What was done, grouped by type of harm. Click any type to see every story tagged with it.
Atrocity Crimes
Genocide — Killing, seriously harming or other listed acts against a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, committed with intent to destroy that group in whole or in part (Genocide Convention Art. II; Rome Statute Art. 6). Genocide is a distinct crime, separate from crimes against humanity, and requires both a listed act and specific intent. HRN uses the word in its own voice only where a determining body is named, with its date.
Apartheid — Inhumane acts committed within an institutionalised regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over another, intended to maintain that regime (Rome Statute Art. 7(1)(j), 7(2)(h); Apartheid Convention Art. II). ICERD Art. 3 prohibits racial segregation and apartheid. Every determination is attributed to the body that made it, with its date.
Mass Killing/Extermination — Mass killing, including imposing conditions of life, such as denial of food or medicine, calculated to destroy part of a population, within a widespread or systematic attack on civilians (Rome Statute Art. 7(1)(b), 7(2)(b)). Bombardment and other conduct of hostilities are assessed first under the law of armed conflict (Rome Statute Art. 8).
Systematic Torture — Intentionally inflicting severe physical or mental pain or suffering on a person in custody or control. Torture is absolutely prohibited (CAT Arts. 1-2; ICCPR Art. 7); when widespread or systematic, it is a crime against humanity under Rome Statute Art. 7(1)(f).
Persecution/Discrimination — Intentional, severe deprivation of fundamental rights because of a group's political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender or other impermissible identity, within a widespread or systematic attack on civilians (Rome Statute Art. 7(1)(h), 7(2)(g)).
Enforced Disappearance — Arrest, detention or abduction by a state, or with its authorisation, support or acquiescence (under the Rome Statute, also by a political organisation), then refusal to acknowledge it or to reveal the person's fate or whereabouts, placing them outside the protection of law (ICPPED Art. 2). When widespread or systematic, it is a crime against humanity (ICPPED Art. 5; Rome Statute Art. 7(1)(i)).
Deportation/Forcible Transfer — Forcibly displacing people from where they lawfully live, by expulsion or coercion, without grounds permitted by international law (Rome Statute Art. 7(1)(d), 7(2)(d)). In occupied territory, Geneva IV Art. 49(1) also prohibits it, and Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(b)(viii) makes it a war crime. "Ethnic cleansing" is not itself a crime under international law; HRN names the crime the evidence supports.
Sexual Violence & Rape as Weapon — Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilisation or other sexual violence of comparable gravity. It is a crime against humanity when part of a widespread or systematic attack on civilians (Rome Statute Art. 7(1)(g)), and a war crime in armed conflict (Art. 8(2)(b)(xxii) in international, 8(2)(e)(vi) in non-international armed conflict).
Enslavement — Exercising any power of ownership over a person, including through trafficking. It is a crime against humanity when widespread or systematic (Rome Statute Art. 7(1)(c), 7(2)(c)). Forced labour and debt bondage are separately prohibited (ICCPR Art. 8; Supplementary Slavery Convention) and are enslavement only where powers of ownership are exercised.
Conflict & Warfare
Attacks on Civilians — Intentionally attacking civilians not taking direct part in hostilities, breaching the principle of distinction (AP I Art. 51(2); AP II Art. 13(2)). It is a war crime under Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(b)(i) in international armed conflict or 8(2)(e)(i) in non-international armed conflict.
Attacks on Protected Facilities — Intentionally attacking hospitals, places of worship, schools, historic monuments or humanitarian missions that are not military objectives (AP I Arts. 52-53). It is a war crime under Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(b)(iii) and (ix) in international armed conflict, or 8(2)(e)(iii) and (iv) in non-international armed conflict.
Indiscriminate Attacks — Attacks not aimed at a specific military objective, or using methods or weapons that cannot be aimed or limited, striking military targets and civilians without distinction (AP I Art. 51(4); Customary IHL Rule 11).
Disproportionate Attacks — Attacking when the expected civilian deaths, injuries or damage would be excessive relative to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated (AP I Arts. 51(5)(b), 57(2)(a)(iii); Customary IHL Rule 14). The Rome Statute crime, Art. 8(2)(b)(iv), applies in international armed conflict only.
Starvation as Weapon — Intentionally starving civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to survival, including impeding relief (AP I Art. 54; AP II Art. 14). It is a war crime under Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(b)(xxv) in international armed conflict, or 8(2)(e)(xix) in non-international armed conflict (2019 amendment, in force only for the States Parties that have ratified it).
Use of Prohibited Weapons — Using weapons banned by treaty or custom, such as chemical or biological weapons, poison, asphyxiating gases, expanding bullets or weapons causing superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering (AP I Art. 35(2); Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(b)(xvii)-(xx)). Some weapons are banned or restricted only for the states party to a specific treaty.
Child Soldiers/Child Recruitment — Conscripting or enlisting children under 15 into armed forces or groups, or using them to participate actively in hostilities. It is a war crime under Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(b)(xxvi) in international and 8(2)(e)(vii) in non-international armed conflict, and is prohibited by AP I Art. 77(2). The CRC Optional Protocol on children in armed conflict extends protection towards 18 for its parties.
Hostage-Taking — Seizing or detaining people and threatening to kill, injure or keep holding them to compel a third party to act or refrain from acting as a condition of their release. Prohibited by Geneva IV Art. 34 and Common Article 3; a war crime under Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(a)(viii) in international and 8(2)(c)(iii) in non-international armed conflict. Outside armed conflict, the 1979 Hostages Convention applies to its parties.
Pillage/Looting — Appropriating public or private property for private or personal use, without the owner's consent, during armed conflict (Hague Regulations Art. 47; Geneva IV Art. 33). It is a war crime under Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(b)(xvi) or 8(2)(e)(v), whether committed systematically or by individuals.
Denial of Humanitarian Access — Arbitrarily blocking impartial relief to civilians (Geneva IV Arts. 23, 59; AP I Art. 70; Customary IHL Rule 55). It is a war crime when it amounts to starving civilians as a method of warfare (Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(b)(xxv) / 8(2)(e)(xix)) or to attacks on humanitarian missions (Art. 8(2)(b)(iii) / 8(2)(e)(iii)).
Occupation & Territorial Control
Illegal Occupation — Occupation is territory actually under the authority of a hostile army (Hague Regulations Art. 42), governed by Geneva IV Arts. 47-78. HRN calls it illegal only where a court or UN resolution has so determined, and names that authority. Occupation itself is not a war crime; specific conduct during it can be.
Settlement Expansion/Population Transfer — An occupying power transferring, directly or indirectly, parts of its own civilian population into territory it occupies (Geneva IV Art. 49(6)). It is a war crime under Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(b)(viii) and a grave breach under AP I Art. 85(4)(a).
Purported Annexation of Territory — A state's purported acquisition of another state's territory by force or threat of force. Prohibited by UN Charter Art. 2(4) and the Friendly Relations Declaration (UNGA Resolution 2625); such acquisition has no legal effect. HRN writes "purported annexation" and names the UN resolution declaring the claim without legal effect.
Collective Punishment — Punishing people for acts they did not personally commit, including penalising families or whole communities for one person's conduct. Prohibited by Geneva IV Art. 33, AP II Art. 4(2)(b) and Customary IHL Rule 103.
Arbitrary Detention — Depriving a person of liberty without lawful basis, due process or prompt judicial review, including detention without charge or trial (ICCPR Art. 9). In occupied territory, Geneva IV Art. 78 permits internment only for imperative reasons of security, with regular review.
Blockade/Siege Warfare — Encircling or blockading an area so civilians lose food, water, medicine or other essentials. Blockade and siege are not prohibited as such, but starving civilians as a method of warfare is (AP I Art. 54; Customary IHL Rule 53), and relief for civilians in need must be allowed to pass (Rule 55).
Movement Restrictions/Permits System — Restricting people's freedom to move within a country, choose a residence, or leave and return, through checkpoints, permits, curfews or barriers, beyond what is lawful, necessary and proportionate (ICCPR Art. 12).
Home Demolitions/Property Destruction — Destroying homes or property without absolute military necessity, including as punishment. In occupied territory, Geneva IV Arts. 53 and 33 apply; extensive destruction not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly is a war crime (Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(a)(iv)). Forced eviction engages ICESCR Art. 11.
Resource Appropriation/Theft — An occupying power exploiting occupied territory's natural resources or public property for its own benefit. Hague Regulations Art. 55 limits the occupier to the role of administrator and usufructuary; peoples' right to freely dispose of their natural wealth is protected by ICCPR/ICESCR common Art. 1(2).
Land Confiscation/Seizure — Seizing land or property without lawful basis. In occupied territory, Hague Regulations Art. 46 bars confiscating private property and Art. 52 limits requisitions; outside occupation, discriminatory deprivation breaches ICCPR Art. 26 and ICERD Art. 5.
Civil & Political Rights
Freedom of Expression Violations — Restricting the freedom to seek, receive and share information and ideas beyond limits provided by law and necessary for a legitimate aim, such as censorship, internet shutdowns or prosecution for peaceful speech (ICCPR Art. 19).
Freedom of Assembly Violations — Restricting peaceful assembly beyond what is lawful and necessary in a democratic society, such as blanket protest bans, mass arrests or excessive force against demonstrators (ICCPR Art. 21). Lethal force also engages the right to life (ICCPR Art. 6).
Freedom of Association Violations — Restricting the right to form and join associations, including political parties, NGOs and trade unions, beyond what is lawful and necessary in a democratic society (ICCPR Art. 22; ICESCR Art. 8 for trade unions).
Press Freedom Attacks — Killing, detaining, surveilling, censoring or legally harassing journalists and media because of their work. Engages ICCPR Arts. 19, 6 and 9; in armed conflict, journalists are civilians protected under AP I Art. 79.
Political Persecution — Targeting people for their political opinions or activity, such as prosecuting dissidents, banning parties or excluding candidates. Engages ICCPR Arts. 19, 22, 25 and 26; when widespread or systematic, persecution under Rome Statute Art. 7(1)(h).
Extrajudicial Killings — Deliberate killing by state agents, or with state acquiescence, outside any lawful judicial process. Violates the right to life (ICCPR Art. 6). In armed conflict, the targeting rules of international humanitarian law (AP I Arts. 51, 57) govern.
Electoral Violations — Denying the right to vote and stand in genuine periodic elections held by universal and equal suffrage and secret ballot, through fraud, voter suppression or exclusion of candidates (ICCPR Art. 25(b)).
Self-Determination Violations — Denying a people's right to freely determine their political status, pursue their economic, social and cultural development, and dispose of their natural resources (ICCPR and ICESCR common Art. 1).
Privacy Violations/Mass Surveillance — Arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy, family, home or correspondence, including mass surveillance, interception and data collection without legal basis, necessity and safeguards (ICCPR Art. 17).
Economic & Social Rights
Right to Health Violations — Failing to respect, protect or fulfil the right to the highest attainable standard of health, such as denying care or blocking medicines (ICESCR Art. 12). In armed conflict, intentionally attacking hospitals is a war crime (Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(b)(ix), 8(2)(e)(iv)).
Right to Housing Violations — Denying adequate housing, including forced evictions without legal safeguards or alternatives, and demolitions or policies that leave people homeless. Right to an adequate standard of living, including housing: ICESCR Art. 11(1).
Right to Education Violations — Denying access to education, including discriminatory exclusion, attacks on schools or failure to provide free, compulsory primary education (ICESCR Art. 13; CRC Art. 28).
Right to Work Violations — Denying the right to work or to just and favourable conditions of work, including fair wages, safe conditions and trade union freedom (ICESCR Arts. 6-8). Forced labour is prohibited by ICCPR Art. 8.
Food Security Violations — Denying or destroying access to adequate food, including through blockades or destruction of crops (ICESCR Art. 11). In armed conflict, starving civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime (Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(b)(xxv), or 8(2)(e)(xix) for the States Parties that have ratified the 2019 amendment).
Water Rights Violations — Denying safe, sufficient, affordable water, or contaminating or destroying supplies. Engages ICESCR Arts. 11-12, as interpreted in CESCR General Comment 15 (a non-binding treaty-body interpretation); in armed conflict, AP I Art. 54 and AP II Art. 14 protect drinking-water installations and supplies.
Social Security Violations — Denying the right to social security, including adequate protection in unemployment, sickness, disability or old age, or discriminatory exclusion from it (ICESCR Art. 9).
Adequate Standard of Living — Denying an adequate standard of living, including food, clothing and housing, or taking measures that roll back existing protections and deepen deprivation (ICESCR Art. 11(1)).
Climate & Environmental
Climate Ecocide (HRN Classification) — An HRN classification, not a legal finding: conduct meeting all four HRN criteria (knowledge, post-Paris expansion, a sourced three-step harm chain, and a pattern of ten years or more). It applies the 2021 Independent Expert Panel definition of ecocide, a proposed crime that is not in force and is not a crime under the Rome Statute. Binding law engaged, for the states party to it: Paris Agreement Arts. 2 and 4, UNFCCC, ICESCR Arts. 11-12 and ICCPR Art. 6, as interpreted by the ICJ (23 July 2025).
Environmental Destruction — Significant ecosystem damage harming people's rights, below HRN's Climate Ecocide threshold. Engages ICESCR Art. 12 and ICCPR Art. 6; in armed conflict, AP I Arts. 35(3) and 55 prohibit widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment. Regional treaties such as the Escazú Agreement bind only their parties.
Pollution/Contamination — Contaminating air, water or land in ways that harm health, including toxic waste dumping. Engages the state's duties on environmental hygiene and health (ICESCR Art. 12(2)(b)) and the right to life (ICCPR Art. 6).
Extractivism/Resource Theft — Extracting natural resources without affected peoples' consent, causing environmental harm or depriving them of subsistence. Engages ICCPR/ICESCR common Art. 1(2) and, for its parties, ILO Convention 169 Arts. 15-16. UNDRIP is a non-binding declaration.
Environmental Racism — Environmental policies or practices that disproportionately expose racial or ethnic groups, Indigenous peoples or other minorities to pollution or hazards. Racial discrimination in the right to public health is prohibited by ICERD Art. 5(e)(iv).
Economic Warfare & Coercion
Sanctions as Collective Punishment — Economic measures whose harm falls on a civilian population as a whole rather than those formally targeted. Sanctions are lawful in principle; HRN classifies them here where they are directed at, or foreseeably fall on, a civilian population as a whole, with documented civilian harm. Engages ICESCR Arts. 11-12; in armed conflict or occupation, the collective punishment prohibition in Geneva IV Art. 33.
Economic Coercion — Using economic measures to force another state to subordinate its sovereign rights, breaching the principle of non-intervention set out in UNGA Resolution 2625 (1970). UN Charter Art. 2(4) covers force, not economic pressure.
Debt Bondage/Debt Trap — Two distinct harms. Debt bondage, pledging a person's labour against a debt without fair limits, is prohibited by the Supplementary Slavery Convention Art. 1(a). Separately, sovereign debt terms that force cuts to essential rights are assessed against the UN Guiding Principles on Foreign Debt and Human Rights, which are non-binding, and states' ICESCR duties.
Wage Suppression/Exploitation — Paying workers below fair wages that allow a decent living, withholding wages or blocking collective bargaining, including for migrant workers. The state's duty under ICESCR Arts. 7(a) and 8; ILO conventions bind the states that ratify them, not employers directly.
Price Manipulation/Profiteering — Price gouging, monopolistic pricing or speculation that puts essential food or medicine out of reach. No treaty prohibits it directly; it engages state duties on food and health (ICESCR Arts. 11-12) and domestic law.
Emerging Technology Violations
AI/Algorithmic Violations — Harms from AI and algorithmic systems, such as discriminatory decisions or surveillance. Binding law: ICCPR Arts. 17, 19 and 26. Gaps: algorithmic discrimination is legally untested, and no treaty bans autonomous weapons.
Digital Rights Violations — Violations of rights online, including internet shutdowns, platform censorship and unlawful data harvesting. Binding law: ICCPR Arts. 17 and 19; the GDPR binds the EU only. Gap: no global platform accountability framework.
Biometric Rights Violations — Collecting or using fingerprints, facial images, iris scans or DNA without lawful basis, necessity, consent or safeguards. Engages ICCPR Art. 17; the GDPR applies in the EU only. No global biometric treaty exists.
Neural/Cognitive Rights Violations — Accessing neural data or manipulating brain activity without consent. Binding law is limited to ICCPR Arts. 17 (privacy) and 18 (thought). Gap: no binding neurorights framework; brain data is largely unregulated.
Biotech/Genetic Violations — Genetic manipulation, unethical experimentation or genetic discrimination threatening dignity or safety. Binding law: Cartagena Protocol (2000) and the Biological Weapons Convention, for their parties; UNESCO declarations on the human genome and bioethics are non-binding. Gaps: no binding rules written for gene drives, and the germline editing moratorium is non-binding.
Space Law Violations — Breaches of space law, such as national appropriation of celestial bodies or placing weapons of mass destruction in orbit (Outer Space Treaty Arts. II, IV). The Moon Agreement binds only its parties. Gaps: no traffic management, debris enforcement or anti-satellite weapons ban.
Group-Specific Violations
Women & Gender — Discrimination and violence against women and girls, including discriminatory laws, denial of reproductive health care and exclusion from public life (CEDAW; ICCPR Art. 3). Widespread or systematic sexual violence is a crime against humanity (Rome Statute Art. 7(1)(g)).
Children — Violations of children's rights, including recruitment into armed forces, child labour, violence, denial of education and unlawful detention (CRC; Optional Protocol on children in armed conflict). Recruiting children under 15 is a war crime (Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(b)(xxvi), 8(2)(e)(vii)).
Indigenous Peoples — Violations of Indigenous peoples' rights to land, culture, self-determination and consultation. Binding: ILO Convention 169 for its parties; ICCPR Art. 27; ICCPR/ICESCR common Art. 1. UNDRIP, including free, prior and informed consent, is a non-binding declaration.
Refugees & Displaced Persons — Returning refugees to places where they face persecution (refoulement), denying fair asylum procedures or detaining asylum seekers arbitrarily (Refugee Convention Art. 33; CAT Art. 3; ICCPR Art. 9). Non-refoulement binds all states as custom.
LGBTQ+ Persons — Criminalisation, violence or discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Engages ICCPR Arts. 2, 17 and 26. The Yogyakarta Principles are expert guidance, not binding law.
Persons with Disabilities — Discrimination against persons with disabilities, including forced institutionalisation, denial of legal capacity and inaccessible services (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Arts. 9, 12, 14 and 19).
Migrants — Exploitation, arbitrary detention, family separation or denial of essential services to migrants. ICCPR Arts. 9 and 26 apply regardless of status; the Migrant Workers Convention binds only its States Parties.
Ethnic/Racial/Religious Minorities — Discrimination, persecution or forced assimilation targeting ethnic, racial, religious or linguistic minorities, or denying their culture, religion or language (ICERD Art. 5; ICCPR Art. 27).
Justice & Accountability Failures
Impunity — A situation in which serious violations go uninvestigated and unpunished and victims have no remedy. States must provide effective remedies (ICCPR Art. 2(3)); official position gives no immunity before the ICC (Rome Statute Art. 27).
Accountability Obstruction — Actively obstructing investigations or courts, such as intimidating witnesses or court officials, destroying evidence or refusing cooperation. Offences against the administration of justice under Rome Statute Art. 70; States Parties must cooperate with the ICC (Art. 86).
Judicial Manipulation — Political interference with courts, lack of judicial independence or use of courts to persecute opponents. ICCPR Art. 14(1) requires a competent, independent and impartial tribunal; the UN Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary are non-binding.
Evidence Destruction — Deliberately destroying, concealing or altering evidence of serious crimes, including crime scenes, records and graves. An offence when it obstructs ICC proceedings (Rome Statute Art. 70(1)(c)); it breaches the state duty to provide an effective remedy (ICCPR Art. 2(3)).
Access to Justice Denial — Barriers that stop people reaching courts or remedies, including cost, lack of legal aid, discrimination or failure to investigate (ICCPR Arts. 14 and 2(3)).
Progress & Accountability Wins
ICC Actions — Arrest warrants, investigations, trials and judgments of the International Criminal Court under the Rome Statute. A warrant is a fact; guilt requires conviction. The Court tries individuals, not states or corporations (Art. 25(1)), for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression.
ICJ & International Courts — Rulings of the International Court of Justice and other international courts. ICJ judgments bind the parties (UN Charter Art. 94); advisory opinions state the law but are not binding as such; provisional measures find claimed rights plausible, not violations proven.
Legal Mechanisms — New or strengthened routes to accountability, such as universal jurisdiction prosecutions in national courts, treaty-body complaint procedures and UN special procedures.
Economic Accountability — Economic measures that advance human rights, such as divestment, targeted sanctions and corporate accountability. Businesses are assessed against the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, a non-binding standard; treaties bind states.
Rights Expansion — Growth in human rights protection through new treaties, ratifications, court interpretations or recognition of emerging rights. Treaties and binding judgments create obligations; declarations and resolutions do not.
Reparations & Justice — Remedies for victims: restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition (UNGA Resolution 60/147, non-binding), truth commissions, and ICC reparation orders against convicted persons (Rome Statute Art. 75).
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