrincetonLISD explains why they should: lisd.princeton.edu/publications... @JanineMorna @lauraperez1966
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Zama Neff @zamahrw.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
2 gaps: 1. recruiting and using children ages 15-17 is not consistently recognized as a war crime 2. Neither is recruitment outside of situations formally classified as armed conflicts. There's an opportunity now to fill those 2 gaps.
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Zama Neff @zamahrw.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
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
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Ilaria Allegrozzi @isiki79.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
#BurkinaFaso: new @hrw.org report documents the impact on civilians of the conflict. Military+VDPs and JNIM have killed, forcibly displaced thousands. These atrocities, including the gvt’s ethnic cleansing of Fulani civilians, amount to war crimes+crimes against humanity. www.hrw.org/news/2026/04...
hrw.org
Burkina Faso: Crimes Against Humanity by All Sides
The Burkina Faso military with its allied militias and an Al Qaeda-linked armed group have killed more than 1,800 civilians and forcibly displaced tens of thousands since 2023.
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Almaz Teffera @almazteffera.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
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
hrw.org
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.
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Carlos Ríos-Espinosa @rioscarlos.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
A care system without sufficient funding is an empty promise. The proposal in Mexico City recognizes rights, but keeps key gaps that could limit implementation and real autonomy. hrw.org/news/2026/03...
Legislators attend a session of Mexico City’s Congress on April 24, 2007. © 2007 ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP via Getty Images
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Almaz Teffera @almazteffera.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
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
Landmark Trial for Belgian Colonial Crimes to Go Ahead
A Belgian court ruling on March 17 has paved the way for the last surviving former Belgian official, Étienne Davignon, to face a criminal trial for alleged involvement in the killing of Patrice Émery ...
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 19/03/2026
Goodbye, two child limit. GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH. www.gov.uk/government/n...
gov.uk
Two-child limit scrapped as historic Bill to lift 450,000 children out of poverty becomes law
Historic legislation to end the two-child limit has become law, putting 450,000 children on a pathway out of poverty in the final year of this Parliament.
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Lou Charbonneau @loucharb.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
🚨 New from @hrw.org! 🌍On this new round of discussions on Vanuatu's UN General Assembly resolution on @ICJ_org Advisory Opinion on #ClimateChange, we call on UN members to support it to translate the #ICJ’s findings into action. UN member states should 🧵
tinyurl.com
Governments Should Support Vanuatu’s UN Climate Resolution
The world’s highest court has spoken: tackling climate change is not a choice: it’s a legal obligation. Now it’s up to the United Nations General Assembly to speak up and urge its 193 member countries...
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Katherine La Puente @katherinelapuente.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Policymakers meeting at the UN for #CSW70 should ensure that girls facing violence are able to access justice. They should pledge to strengthen justice systems, reinforce prevention efforts, and commit the funds to deliver on these promises. Op-ed here: www.moretoherstory.com/stories/at-t...
moretoherstory.com
At the U.N.’s Annual Meeting on Women, the World Should Focus on Justice for Girls — More to Her Story
As governments gather at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, they should prioritize ensuring that girls can access justice.
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Juliane Kippenberg @jkippenberg.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Children near Ethiopia's largest gold mine suffer chronic health conditions, women have miscarriages & stillbirths. In response, the UN child rights body just urged Ethiopia to tackle the mine's pollution. The govt should do so, promptly: www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...
hrw.org
UN Urges Ethiopia to Tackle Pollution at Gold Mine
Residents living near Lega Dembi mine, located in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, have complained of serious health impacts for years, including miscarriages, stillbirths, and children born with long-term h...
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 05/03/2026
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...
Two women visit a Jobcenter in Berlin, Germany, June 25, 2025 © 2025 Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images
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Mihra Rittmann @mihrarittmann.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
“It is as if we have become hired workers for someone, not landowners” - a cotton farmer from the Khorezm region. A new @hrw.org - @uzbekforum.bsky.social report examines the coercive state production system of cotton & wheat in #Uzbekistan. More here: hrw.org/news/2026/02...
Farmers stand next to their tractor, piled high with raw cotton, outside the Fergana Region cotton collection point (ginnery) in September 2023.
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 17/02/2026
🚨 NEW joint report with @uzbekforum.bsky.social exposes how Uzbekistan’s state quota system still coerces cotton and wheat farmers, despite official reforms. 👉 Farmers continue to face pressure, penalties, and even land loss. It’s time to end these abuses. 📘 Read the report: bit.ly/46fDOKm
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Carlos Conde @carlosconde.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
The Children Damaged by Duterte’s ‘Drug War’ @rightsreportPH: The harm the “drug war” did to children extends far beyond those who were killed. It produced a generation of orphans living in a state of profound psychological, economic, and social collapse. www.rightsreportph.org/p/the-childr...
rightsreportph.org
The Children Damaged by Duterte’s ‘Drug War’
The harm the “drug war” did to children extends far beyond those who were killed. It produced a generation of orphans living in a state of profound psychological, economic, and social collapse.
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