News | Human Rights Watch

September 16, 2026 Statement

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, Us Congress Hearing On “Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain: Implications For Human Rights”

Opening Statement by Deborah Brown Deputy Director, Technology and Human Rights, Human Rights Watch

September 9, 2026 News Release

Lebanon/Israel: Hezbollah’s Use of Cluster Munitions

Widely Banned Weapons Fired into Civilian Areas

Israelis look at the border with Lebanon from a position in the northern village of Metula on March 5, 2026, after Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel during the ongoing conflict.

September 9, 2026 News Release

White Phosphorus: Recent Use, Inhumane Effects Require New Law

UN General Assembly Should Respond to Global Concerns

A white phosphorus munition airbursts over buildings in the town of Khiam in southern Lebanon during an Israeli bombardment on October 31, 2024.

September 8, 2026 News Release

Cluster Munitions: Ban Treaty Under Pressure

New Global Report Highlights Rising Civilian Casualties

Red sandbags cover unexploded submunitions awaiting destruction near a school in Xiang Khouang Province, Laos

September 7, 2026 Dispatches

UN Talks on Killer Robots ends with Calls for Negotiations Growing

States Poised to Push for Negotiations in November

Illustration of a person shielding their face from oncoming autonomous weapons

September 4, 2026 Statement

Convention on Conventional Weapons Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems

Statement by Human Rights Watch Delivered by Bonnie Docherty

Bonnie Docherty delivered a statement at the Convention on Conventional Weapons Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems on September 1, 2026.

August 13, 2026 News Release

Russia: Cluster Munition Attack on Kyiv a Potential War Crime

Massive Rise in Civilian Casualties Amid Use of Widely Banned Weapon

Firefighters put out a fire after Russian missiles hit a warehouse in Kyiv, Ukraine, on August 5, 2026.

August 11, 2026 News Release

Türkiye Seeks to Transfer US Cluster Munitions to Ukraine

US Congress Should Block the Request

US soldiers firing a M110 howitzer during Operation Desert Storm, December 29, 1990. The howitzer fired the type of artillery projectiles Turkey has requested permission to retransfer to Ukraine, until it was retired from US service in the mid-1990s.

July 23, 2026 Commentary

France’s Troubling Silence on the UAE Role in Sudan

France Should Suspend Arms Deliveries to the UAE and Support European Sanctions

June 18, 2026 Statement

Statement on Compliance to the Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meeting

Delivered by Gerry Simpson, Senior Advisor

United Nations European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, September 11, 2023.

June 14, 2026 Background Briefing

Addressing Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain

A Background Briefing for the UN Informal Exchanges in June 2026

Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 16, 2025.

May 27, 2026 News Release

Lebanon Joins Mine Ban Treaty

Accession Amid Conflict Strengthens Global Opposition to Antipersonnel Mines

A team from the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) clearing unexploded cluster munitions on farmland in southern Lebanon, November 10, 2020.

May 26, 2026 Dispatches

Vatican Urges Strict Regulation of Artificial Intelligence in War

Pope Leo Builds on Years of Appeals to Regulate Killer Robots

Pope Leo XIV presents his first Encyclical Letter “Magnifica humanitas” at the Synod Hall in the Vatican, May 25, 2026.

April 28, 2026 Statement

Opening Statement to Oireachtas Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence

Delivered by Bonnie Docherty, Senior Arms Advisor

Devant le bureau des Nations Unies à Genève, des membres de la Campagne contre les robots tueurs exprimaient visuellement le message « Stop Killer Robots ». Cette campagne appelle les gouvernements à ne pas autoriser le développement de systèmes d'armes capables de sélectionner et d’attaquer des cibles sans aucune intervention humaine.