🧵1/5 The appalling scenes of xenophobic violence that broke out on June 9 in #Belfast are a frightening reminder of how normalized racism and organized racist violence have become in the UK. A devastating knife attack should never be used to justify more violence. Human Rights Watch’s thoughts are with all the victims of violence.

In Goma, Bukavu, and Nyiragongo, Rutshuru, and Masisi territories, M23 fighters conducted large scale ops, abducting people from the street, their homes, at meetings, churches, or schools, and holding them in makeshift detention facilities, military camps or undisclosed locations

NEW: Rwandan military forces and the M23 armed group carried out a campaign of forced recruitment and abusive detention of captured combatants and civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. In a new report, HRW documents large-scale roundups and arrests as well as grave abuses.

Rwandan forces & the M23 carried out a campaign of forced recruitment and abusive detention of thousands of captured combatants and civilians in eastern #DRC. These are war crimes and shd be investigated as possible crimes against humanity. New @hrw report hrw.org/news/2026/06/10/dr-c…

#UniversalJurisdiction 🇦🇷 🇪🇸 🇻🇪 In seeking Verdú Torrelles' extradition from 🇪🇸 for alleged crimes against humanity in 🇻🇪, Argentina sends a clear message: there should be no safe haven for those responsible for grave human rights violations. Read @hrw hrw.org/news/2026/06/02/vene…

I spoke with @democracynow on our new report on Colombian military contractors & links w/ the UAE UAE allies — US, UK, EU — continue their silence on UAE support to the RSF & have still failed to call out UAE directly for their support of a group which has committed atrocities.

UN blacklists #Russia’s forces for conflict-related sexual violence based on “UN-verified information indicating continued patterns of rape and other forms of sexual violence perpetrated primarily against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees.” news.un.org/en/story/2026/05…

The United Nations Secretary-General's reported inclusion of Israel's armed and security forces on the annual conflict-related sexual violence blacklist should be followed by action. It’s up to other governments to take action to halt abuses — ending weapons sales, imposing targeted sanctions, and suspending preferential trade agreements.

#Israel’s and #Russia’s armed forces added to UN blacklist for sexual violence in conflict zones apnews.com/article/israel-se…

🚨 New from @hrw: #Russia Illegally Seizing Property in Occupied Areas of #Ukraine @yuliagorbunova_ describes “unlawful seizure of their property as Russia blatantly disregards its obligations as an occupying power.” hrw.org/news/2026/05/26/ukra…

New @hrw investigation : Colombian former soldiers who fought on the side of the abusive Rapid Support Forces in Sudan transited through UAE military bases before their deployment to Darfur. hrw.org/node/393607

🚨This afternoon the 🇺🇳UN General Assembly adopted a resolution urging UN member countries to transform the @ICJ_org's findings on State responsibilities on climate change into action, led by @VanuatuUN ❤️🌎 @hrw's @loucharbon's reaction and mini 🧵 👇

This is a hard article to read, but I hope you'll do so. I've spent some time reporting on widespread rape and other sexual violence of Palestinian male and female prisoners by Israeli authorities, and the article is now published. The assault victims were warned not to give speak of what they endured -- they were sometimes told they would be killed or raped if they gave interviews -- but they found the courage to do so. One man described being raped three times in a single day in Israeli prison, the third time after he tried to protest. A young woman said the guards would come in at the beginning of each shift and strip her naked and abuse her. Another reported that she was shown photos of herself being raped and warned they would be released unless she cooperated with Israeli intelligence. Even three children who had been detained told me they had been sexually abused. Look, whatever our position on the Middle East, we should be able to agree on being anti-rape. Sexual assaults were horrific when Israeli women were targeted on Oct. 7, and they're equally horrific when Israeli authorities use them against Palestinians day after day after day. We should be able to find common ground in opposing rape. Here's a gift link to the article: nytimes.com/2026/05/11/opini…

"Reporting is not treason," @SangerNYT says after Trump attacked him for his coverage of the Iran war.

Sexual violence against Palestinian detainees in Israeli detention is unfortunately not breaking news. Nick’s column cites numerous reports documenting it, including our work at @stoptorture_il. His thorough investigation confirms it and calls for the US to avoid complicity in it

🚨 New from @hrw: #Trump's administration's drastic cuts of US foreign aid have made it harder to document human rights violations, protect communities at risk, hold human rights abusers to account. - @YagerSarahH Details here in new HRW paper here 👇 hrw.org/news/2026/05/14/us-f…

After taking control of Uvira in eastern #DRC, M23 fighters and Rwandan forces went door-to-door to summarily kill men and boys and committed rape and abductions. Criminal investigations are needed. New @hrw report hrw.org/news/2026/05/14/dr-c…

Check out @hrw @loucharbon's piece on @UNOCHA humanitarian chiefs’ remarks stating he would reject US financial contributions that would require to comply with anti-rights conditions, discriminating against women and transgendered people. hrw.org/news/2026/05/11/un-o…

Judge overturns US sanctions on UN official @FranceskAlbs who called for war crimes prosecutions over Gaza politi.co/3R9ilxV via @politico