@loucharb
UN director at @hrw.org. Native Detroiter, now in Queens, NYC. Recovering journalist, ex @reuters.com UN bureau chief. Formerly based in Prague, Vienna, Berlin, Hong Kong, UN HQ. @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social PhD. And more…
New video footage shows a US Tomahawk missile hitting an IRGC facility in Minab, Iran, on Feb 28, showing for the first time that the US struck the area. The footage also shows smoke already rising from the vicinity of the girls’ school, where 175 people were reportedly killed, including children.
Iranian authorities should immediately end the ongoing internet shutdown and communications restrictions.
These shutdowns violate human rights and place civilians at further risk of serious harm.
Amid US/Israeli airstrikes & brutal repression, Iranians are entering day 8 of an internet shutdown, placing civilians at risk, restricting their ability to access lifesaving info & reach loved ones, and contributing to psychological harm.
Iranian authorities should urgently restore internet access
Blanket evacuation orders in Lebanon raise international law concerns, says UN human rights chief reut.rs/4ssKVrg
@nytimes.com: Analysis Suggests School Was Hit Amid U.S. Strikes on #Iran Naval Base
Les dirigeants de l'UE défendent le droit international de manière sélective : L'absence d'appels directs aux US & Israël pour qu'ils respectent le droit de la guerre est d'autant plus choquante que certains responsables 🇺🇸 semblent ouvertement se moquer de ces règles.
www.hrw.org/fr/news/2026...
Wer Prinzipien nur verteidigt, wenn es nichts kostet, hat keine.
Gemeinsam mit Aisling Reidy und @philippedam.bsky.social habe ich aufgeschrieben, was wir von der heuchlerischen Doppelmoral Europas bei der Verteidigung des Völkerrechts halten. Spoiler: Nicht viel.
www.hrw.org/de/news/2026...
#EU leaders should never belittle role of int'l law or apply it selectively - as they've done since #USA/#Israel's strikes on #Iran & retaliatory strikes on neighboring countries.
It goes against #EU values & its long-term interests.
Our take 👇
www.hrw.org/news/2026/03... @eudiplomacy.bsky.social
As conflict escalates in the Middle East after the US/Israel strikes on Iran and Iranian retaliatory strikes on Israel and Gulf states, all parties are obligated to respect int'l humanitarian law and prioritize civilian protection.
HRW's statement:
🚨 UN Security Council meeting at 4pm EST today after the US and #Israel launched military strikes against #Iran.
@hrw.org is monitoring. Our focus remains civilian protection & carrying out our mandate by monitoring for any violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
Civilians should never pay the price of military action, their protection is essential. All parties to the conflict should respect international humanitarian law and prioritize the protection of civilians. These truths are universal.
@hrw.org is closely monitoring initial reporting that Israel and the United States have launched strikes on #Iran. Our focus remains civilian protection and carrying out our mandate by monitoring for any violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
Commentary | The road to war: An ex-Reuters journalist recalls the chase for WMD in Iraq - www.reuters.com/world/middle...
As someone who reported extensively for @reuters.com on the fact that the Bush administration’s claims about #Iraq’s alleged reconstituted nuclear arms program were false, all I can say is … Here We Go Again!! 😵💫 🤯 www.reuters.com/business/aer...
As a whole nation remains in shock, horror, and grief, and families are searching for their loved ones in the aftermath of security forces’ massacres on January 8 and 9, Iranian authorities continue to terrorize the population.
Read HRW’s new investigation. ⤵️
www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...
With the inaugural meeting happening today at the White House, it's worth revisiting this article on #Trump's Board of Peace by @apnews.com -- "Trump's wide ambitions for Board of Peace spark new support for the United Nations"
apnews.com/article/boar...
🚨 @hrw.org's primer for today's inaugural meeting of #Trump's Board of Peace.
Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ Aims to Put Human Rights Abusers & Suspected War Criminals in Charge of Global Order
The threats to the global human rights system demand a courageous leader at the United Nations who will put human rights at the heart of its agenda.
But the selection process gives veto power to the permanent members of the UN Security Council incl. China, Russia, and the US...
“The settler movement has taken advantage of Israelis’ nervousness and the distraction of Gaza to reconfigure the status quo in the West Bank with a breathtakingly ambitious program of spatial engineering,” writes Shira Efron.
🚨 New from @hrw.org: #UN member states should select a champion of #HumanRights as the next UN Secretary-General as the UN faces a crisis amid a global retreat on rights & democracy. - by Widad Franco
Trump has imposed sanctions on 8 ICC judges and 3 prosecutors. “The sanctioned ICC staff,” Reuters noted, “now sit on the U.S. Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals list, alongside suspected al Qaeda terrorists, Mexican drug traffickers and North Korean arms dealers.” wapo.st/3MsWi3c
NEW: ProPublica went inside the detention center for immigrant families in Dilley, Texas.
Children held there told us about the anguish of being ripped from their lives in the United States and the fear of what comes next.
„Die 20-jährige Haftstrafe für #JimmyLai, 78, kommt faktisch einem Todesurteil gleich; sie ist grausam und zutiefst ungerecht. Sein Fall zeigt, wie entschlossen Peking ist, unabhängigen Journalismus zu unterdrücken & Kritiker der Kommunistischen Partei mundtot zu machen.“ @elainepearson.bsky.social
1/ ProPublica collected handwritten letters in mid-January from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken.
Hundreds of kids are still detained.
We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
⚡ Urgently needed: humanitarian assistance, in #Gaza and the occupied #WestBank, including East Jerusalem.
💰 Funding required: US$ 1.26 billion
👩👩👧👦 Serving 2.4 million people
UNRWA remains irreplaceable delivering life-saving services at scale.
🔗 www.unrwa.org/resources/fa...
In Trump’s war on global justice, court staff and U.N. face terrorist‑grade sanctions reut.rs/4rFxVyl
Russian comedian accused of telling offensive joke about Ukraine war veteran is jailed for nearly six years reut.rs/4qiTh3p
“Instead of handing Trump $1 billion checks to join his Board of Peace, governments should work on strengthening the U.N.”
- @loucharb.bsky.social, U.N. director for @hrw.org
I spoke to @apnews.com about #Trump's 'Board of Peace': “It’s hardly surprising that very few governments want to join Trump’s wannabe-UN, which so far looks more like a pay-to-play club of human rights abusers and war crimes suspects than a serious international organization."
When pressed by journalists, British PM Keir Starmer said he *mentioned* Jimmy Lai to Xi. He didn't seem to have called for Lai's release: www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...
