Rights & Wrongs is a bi-monthly podcast from Human Rights Watch that explores abuses unfolding around the world through the people on the frontlines. Host Ngofeen Mputubwele takes listeners behind the scenes of Human Rights Watch investigations across more than 100 countries. The show draws on the organization's in-depth reporting to explain what is happening and why it matters. More information and support options are available at hrw.org.
Episodes
Recap: Can the ICC Survive?
The International Criminal Court (ICC) was created to try the worst crimes in the world – war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity. Established in 1998 following the deadly civil war in Yugoslavia and genocide Rwanda, the ICC has indicted 63 suspects. Each of court’s 125 member states is obligated to arrest these suspects should they set foot in their territory, but the indictments of Russian
They're Getting Away with Everything
When Waheed Abu Naeem’s students approached him last spring to tell him there were settlers and Israeli military approaching their school, he confronted them. Things escalated and a settler began shooting at the school’s courtyard, killing one of the students. Waheed would later learn that his brother, Jihad, was also killed by the settlers when rushed to the school after hearing news of the attac
When Your Home Becomes a War Zone
As Global Program Director at Human Rights Watch, Lama Fakih knew attacks would likely reach Beirut as tensions escalated in the US/Israeli war with Iran. But she never thought the attacks would hit close to home. About 50 years ago Lama’s grandparents got an apartment in a building in the southern suburbs of that city. Her dad grew up there, and Lama lived there too when she was very young. Much
The Inhumanity of the Algorithms
The gig economy has exploded across the globe. Whether organizing food deliveries or providing domestic labor, the companies behind these apps are making billions by using algorithms to assign tasks, set pay, evaluate performance, and even fire workers. For the companies that built these systems, the model promises high rewards and low risk. But for workers, like Apraham, Agnes and Graeme, they’v
Recap: Sportswashing Explained
In late 2024, the international football association (FIFA) announced that Saudi Arabia would host the 2034 World Cup. This means the world’s largest sporting event will be taking place in a country where the government imprisons scores of activists and dissidents for peaceful criticism, denies women fundamental civil and human rights, and cheats migrant workers out of their pay, after treating
The Past is Never Over
Now that Maung has learned about the history of the Rohingya community, he begins working towards an escape route. He hopes to leave the refugee camp and get an education so that he can advocate for his community. But his freedom of movement is limited and educational resources are scarce. This week, host Ngofeen Mputubwele charts Maung’s journey out of the refugee camp in Bangladesh and into New
What's Social Media Got To Do With It?
Now that he’s arrived in Bangladesh, Maung finds himself stuck in an in-between. He’s safe from the violence he faced in his home state of Rakhine, Myanmar, but there are restrictions on his freedom of movement, limiting his education and leaving him to grapple with the history that brought his community to the world’s largest refugee camp. In this episode, host Ngofeen Mputubwele traces this his
The Shadow City: Earth’s Largest Refugee Camp
When Maung and his family, his neighbors, strangers, cross the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh, they are officially refugees. But there’s no rest for the weary, and the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees escaping to Bangladesh have to build a refugee camp for themselves. As Maung helps his family assemble a temporary shelter, a sort of shadow city starts to rise up around them. Almost
Getting From Here To There
When anti-Rohingya sentiment turned into gunshots in Myanmar in 2017, 16-year-old Maung Sawyeddollah was forced to flee. But what do you do when you’re forced to leave your home? Where do you go? This week on The Great Unrooting, host Ngofeen Mputubwele asks how migrants get from here to there. What happens if you need medicine while you’re traveling or are living with disabilities that make tra
The Unrooting
Maung Sawyeddollah grew up in a small town in Myanmar where, for years, life felt ordinary. That was before the rumors began. Social media fueled sectarian division, communities turned against each other. Then the soldiers arrived. It was a balmy night in August 2017 when Maung first heard the sound of gunfire. His family was forced to make an impossible choice: stay in the home they love or embar
PROLOGUE: The Night the Sky Cracked Open with Fire
Welcome to The Great Unrooting, a five-episode narrative podcast special season of Rights & Wrongs that explores what it means to lose home — and what it takes to start again. Anchored in the story of Maung, a Rohingya refugee now living in New York, the series traces his journey of flight, survival, and rebuilding and explores displacement at a moment when more people are forcible displaced t
The Texture of LGBT Progress
The rights of LGBT people are on the chopping block across the world, with new countries criminalizing same-sex practices and banning representation of queer relationships in 2025. However, the landscape for LGBT rights has also shifted tremendously towards progress over the past decades. What gives? This week, we explore the texture of progress for LGBT rights. As Indonesia prepare
Rerun: The Chalk Bicycle
Since April 2023, more than a half-million people have been displaced in Sudan due to fighting between two armed forces who were once aligned. The story of how the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces turned on each other, with devastating consequences for Sudan’s civilians, can be traced back to 2013 when a group of dissidents were told by their interrogators to ride a
Rerun: Protesting a Dictatorship in a Dictatorship
In the early aughts, a campaign to “Save Sudan” became the bipartisan issue of the time. Celebrities and politicians alike implored a global audience to pay attention to and advocate against Suan’s human rights crisis. As interventions waned, so did the attention of many global onlookers. But, since the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces began fighting in April 20
ICE Detention: Forced to Eat Like a Dog Out of a Bowl
When Harpinder Chauhan walked into his probation officer’s office in Florida, he thought it was just another check-in. Minutes later, he was in handcuffs and detained by ICE. In this episode of Rights and Wrongs, host Ngofeen Mputubwele talks to Harpinder about what it’s really like inside U.S. immigration detention— his days spent shackled, sleeping on concrete, and pleading for basic medical car
From Nazis to Late Night: Why Free Speech Matters
In 1977, American Nazis fought for the right to march in Skokie, Illinois—a town filled with Holocaust survivors—and won. Nearly fifty years later, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was suspended for jokes the government says went too far. What connects these moments? Host Ngofeen Mputubwele talks with Aryeh Neier—Holocaust survivor, former ACLU director, and Human Rights Watch
Hunted From Above
What’s the scariest sound in a war zone? In Kherson, Ukraine, it isn’t artillery or fighter jets—it’s the faint buzz of a $200 quadcopter drone. In this episode of Rights & Wrongs, host Ngofeen Mputubwele takes us inside Russia’s use of drones to stalk and attack civilians on the front line. Survivors describe the terror of being hunted from above, and Human Rights Watch’s Belkis Wille explain
Loaded Gun Recap: El Salvador, the Alien Enemies Act, and What Happened to Roger
Roger and Daniela arrived in the U.S. in January, conditionally approved as refugees. Hours later, she was deported. Roger vanished. When Rights & Wrongs first aired this story in May, it traced how a Venezuelan millennial with no criminal record ended up detained in El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act—a centuries-old wartime law now repurposed for mass deportations. In a stunni
“Why Are You Gay?” -- From Viral Clip to State-Sanctioned Violence
In 2012, a Ugandan TV host asked trans activist Pepe Julian Onziema a now-infamous question: “Why are you gay?” The clip went viral, spawning internet fodder around the world – but behind the memes lies a chilling reality. In this episode of Rights & Wrongs, host Ngofeen Mputubwele looks at Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, a 2023 law that punishes same-sex intimacy with life in prison or even
From Mass Graves to Mass Incarceration: Recap
Last year, we told the story of how President Nayib Bukele came to power in El Salvador on a promise of ending gang violence. He succeeded, turning a state that was the world’s murder capital into one with one of the lowest homicide rates in the Western Hemisphere. But in the process, he systematically dismantled democratic checks and balances and arbitrarily detained tens of thousands of people,
Duterte in the Dock: A Landmark Arrest
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte took office with a vow to eliminate illegal drugs. His “war on drugs” resulted in the brutal killing of between 12,000 and 30,000 people. Despite the international outcry and extensive media coverage of the deaths and their impact, Duterte remained popular—and untouchable – until recently. In March, he was arrested on an International Criminal Cou
One Authoritarian's Playbook
You’ve probably heard that authoritarianism is on the rise across the globe. Increasingly, countries are adopting policies that undermine democracy, reduce accountability, and erode civil liberties and human rights. But why is authoritarianism on the rise, and how do authoritarian leaders come to power? Lauded by Donald Trump and condemned by rights-defenders, Hungary’s Prime Mini
The Loaded Gun
Roger and his partner Daniela arrived in the U.S. in January, conditionally approved as refugees by a US State Department-run program called the Safe Mobility Initiative. Hours later, she was deported. He was detained and then, he vanished. In this episode of Rights & Wrongs, host Ngofeen Mputubwele looks at what happened to Roger—and also examines the fate of 137 Venezuelans swept up un
Break the Chains
They’re chained to trees. Locked in sheds. Confined and forgotten — because they have a mental health condition. Across the globe, people with mental health conditions are shackled — hidden away, dehumanized, and neglected in overcrowded, filthy rooms, sheds, cages, even animal shelters. This week, host Ngofeen Mputubwele talks to Human Rights Watch researchers who are fighting to end this cruel
Shipbreaking Updated: The Most Dangerous Job in the World
Shipbreaking Updated: The Most Dangerous Job in the World In mid 2024, students in Bangladesh organized mass protests and brought down the repressive government of Sheikh Hasana. The country is now under a caretaker government of Muhammed Yunus, a Nobel Laureate who is attempting reforms. Months before this Monsoon Revolution, we told you about shipbreaking, the waste management o
Congo: The Real-Life ‘Vibranium’ Wars
For decades, Congo’s minerals have been coveted by the rich and powerful. You might not know much about the Democratic Republic of Congo, but its natural resources are quietly central to your daily life. Recently, an armed group backed by Rwanda, Congo’s neighbor, took control of two cities in eastern Congo, injuring and killing civilians, and displacing hundreds of thousands of residen
Why Do People Move?
Today, there are more displaced people in the world than at any other time in history. It is a humanitarian crisis on a global scale. But rather than seeking humane solutions to this crisis, many governments are choosing to weaponize it, creating a hostile environment for migrants and implementing laws that criminalize migration and undermine human rights. We have all read the headline
Sportswashing Explained
In late 2024, the international football association (FIFA) announced that Saudi Arabia would host the 2034 World Cup. This means the world’s largest sporting event will be taking place in a country where the government imprisons scores of activists and dissidents for peaceful criticism, denies women fundamental civil and human rights, and cheats migrant workers out of their pay, after treating
Can the ICC Survive 2025?
The International Criminal Court (ICC) was created to try the worst crimes in the world – war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide. Established in 1998 following the brutal civil war in Yugoslavia and genocide in Rwanda, the ICC has indicted 63 suspects. All of the court’s 125 member countries&
A Year of Reckoning, World Report 2025
We’ve bid farewell to 2024, but a lot of us are asking: What in the world just happened? Every January, Human Rights Watch publishes a World Report examining the human rights events of the previous year around the globe. In this episode, host Ngofeen Mputubwele talks with Human Rights Watch Executive Director Tirana Hassan about the status of human rights in 2024 – from conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine
"The Sacrifice Zone," Redux - According to AI
When Robert Taylor bought land and began to build a home in St. John Parish in Louisiana, he envisioned a compound that would house his family for generations to come. But living in this 85-mile stretch of land along the banks of the Mississippi River that is home to some 200 fossil fuels and petrochemical operations has taken its toll. Known as Cancer Alley, Taylor now hopes his grandchildren don
Now What?
Donald Trump built his reelection campaign off big promises – among them, the mass deportation of migrants, retaliation against political opponents, deploying the military to crush dissent, and allowing states to decide abortion rights. Having won a second term as the President of the United States, the question is, now what? Ngofeen Mputubwele talks to three Human Rights Watch expert
There's No Such Thing as a Virginity Test
Gen. Sri Rumiati served as a policewoman in Indonesia for decades, but her life’s work became centered around protesting a policy of the state security forces. When she was summoned for military service, she was shocked to learn that she was required to take a virginity test. The Indonesian military and police held the misogynistic belief that female soldiers and officers needed to be chaste and t
Paradise Lost
In the late 1960s, the United Kingdom made a deal allowing the US to build a military base on Diego Garcia, one of 58 islands that make up the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean. The UK, which had colonized the islands in the 1800s, claimed there was “no permanent population” in Chagos. But that was a lie. Several hundred Chagossians lived on those islands. They were all forcibl
There is No Safe Place
Finn Lau, a Hong Kong activist, was taking his daily walk along London’s River Thames when Chinese government thugs beat him up. Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was filing paperwork at a Saudi consulate in Turkey when Saudi government assassins murdered and dismembered him. And Bi-2, a dissident Russian-Belarusian rock band, narrowly avoided being forcibly sent to Ru
From Mass Graves to Mass Incarceration
President Nayib Bukele came to power in El Salvador on a promise of ending gang violence. He succeeded, turning a state that was the world’s murder capital into to one with one of the lowest homicide rates in the Western Hemisphere. But in the process, he systematically dismantled democratic checks and balances and arbitrarily detained te
The Chalk Bicycle
Since April 2023, more than a half-million people have been displaced in Sudan due to fighting between two armed forces who were once aligned. The story of how the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces turned on each other, with devastating consequences for Sudan’s civilians, can be traced back to 2013 when a group of dissidents were told by their interrogators to ride a
Protesting a Dictatorship in a Dictatorship
In the early aughts, a campaign to “Save Sudan” became the bipartisan issue of the time. Celebrities and politicians alike implored a global audience to pay attention to and advocate against Suan’s human rights crisis. As interventions waned, so did the attention of many global onlookers. But, since the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces began fighting in April 2023, over 500,00
"The Sacrifice Zone"
When Robert Taylor bought land and began to build a home in St. John Parish in Louisiana, he envisioned a compound that would house his family for generations to come. Now, Taylor hopes that his grandchildren don’t have to live in this “Sacrifice Zone.” The Taylors’ home is situated in what’s known as Cancer Alley, an 85-mile stretch of land along the banks of the Mississippi River that was
They Fired on us Like Rain
In 2023, Human Rights Watch researcher Nadia Hardman came across a letter the United Nations had sent to the government of Saudi Arabia expressing concern over the killing of Ethiopian migrants who were attempting to enter the kingdom. Migrants from the Horn of Africa had long used the so-called “eastern migration route” through war-torn Yemen in the hope of getting employment in Saudi Arabi
Shipbreaking: The Most Dangerous Job in the World
What happens to cargo ships at the end of their lives? Often, they wind up beached on shores in the global south where untrained and unprotected workers are tasked with breaking them apart in dangerous conditions. In this episode, Host Ngofeen Mputubwele takes listeners to the beaches of Bangladesh where Human Rights Watch recently completed an investigation of the shipbreaking industry. Here, in
When Mariupol Went Dark
The Russian military assault on the Ukrainian city of Mariupol between February and May 2022 left thousands of civilians dead and injured, including many in apparently unlawful attacks, and trapped hundreds of thousands for weeks without basic services, Human Rights Watch along with Truth Hounds and SITU research produced a report with extensive findings. It called on Russian President Vladimir Pu
Teaser: Rights & Wrongs
Teaser: Rights & Wrongs
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