What happens when your island disappears? Academy Award–nominated actor and human rights advocate @MarkRuffalo has joined forces with Human Rights Watch, NowHere Media, and Agog to narrate "Solwata," a new immersive documentary spotlighting the human consequences of climate change in the Pacific nation of Solomon Islands. Drawing on Human Rights Watch research and the lived experiences of coastal communities confronting rising seas, displacement, and planned relocation, the 25-minute immersive experience invites audiences to walk alongside the communities of Solomon Islands as they grapple with the effects of devastating tides and rising sea levels. "Solwata," or "saltwater," in Solomon Islands Pidgin, was created by NowHere Media and co-produced by Agog and Human Rights Watch. The film will premiere at Venice Immersive, the immersive section of the Venice International Film Festival (September 2–12). Learn more: solwata.com/

What happens when your home becomes a war zone? In our Rights & Wrongs podcast, host Ngofeen Mputubwele speaks to @lamamfakih, HRW’s Global Program Director, about the loss of her home in Beirut, Lebanon, amid the US/Israeli war with Iran. 🔉: bit.ly/3VzSMbF

“It’s also thanks to your government that Israeli atrocities continue with complete impunity.” Watch HRW’s @ClaFrancavilla speak in the Czech Parliament about accountability, complicity, and the human cost of inaction.

Vietnam is suppressing independent trade unions and the right to organize. By enabling artificially low labor costs, Vietnamese companies are allowed unfair trade advantages. As To Lam, President of Vietnam and Communist Party General Secretary, visits the European Union, trading partners need to make one thing clear: broken pledges will carry consequences. Read more: hrw.org/news/2026/10/21/viet…

The European Parliament has awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to the International Criminal Court and its officials. This prize should be a rallying cry for ICC members to stand up for the court and for the EU Commission to urgently activate the EU’s "blocking statute" to protect the court and those supporting its work from effects of US sanctions.

Mali’s armed forces and the allied Russia-controlled Africa Corps have committed new atrocities against civilians in central Mali during renewed fighting. Concerned governments and international institutions should press the Malian authorities to conduct credible investigations into military abuses. hrw.org/news/2026/10/22/mali…

Today, October 22nd, is Ahmed Mansoor’s birthday. Since 2017, Ahmed has spent his birthday behind bars, where he’s been arbitrarily imprisoned in an isolation cell in the United Arab Emirates. All charges on which he was convicted were based solely on his human rights advocacy. Emirati authorities should #FreeAhmed. #BirthdayWishes4Ahmed

Burkina Faso’s unelected parliament has unanimously adopted a new penal code that restores the death penalty for some crimes. Reinstating capital punishment sends a chilling message to critics of the military junta and risks becoming another tool to suppress dissent. hrw.org/news/2026/10/21/burk…

NEW: The Vietnamese government is systematically suppressing the rights of workers to organize independent unions despite trade agreements that require it to support labor rights. By enabling artificially low labor costs, Vietnamese companies are allowed unfair trade advantages. To Lam, President of Vietnam and Communist Party General Secretary, visits the EU this week. Trading partners need to make one thing clear: broken pledges will carry consequences. Learn more: bit.ly/4jCKZUt

Saudi authorities have executed Hassan Zaki al-Faraj for crimes allegedly committed when he was just 14 years old. His unconscionable death highlights the imminent risk of execution others face in Saudi Arabia for childhood offenses: hrw.org/news/2026/10/19/saud…