Refugees and Migrants
Human Rights Watch’s Refugee and Migrant Rights Division defends the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, displaced people, and migrants worldwide. We investigate rights violations arising from government attempts to divert, expel, or contain these people and defend the right to seek asylum. We investigate abuses against migrant workers, including trafficking. We defend migrants’ rights to have the personal and family lives they have built in their host country considered in expulsion decisions and their rights to non-discrimination respected wherever they may live. We seek to ensure governments use immigration detention as an exceptional measure of last resort and advocate for alternatives to detention. As growing numbers of people escape poverty, lawlessness, and environmental disaster but lack the protections of refugee status, we advocate for wider grounds for protection, as well as expanded pathways to safe and regular migration. Regardless of the reason for their movement, we insist that all people on the move be treated with dignity and respect for their basic human rights.
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Qatar: Wage Abuse Action Shortchanges Workers
Workers Still Owed Wages for Months After Informing Government of Abuse
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Tanzania: Burundian Refugees ‘Disappeared,’ Tortured
Halt Forced Returns; Investigate Police, Intelligence Services
News
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Witness: “If You Scream, They Will Beat You More”
Migrants Face Human Rights Abuses at EU Borders; Impunity Persists
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UAE: Greater Progress Needed on Women's Rights
Significant Discrimination Against Women, Girls in Law and Practice
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How Europe Can Help End Death and Despair in the Mediterranean Sea
Commitment from EU Governments Could Ease Crisis on Deadly Migration Routes
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Malaysia: Investigate Return of 1,086 Myanmar Nationals
Action Puts Lives at Risk, Defies Court Order
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US: Take New Approach at Mexico Border
Video Shows Family Separated under Trump Policy Have Reason to Hope
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To Help Migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tackle EU Abuses
Commissioner’s Visit Underscores EU Responsibility to Find Solutions
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Coalition Letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas
Regarding Use of Expedited Removal Process for Asylum Seekers at the Border
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Amicus Brief in the GEO Group, Inc. v. Gavin Newsom, et al.
Brief of Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Human Rights Watch & Freedom For Immigrants as Amici Curiae in Support Of Defendants-Appellees
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US to Permit Some Asylum Seekers to Return from Mexico
New Program Should Include People Who Missed Court Dates Under Abusive MPP