Deputy Director, United Nations (Geneva), Advocacy Department, Human Rights Watch
Geneva, Switzerland
Joined February 2011
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Lucy McKernan retweeted
Fighting in Yemen has escalated in recent weeks, and dozens of civilians have been killed or injured since August, per the UN.
Recently, the Houthis tightened their grip on Taizz, Yemen’s third-largest city. Nearly all roads into the city have been blocked by the Houthis.
All warring parties should facilitate aid and the free and safe movement of civilians.
Learn more: bit.ly/3UsmoHE
Lucy McKernan retweeted
50 years after Mao's death, Xi Jinping's dictatorship is bullying @KMbappe after legitimate comment on Mao's legacy of abuses & suffering.
A reminder that control of thought and speech is central in #China's policies at home & abroad.
hrw.org/news/2026/10/29/mbap…
Lucy McKernan retweeted
Mbappé was dropped by Chinese brands over a joke about Mao. Recently, Beijing sentenced a prominent artist Gao Zhen for three years for his provocative Mao sculptures. Calling Mao a dictator is free speech. And, obviously, there’s no free speech in China.
theguardian.com/football/202…
Lucy McKernan retweeted
Spanish football behemoth @LaLiga's obsequious apology to the Chinese government over French football player+Spanish league star Kylian Mbappé's "Chinese dictator" meme comment sets a bad precedent for free speech—for athletes and Chinese people; analysis with @HRW’s @wang_maya: hrw.org/news/2026/10/29/mbap…
Lucy McKernan retweeted
🚩Lana Nusseibeh has a long record of whitewashing UAE rights abuses in Sudan & Yemen:
She repeatedly denies the UAE provides military support to the RSF & defended UAE as complying w/ IHL during its intervention in Yemen, dismissing evidence of abuses 👇
hrw.org/news/2026/10/28/uae-…
Lucy McKernan retweeted
As the conflict escalates in #Yemen, the Houthis have began prosecuting at least eight UN and civil society workers on charges that could result in the death penalty. Many of them have serious medical conditions, including cancer in one case.
hrw.org/news/2026/10/06/yeme…
Lucy McKernan retweeted
$216 billion in damages. Millions displaced. Land rights weaponized throughout the war. Now reconstruction deals are being signed.
@hrw on what rights-based reconstruction means for the millions of Syrians who can't afford for this to go wrong.
hrw.org/news/2026/09/27/syri…
Lucy McKernan retweeted
Both Xi & Trump are complicit in egregious atrocities w/ global implications. Holding Xi accountable for crimes against humanity targeting Uyghurs is critical; it’s a matter of principle to do the same for Trump’s attack on rights & international justice.
Lucy McKernan retweeted
Four global leaders - Presidents of Brazil, European Council and Kenya, and Canada Prime Minister - are launching "Partners for Multilateralism":
ft.com/content/d9e6c07e-7d84…
"P4M will seek to renew and strengthen the multilateral system, not replace it; build bridges and bring together countries that may disagree on many issues but share a commitment to the basic principles enshrined in the UN Charter. Principles that are not negotiable, like sovereign equality, territorial integrity, the peaceful settlement of disputes, the prohibition of the threat or use of force, international humanitarian law, sustainable development, human rights and fundamental freedoms."
Let's hope more will rally.
Let's urge more to rally.
@Bolopion, @Madsflarup, @BrunoStagno and I have been reaching out to various leaders over the last 6 months, inviting them to exercise global leadership, and protect international law and multilateral action.
Lucy McKernan retweeted
Last year, @vonderleyen proposed suspending the EU-Israel trade agreement and sanctioning "extremist" ministers & settlers
One year on, she's almost nothing to show - and lot more to deliver, starting with a settlement trade ban
@hrw & @AmnestyEU: hrw.org/news/2026/09/15/von-… #SOTEU
Lucy McKernan retweeted
Five years on, the Taliban's repression continues in #Afghanistan.
Women and girls are denied their rights. Critics face persecution. Accountability remains overdue.
Renew the UN expert's mandate and urgently operationalize the new accountability mechanism.
Learn more⤵️
Lucy McKernan retweeted
Syria's former grand mufti Ahmad Hassoun was sentenced to life today, the latest verdict in the Assad-era trials. Our Q&A digs into the fair trial concerns raised by the first verdict in this process, and what's needed for credible justice going forward.
hrw.org/news/2026/08/23/ques…
Lucy McKernan retweeted
Israeli settlers shoot, attack, and expel Palestinians from their land, and the state provides the weapons, the legal cover, and the budget to do it.
Why?
They share the same goal: maximum land, minimum Palestinians.
New research from @hrw: hrw.org/news/2026/08/20/west…
Lucy McKernan retweeted
Behind housing units in E1 are Palestinian families facing displacement. Companies bidding to build those houses are bidding on complicity in a war crime. Cancel the tender and stop settlement expansion.
hrw.org/news/2026/08/19/west…
Lucy McKernan retweeted
🚨 Sudan: close to 70 NGOs call on the @UN_HRC to extend the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission (#FFM) for two years 🇸🇩
In a letter released today, they highlight developments in relation to the conflict & associated violations, the humanitarian situation, and the FFM's vital importance, and stress the need for adequate resources for investigations & reporting.
➡️ Read the letter (and its annex): defenddefenders.org/sudan-ex… ⬅️
#Sudan #SudanCrisis #KeepEyesonSudan #HRC63
Lucy McKernan retweeted
📢NEW RESEARCH BRIEF📢
#Ethiopia’s conflict is not over – and attacks on health care have become a recurring tactic across the country. 🚑
👉New research from PHR & @O_JAH_ is out today- read more in the press release:
phr.org/news/multiple-armed-…
🧵
Lucy McKernan retweeted
The Chinese government is interrogating Uyghur Australians visiting Xinjiang, pressing them to collect information on Uyghurs in Australia.
Chinese authorities demand daily reporting while in Xinjiang, and on their return, pressure them to inform on activists, and monitor community events.
These interrogations and strict monitoring have a chilling effect emblematic of Beijing’s transnational repression in Australia.
Learn more: bit.ly/4wqKoaV
Lucy McKernan retweeted
My latest op-ed for The Hill:
Migration deals will take the pressure off the Taliban for their ongoing abuses. This kind of “technical” engagement will send a dangerous message that no range of rights abuses will stop others from making deals with you.
thehill.com/opinion/internat…
Lucy McKernan retweeted
Afghanistan’s human rights crisis is extensive. It is visible in what cannot be easily photographed: lost years of education, the narrowing of dreams for millions of girls; the enduring harms from arbitrary detention, torture and enforced disappearances...
Lucy McKernan retweeted
🚨 New from @hrw: UN Security Council should ensure that an international force remains in #Lebanon -- preferably @UNIFIL_-- to protect civilians and deter human rights abuses by the Israeli military and Hezbollah. hrw.org/news/2026/08/13/un-k…
ALT An armored vehicle of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrols a town in southern Lebanon, April 29, 2026. © 2026 Frederic Petry/Hans Lucas via Reuters