By Jan Servaes The Guardian and Jewish Currents reported on February 3, 2025, that two Human Rights Watch (HRW) staff members had been dismissed, leaving the organisation’s entire Israel and Palestine team. They resigned after HRW leadership blocked a section of a 33-page report that called Israel’s denial of the right of return to Palestinian […]
Situation Report: PM Abiy acknowledges Eritrean troop atrocities
Situation in Ethiopia (per 5 February ) Ethiopian Airlines resumed the flights to and from Tigray on Tuesday, following the suspension of flights due to conflict in western Tigray a week ago. Key private-sector bondholders of Ethiopia’s $1 billion international bond have protested after the Official Creditors Committee, led by China and France, blocked a […]
Will Human Rights Survive a Trumpian World?
By Jan Servaes * Bangkok, Thailand| 5 February 2026 (IDN) As is tradition, for the 36th time, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has examined the human rights situation in more than 100 countries in a 529-page World Report 2026. In his introductory essay, titled “Will Human Rights Survive a Trumpian World? Authoritarian Advances Threaten Rules-Based Order,” […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: Details emerging of fighting in Tigray as situation calms
Situation in Ethiopia (per 2 February ) Negotiations are reportedly ongoing between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) following the fighting in western Tigray. Flights to and from Tigray are expected to resume soon, and the TPLF has ordered a stop to any fighting, sources state. One person was […]
Sensitive Data Sovereignty Conference commits to African Health and Humanitarian Data Space
Sensitive Data Sovereignty Conference commits to African Health and Humanitarian Data Space A conference on Sensitive Data Sovereignty held at Tangaza University in Nairobi – Kenya adopted a resolution to support the principle of creating an African Health Data Space including sensitive and humanitarian data. The proposal is supported by universities who acknowledge the critical […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: Fears of escalation as ENDF and TDF clash in Tigray
Situation in Ethiopia (per 29 January) The Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) and Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) reportedly clashed in Tselemti, western Tigray. The clashes started several days ago and the current situation is unclear. There are reports of military movements in southern Tigray. All flights between Addis Ababa and Tigray have been cancelled. This […]
Violent Eritrean smuggler Walid gets maximum sentence of 20 years in Dutch court
On 27 January 2026, the Dutch court in Zwolle delivered a significant verdict in the case against a suspect known as Walid, or Tewelde Goitom, convicting him on nearly all charges related to widespread human rights abuses against refugees in Libya. The court, in a comprehensive ruling totaling around 100 pages, sentenced Walid to the […]
Situation Report Special: Cruel Eritrean smuggler Walid gets the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison
Walid hearing verdict (per 27 January 2026) The judges in the Dutch court in Zwolle found the suspect in the ‘Walid’ case guilty of almost all charges and sentenced him to the maximum of 20 years in prison. The full verdict comprises around 100 pages. The judge presented the main points of the verdict during […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: Alarm at inflammatory rhetoric in South Sudan
Situation in Sudan (per 26 January) Two civilians have been killed by a Rapid Support Forces (RSF) suicide drone strike on the besieged city of Dilling, South Kordofan state, reported The Sudan Doctors Network on Sunday. The network accused the RSF and allied Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), of ongoing deliberate attacks on unarmed civilians […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: Intensified fighting across South Sudan
Situation in South Sudan (per 22 January) Intensified fighting attacking military posts has been reported across South Sudan in the largest offensives by various coalitions of opposition forces since 2017. The heaviest fighting is occurring in Jonglei state, and Equatoria region, with battles raging in reportedly in all but two states, especially in old hotspots […]