Rights & Wrongs is a bi-monthly podcast from Human Rights Watch. It explores stories from the places where abuses are unfolding around the world, through the ey...
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 headlines demonizing migrants, but we rarely hear from the people behind those headlines-their stories, their challenges, and what drove them to make a perilous journey in the hope of finding sanctuary far from home. In this week’s episode, host Ngofeen Mputubwele speaks to Hanaa R., a former policewoman who, fearing for her life, fled Afghanistan when the Taliban took control. We will hear about the risks she took and the sacrifices she made on her journey to become an asylum seeker in the US. But we will also hear why Trump’s new migration policies mean that this incredible story wouldn’t be possible today. Hanaa Rahimi: Former Afghan policewoman sharing her story under alias Bill Frelick: Director of the Refugee and Migrant Rights Division at Human Rights Watch
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34:46
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 them brutally. There’s a word to describe countries notorious for human rights abuses hosting major sporting events: “sportswashing.” Host Ngofeen Mputubwele traces the history of sportswashing from the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany to Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the World Cup. What can fans and athletes do to fight back against sportswashing? Listen to find out. Minky Worden: Director of Global Initiatives at Human Rights Watch John Hird: Co-founder of Newcastle United Fans Against Sportswashing
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26:29
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 areobligated to arrest these suspects should they set foot in their territory, but the arrest warrants against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are testing member states’ resolve. And now the US is threatening to sanction court officials. Can the ICC survive 2025? Richard Dicker: Founding Director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights WatchElizabeth Evenson: Director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch
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29:53
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 and Sudan to leadership changes in Syria and the United States – and what it means for 2025. Tirana Hassan: Executive Director of Human Rights Watch.
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28:53
"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't have to live in the "Sacrifice Zone." Learn what has happened since we first aired this episode - and how AI hosts would have told the story. Human Rights Watch request for comment in advance of publication. Comment received from Denka Performance Elastomer LLC.
Rights & Wrongs is a bi-monthly podcast from Human Rights Watch. It explores stories from the places where abuses are unfolding around the world, through the eyes and ears of the people on the frontlines. Human Rights Watch investigators span the globe and work in more than 100 countries, producing dozens of meticulously researched reports every year. Host, Ngofeen Mputubwele, takes listeners behind the scenes of these in-depth investigations.
Go to hrw.org to find out more about our investigations and hrw.org/podcast/donate to support the work we do.
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