Human Rights Watch

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Decriminalizing Gay Sex: A Universal Human Rights Imperative

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In April, Dominica became the latest country to decriminalize consensual same-sex conduct. A local court ruled that provisions banning “buggery” and “serious indecency,” understood to criminalize gay sex, were unconstitutional. The ruling is historic for Dominica because it finally cast off a colonial legal relic that had been an obstacle to full equality for sexual and gender minorities. But beyond this Eastern Caribbean nation, the ruling has important implications. The Dominica ruling adds to a growing body of jurisprudence from the “Global South” that challenges the notion that decriminalization of same-sex conduct is “foreign,” “Western,” or “against national values.” This idea, sometimes used by authorities in the 64 countries that […]

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Iraq: Repeal Anti-LGBT Law

The Iraqi government should immediately reverse the recently passed law that punishes same-sex conduct and transgender expression with imprisonment, Human Rights Watch said today. The law violates fundamental human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression, association, privacy, equality, and nondiscrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Iraq.  On April 27, 2024, Iraq’s parliament passed the anti-LGBT law as an amendment to the country’s existing “Law on Combatting Prostitution,” No. 8 of 1988. The new law punishes same-sex relations with a penalty of between 10 and 15 years in prison as well as allowing for a prison term […]

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Belarus Calls LGBT Lives ‘Pornography’

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Belarus has hit a new low in its targeting of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. As of today, the definition of pornography under Belarusian law will include depictions of same-sex relationships as well as transgender people. The Culture Ministry recently amended its decree on “erotic materials” to classify “homosexualism, lesbian love” and the “desire to live and be seen by others as a person of an opposite sex”—a reference to transgender people—as “non-traditional sexual relationship or behavior.” This places depictions of LGBT people alongside those of necrophilia, pedophilia, and voyeurism, all of which legally constitute “non-traditional relationships.” Under Belarusian law, […]

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Mexico: Guanajuato Should Legally Recognize Trans Identities

Trans people in the Mexican state of Guanajuato suffer economic, medical, and labor discrimination, as well as other onerous legal impediments, because the state has no process for issuing identity documents consistent with their gender, Human Rights Watch said in a documentaryreleased today. Guanajuato’s authorities should urgently create an administrative procedure to allow trans people to reflect their self-declared gender identity on official documents. The Keys to My Freedom, produced in collaboration with Amicus DH, is released on the heels of International Transgender Day of Visibility. It follows the stories of two transgender women, Ivanna Tovar and Kassandra Mendoza, who have fought to have their gender and […]

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Nepal: Barriers to Transgender Legal Recognition

The government of Nepal should urgently create a clear, simple, and rights-respecting procedure that would allow transgender and third gender people to obtain official documents in accordance with their gender identity, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. While Nepali policy allows in principle for transgender to people to obtain documents marked “other,” implementation is piecemeal and those who want “male” or “female” as their legal gender are forced to undergo invasive and unnecessary medical interventions and examinations. The 67-page report, “‘We Have to Beg So Many People’: Human Rights Violations in Nepal’s Legal Gender Recognition Practices,” documents the significant […]

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Questions and Answers: Facebook, Instagram, and Digital Targeting of LGBT People in MENA

On January 23, 2024, Human Rights Watch, Social Media Exchange (SMEX), INSM Foundation for Digital Rights, Helem, and Damj Association, launched the “Secure Our Socials” campaign engaging Meta (Facebook, Instagram) to be more transparent and accountable in protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region from online targeting by state actors and private individuals on its platforms. Secure Our Socials We are calling on Facebook and Instagram to do more to make their social media platforms safe for LGBT users who face digital targeting and severe offline consequences including detention and torture.ACT NOW  In February 2023, Human Rights Watch published a report on the […]

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Brazil: Mixed Rights Record for Lula’s First Year

The administration led by Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has made important progress in the protection of the Amazon, women’s rights, and other rights during 2023, but has failed to tackle the chronic problem of police abuse or defend human rights consistently abroad, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its World Report 2024. “President Lula ends his first year in office with a mixed record on human rights,” said César Myñoz, acting Brazil director at Human Rights Watch. “He reversed some anti-rights policies of his predecessor, but significant challenges remain, including the use of excessive force by police, which disproportionately affects […]

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Ghana’s Anti-LGBT Push Will Harm Its Democracy

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Events in recent months have raised fear among Ghana’s human rights activists, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and allies.   In October, police stopped a 30-year-old who was carrying sex toys at a checkpoint, detained and threatened them with jailtime. The police demanded a bribe of 500 cedis (40 USD) for the person to be released, an unlawful and cruel expense, particularly in a context of severe economic hardship. In September, school authorities dismissed a 17-year-old student over allegations that he was gay from a boys’ boarding school in Accra, activists told Human Rights Watch. According to one activist, […]

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Uzbekistan: Take Action on Rights Abuses Raised at UN Review

The Uzbekistan government should urgently act on recommendations made on November 8, 2023, during its fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of its human rights record at the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should take particular action to uphold the rights of human rights defenders, journalists and bloggers, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Several UN member states also said that Uzbekistan should ensure accountability for human rights abuses during protests in 2022 in Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan. “The range and scope of concerns and recommendations that governments expressed during Uzbekistan’s review shows […]

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UN Committee Criticizes US Record on LGBT Rights

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In its review of the United States’ record on civil and political rights, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC) condemned a flood of discriminatory state legislation restricting the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. The United States ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1992. Every four years, the HRC reviews laws and policies in countries that have ratified the treaty to evaluate where they are in compliance with the treaty and where they fall short. The review of the US was postponed during the Covid-19 pandemic, making this the first review […]

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