Washington Center For Human Rights
From DC to the World
CategoriesHuman TraffickingDuring the last ten years, Georgia has established a strong mechanism of fighting human trafficking, which shows its correspondence to the European and international standards of human rights. By 2025, legislation and institutional changes have streamlined the anti-trafficking response of Georgia by adopting the amendments to the criminal code, identifying specific victim support strategies, and […]
CategoriesBriefsThe June 13-14, 2025 violence against Yelwata, a Christian majority farming community in Benue State, Nigeria, is one of the most lethal incidents in the recent spate of violence in the country. Armed to the hilt, Fulano militants invaded the village in the night, burned down houses, markets, and internally displaced persons who had earlier […]
CategoriesTerror FinancingThe use of legitimate business to finance terror groups has become a hallmark in the global security agencies. These front companies which run under the pretense of normal business allow terrorist groups to mask illicit financial operations, acquire resources and send money without much investigation. One example of such cases was uncovered by the authorities […]
CategoriesUncategorizedHuman trafficking has remained one of the gravest attacks on human rights worldwide as it affects millions of people in different continents annually. According to the 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report, human trafficking is an estimated source of close to $150 billion a year, thus it is ranked as one of the most profitable transnational […]
CategoriesUncategorizedRwanda also experienced one of the most devastating genocides in the 20th century in 1994. In some 100 days, some 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were purposely killed by extremist militias and civilians. The cruelty and rapidness of the murders have shocked the whole world and the international intervention discredited and revealed the insufficiency of […]
CategoriesBriefsThe 2025 policy on counterterrorism in Iran is very much institutionalized and involves the combination of intelligence, judicial and a deterrence of the people. The use of state executions to fight ISIS terrorism has remained one of the most contentious aspects of this strategy. In June 2025, the Iranian judiciary declared it would execute nine […]
CategoriesSlaveryOne of the most outrageous and at minimum the most stable abuses of human rights of the modern era has been modern slavery. It is estimated that over 50 million people in the world were living under the regime of forced labor, debt bondage, human trafficking, or forced marriage by 2025. This is a number […]
CategoriesWar CrimesWhen the 2025 ceasefire that was called between Israel and Hamas came into force in January 2025, there were high hopes of a long-lasting peace in Gaza across the region. The deal, which was facilitated by the Qatari and Egyptian mediation, aimed at ending almost two years of unending bombardment and establishing a situation that […]
CategoriesBriefsAustralia has gone a long way in developing transgender equality by reforming the law in its recognition. These changes have resulted in federal and state policies that represent emerging conceptions of gender and human rights. By 2025, the majority of jurisdictions permit people to change the gender markers on birth certificates and identification documentation without […]
CategoriesAnti Money LaunderingArmenia is in 2025 at the very point of a long-term struggle to support the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) mechanisms. This change is closely associated with its interaction with the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money laundering measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) of the council of Europe. MONEYVAL […]
CategoriesSlaveryNational Museums Liverpool was also successful in the bid to win a £1 million grant by the Lloyds register foundation to initiate the project known as the Connector project in 2025, this is an ambitious international network dedicated to studying the history of transatlantic slavery and its legacies. It is a milestone event in the […]
CategoriesanalysisThe rollback of gender rights in 2025 demonstrates the complex and overlapping effects in the most marginalized communities around the world. Although legal changes may seem gender-neutral, their results are very different based on the subject: their results vary radically based on the race, the class, the geography, or the disability status of the individual. […]
CategoriesAnti Money LaunderingThe move by HSBC in 2025 to reduce its private banking business in the Middle East is a watershed in the risk management in the financial sector in the world in its shifting attitude towards risk and more specifically anti-money laundering (AML) risk management. It involved more than 1,000 ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) clients, most located in […]
CategoriesUncategorizedThe labor system in the UAE follows the Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2024, according to which the employment relations are controlled, the dispute system is established, and the protection of workers in all emirates. One of the key elements of this legal framework is the one-year limitation period that applies to the timing of […]
CategoriesUncategorizedThe episode of Jimmy Kimmel being suspended in September 2025 has revived the old debate about the extent of government control over the media and entertainment sector. The catalyst was a monologue that was controversial in which Kimmel mentioned conservative activist Charlie Kirk soon after his assassination. Subsequently, significant ABC affiliates, such as Sinclair Broadcast […]
CategoriesBriefsThe transgenders in Algeria exist in a system that does not give them legal recognition and limited knowledge of the society. The legislation of the country makes same sex relations criminalized in the Penal Code, Article 338, whereas transgender is completely unaddressed in the legal system. Transgender Algerians are in an unstable legal gray area […]
CategoriesWar CrimesSpokesperson of the Iranian Foreign Ministry Esmaeil Baghaei made a public statement, calling on the international community to take decisive actions against what he termed as barbaric lawlessness by the Israeli military in Gaza. By characterizing the activities as genocidal, the comments of Baghaei provided some urgency to decades-old Iranian denunciations of Israel activities and […]
CategoriesBriefsThe legal history of transgender rights in Japan has been slow and milestones have been made along the way to influence the discussion today. A way to gender recognition legally was opened with the 2004 Act on Special Cases in Handling Gender Status of Persons with Gender Identity Disorder. The law however came with a […]
CategoriesHuman TraffickingThe forced labor system in China remains a tangled system that goes deep in 2025 and involves both the local government and foreign economic forces. Although there have been long-term denials by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), there is a great deal of documentation that shows coercion on a mass scale against the Chinese minorities, […]
CategoriesWar CrimesThe move by the Australian government to seek accountability of the alleged war crimes in Afghanistan is a historic turning point in the armed forces and the judicial system of the country. In 2020, the Brereton Report proved a landmark in terms of revealing the misconduct of the Australian Special Forces in deployments between 2005 […]
CategoriesBriefsThe nexus between terror financing and human rights breaches has gained center stage of worldwide security and humanitarian issues. This nexus is frighteningly dominant in a number of warring regions in 2025. The armed groups still depend on illegal financial channels to support their operations which usually lead to devastating human suffering, forced displacement, and […]
CategoriesAnti Money LaunderingIn 2025, the introduction of AMLTRIX was possibly a ground-breaking event in the global practice of anti-money laundering (AML). AMLTRIX, created by Lithuanian RegTech developer AMLYZE, is a pioneering open-source knowledge graph in the service of the global AML community. It tries to systematize and democratise the language and methodology of detecting financial crime by […]
CategoriesSlaveryGreece has become the focal point of widespread labor protests in late 2025 following a government proposal to legalize a 13-hour workday. The plan has prompted nationwide strikes and reignited debates around labor rights, with union leaders labeling it a step toward “modern slavery.” Under current regulations, employees may work 13 hours per day only […]
CategoriesSlaveryContemporary slavery is prevalent in large industries and it is secreted in the depths of the global economic system of suppliers and contractors. This is projected to amount to 27.6 million individuals still languishing in forced labor by 2025 with almost two thirds being in the private sectors which include agriculture, mining, manufacturing and shipping. […]
CategoriesMedia CensorshipArtificial intelligence has taken over modern journalism as it is a defining force that has transformed the way information is created, shared, and checked. In the struggle against media transparency and truth, AI technologies have brought both unprecedented opportunities and pressing dangers by the dual-use nature of the technologies by 2025. On the one hand, […]
CategoriesWar CrimesAn unprecedented challenge is confronting the 2025 global justice system. The invasion of Ukraine by Russians has generated a vast amount of alleged war crimes with the Ukrainian Prosecutor General Office recording nearly 180,000 incidents as of September 2025. They involve crimes that include illegal attacks on civilians as well as rape and deportations. Ukraine […]
CategoriesHuman TraffickingSocial media has become a key instrument of human trafficking networks to find, recruit, and manipulate victims. These platforms have increased the scope of the trafficking activities and allowed exploitation on a scale never before seen in the world in 2025. Popular applications: Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat, Discord and WhatsApp have become the ideal […]
CategoriesUncategorizedThe number of civilian fatalities in war zones has increased by more than 40 percent in 2024 to at least 48,384 people, according to statistics issued by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR). This number involves disproportionate casualties of women, children, journalists and human rights defenders groups, which are […]
CategoriesTopicsThe situation of transgender rights in 2025 is at a crossroad. Even after decades of activism in many countries around the world and the growing public awareness, the last year was the year of legal defeat and the rise of organized resistance. Civil society is also active but there are emerging challenges of increasing legislative […]
CategoriesAnti Money LaunderingHuman trafficking is considered as one of the most widespread and lucrative illegal businesses on the planet. The trafficking of human beings to be sexually exploited, to labor, and to be subjected to other kinds of modern slavery generates about 150 billion annual gains, and cannot be practiced without the help of laundering schemes. When […]
CategoriesWar CrimesThe international humanitarian law offers the principles of evaluation of acts of war such as war crimes and genocide. War crimes are considered to be serious breach of law of war that include attacks on civilians, torture and disproportional attacks against civilian infrastructures. The 1948 UN Convention defines genocide as evident destruction, wholly or partially, […]
CategoriesHuman TraffickingThe campaign against human trafficking in Asia is experiencing a paradigm shift, with youth leaders taking over leading roles in the awareness campaign, prevention, and advocacies. They have not appeared randomly but are a deliberate reaction to the changing dynamics of trafficking and digital approaches that discriminate against young and vulnerable groups. This progress was […]
CategoriesTopicsKamala Harris has become one of the federal leaders in formulating national transgender policy. Her policy interaction with executive agencies and legislative agenda as a Vice President under President Biden has led to an institutionalization of transgender rights amid the heightened political polarization. Her time as leader comes at a time when the restrictive state-level […]
CategoriesTopicsTransgender rights remain the products of a Chinese legal system that provides limited official acknowledgment and generally demands intrusive conditions to undergo a gender transition. By the year 2025, people who want the state to place a different gender marker on their identity documents issued by the state will undergo gender-affirming surgery (GAS) and notarized […]
CategoriesBriefsIn 2025, transgender rights movements across the world would represent the picture of victories gained with difficulty and the challenges increased. In the West democracies, as well as in the developing countries, transgender individuals and lobby groups encounter more complicated situations. As certain governments are developing gender recognition and legal safeguards, others are taking away […]
CategoriesTopicsHousing has been identified as a principal human right that ought to be of basic human dignity, security, and social inclusion. This right is affirmed by international legal documents like the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which argues that proper housing is beyond just shelter but rather includes affordability, accessibility and […]
CategoriesTopicsCanada is still perceived as a world leader in LGBTQ+ rights, and protections of transgenders are written in federal legislation. The country is experiencing an extremely dynamic situation of rights in 2025 that has demonstrated both a positive development trend and an increasing strain between political, legal and social changes. Legal tools that underlie transgender […]
CategoriesTopicsNorth Korea is one of the most closed and repressed states worldwide, which is ruled by absolute power and Kim Jong Un since his ascension to power in 2011. International observers have recorded increased human rights violations in the last decade characterized by increased surveillance, administration of forced labor, public executions, and deprivation of basic […]
CategoriesHuman TraffickingHuman trafficking continues to be one of the most popular and elusive forms of contemporary exploitation that has been experienced by more than 25 million individuals across the world. Trafficking has however evolved and thrived even after decades of legal advancements and an increase in cross-border cooperation. The demand was cited by Tony Talbott, a […]
CategoriesHuman TraffickingHuman trafficking tips have dramatically increased in 2025 in Virginia and the Virginia State Police reported 1,209 tips by mid-September. This number is a three times improvement to the previous year making Virginia the 16 th highest state in the country when it comes to operations in trafficking. This increase indicates deeper structural shifts in […]
CategoriesTopicsNational Human Rights Committee (NHRIs) have become the important institutions in the enforcement of the international human rights commitments by the states. They have extended their scope way beyond the monitoring, or complaint-handling capabilities. The character of their work has changed considerably in 2025 as a reaction to the dynamic pressures in the world and […]
CategoriesWar CrimesThe military campaign of the Israeli forces against the Gaza Strip has been going on since the end of 2023, and it has radically changed the physical, social, and legal background of the Gaza Strip. Towards the end of the year 2025, more than 53,000 Palestinians were reported dead. According to independent research organizations, around […]
CategoriesTerror FinancingIn a 2025 campaign against the militias supported by the Iranian regime in Iraq, the United States has significantly expanded its penalties not only on the organizations, but also on the financial networks supporting them. On September 17, the official designation of four large groups, namely, Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba, Kataib Sayyid al Shuhada, Harakat […]
CategoriesTopicsA major step in the convergence of environmental protection and human rights law is the year 2025. On January 30, 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) came up with a landmark ruling in Cannavacciuolo and Others v. Italy, which further boosts the opinion that environmental degradation can come to constitute a breach of […]
CategoriesTopicsOne of the main characteristics of contemporary human rights activism has been digital rights. With the world starting to enter the further stages of technological integration in 2025, the connection between digital infrastructure and advocacy becomes more complicated. The fight to defend basic rights is being fought more on the streets, as well as in […]
CategoriesAnti Money LaunderingSwiss financial regulation becomes a critical stage in 2025, when the lawmakers are considering new sources of funds to increase supervision. The core of this change is represented by a proposal to adopt a fee-based compliance model, which would directly fund the Money laundering reporting office Switzerland (MROS) enabling it to react better to the […]
CategoriesHuman TraffickingSan Antonio was the center of one of the largest counter-trafficking efforts called Operation Lightning Bug. Led by the U.S. Marshals Service Lone Star Fugitive Task Force and with the assistance of the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD), Texas Department of Public Safety, and several other local and federal law enforcement agencies, the operation was […]
CategoriesanalysisSince the beginning of the conflict in Syria in 2011, the Syrian observatory on human rights (SOHR) has continued to be referenced as one of the most used civilian-led groups in recording human rights violations in Syria. SOHR still collects data concerning deaths, arbitrary arrests, and detentions, through a network of decentralized sources, such as […]
CategoriesTerror FinancingCanada’s 2025 acknowledgement that Khalistani extremist groups receive funding from within its territory has introduced a critical new dimension in Indo-Canadian relations. The Finance Department’s national risk assessment lists Babbar Khalsa International and the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) as terror-linked organizations benefiting from domestic support. This is the first time Ottawa has formally recognized […]
CategoriesanalysisThe ruling of the United States Supreme Court on September 8, 2025, to permit Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to conduct race-based and occupation-centered immigration raids in Los Angeles, was consequential 6-3. This ruling struck down a restraining order of a federal district court that had stopped such practices as unconstitutional. The decision has […]