Human Rights Archive

The popularity of Nayib Bukele’s iron-fisted crime policies in El Salvador has caused politicians across Latin America to emulate him. But the results of recent elections in Ecuador and Guatemala indicate voters want more than tough talk.

Jordan is considered a Syrian refugee “success story.” But Syrians who reside there are increasingly concerned about changes in the government’s posture toward them. They fear that they may soon be pressured to leave.

The United States has placed numerous bureaucratic obstacles in the way of Afghans seeking asylum in the United States. Even the lucky few who have made it to the United States have only been offered temporary refuge, and many now face being returned to Afghanistan.

Since the invasion of Ukraine, independent Russian journalists who refused to follow the Kremlin’s narrow rules have had to flee the country, endure persecution by Russian intelligence and suffer the suspicion of those in their new homes. Now the attempted assassination of one of their own has raised their fears to new heights.

Despite having little to show from his first full term in office, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa is the strong favorite to win the country’s election Wednesday. A disunited opposition, voter apathy and state coercion have paved the way to victory for the incumbent.

In March, the latest chapter was written in a political and legal controversy between Italy and France that dates back to the 1980s. But while a verdict from France’s highest criminal court caps a four-decade-long saga that began during Italy’s “years of lead,” it fails to resolve the tensions at the heart of those events.

When Myanmar’s ruling military announced last week that it was issuing a partial pardon for opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, it seemed a sign that the regime might be preparing to loosen its grip and perhaps even compromise with the opposition. That optimistic interpretation, however, is being rejected by many Myanmar observers.

Despite a story of overall progress when it comes to liberalizing abortion laws, including recent victories in several countries, women’s rights advocates around the world are sounding the alarm. Three overlapping trends are leading to a global backlash that is causing concern among reproductive rights champions.

Ukraine’s wartime travel restrictions trapping most of its male population inside the country have had dire impacts on the civilian population. Although it’s easy to view the travel ban’s biggest victims as civilian men, a new report shows that it is actually Ukrainian women who are particularly keen to modify or lift it.

Upon taking office in 2020, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye reversed some of his predecessor’s repressive measures, raising hopes that he might deliver on his promised reform agenda. But recent developments have renewed concerns that Ndayishimiye’s initial overtures would not materialize into substantive policy reforms.