Latest News Water as a Weapon in Gaza Photo by Abid Katib/Getty Images by Karolina Bonde May 2026 Historically civilians’ restricted access to water during warfare has been a form of collateral damage when infrastructure is damaged and water supply chains are disrupted. Recently, restricting water usage has been used as a key method of warfare. By damaging water infrastructure, military combatants gain cumulative tactical leverage while avoiding actual combat. However, international actors have not been able to p Genocide Watch 2 days ago 11 min read Genocide Watch Ten Stages of Genocide World Map 2026 Where does genocide happen, and where are warning signs already visible? Genocide Watch’s new Ten Stages of Genocide Map provides a global overview of our latest findings. It is a major update to the previous version from October 2025 and includes our latest assessments and reports through the beginning of August 2026. The new map is now available on the Ten Stages page, below the explanations of the individual stages. See where the Ten Stages are occurring Countries and regi belamuller 3 days ago 2 min read Closure in families as Residential Girls are reburied Peace and closure among families as girls who died at residential school are reburied Natalie Pressman July 23, 2026 Alice and Rosanna Drygeese will be buried in Yellowknife, N.W.T., next to their father Mary Jane Drygeese and her great-granddaughter. Drygeese's two sisters are coming home to Yellowknife decades after they died at residential school in Fort Resolution. (Submitted by Berna Ross) In some of his final words, Berna Ross’s grandfather spoke of how nice it would be CBS News Aug 29 3 min read Raid on cattle camp kills at least 49 in South Sudan By AFP April 6, 2026 Thirty-three people were also wounded as gunmen raided village and seasonal cattle camp in northwest of the country. Sudanese refugees wait for their turn to get drinking water from a muddy pond in Gerbana, a village 22km (14 miles) from the Sudanese border, South Sudan [File: Diego Menjibar/EPA] An armed raid on a seasonal cattle camp and village in the northwest of South Sudan has killed least 49 people, according to local officials. The raid, which als Al Jazeera Aug 28 1 min read USCIRF on Religious Freedom Violations In India India Must Be Held Accountable for Religious Freedom Violations USCIRF Aug 27 2 min read US removes Syria from list of state sponsors of terrorism By Tom Bateman , State department correspondent and Helen Livingstone August 25, 2026 US President Donald Trump welcomed his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa to the White House last year (Source: AP) The US has removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism after 47 years, lifting what it said was the "final major barriers" for private sector investment in the country and its reintegration into the global economy. US Secretary Of State Marco Rubio said the move BBC News Aug 27 2 min read Tribe alleges US agents 'trespassed' on indigenous land By Umar Farooq August 26, 2026 The Tohono O’odham people have sued the US government to stop construction of a border wall through their reservation. The Tohono O'odham Nation, an Indigenous tribe along the US-Mexico border, has warned that construction along the border could harm sacred sites and natural resources [File: Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters] An Indigenous tribe located between the United States and Mexico has accused US federal agents and construction workers of illeg Al Jazeera Aug 27 3 min read Pansak cites billion-dollar toll from Thai-Cambodia conflict An analysis shared by Pansak Vinyaratn says the return of about 900,000 Cambodian workers exposes the two economies’ deep dependence. Veteran Thai policy adviser Pansak Vinyaratn Thailand and Cambodia are paying a mounting economic and humanitarian price for their border conflict, with the mass return of Cambodian workers exposing how deeply the two neighbouring economies depend on each other, according to a third-party analysis shared by veteran Thai policy adviser Pansak Vi The Nation Aug 25 5 min read Nigeria search for kidnapped mosque worshippers With elections set for January, President Tinubu seeks to clamp down on kidnapping trend in northern Nigeria. Al Jazeera Aug 25 3 min read Why Nigeria Needs More Than a Bigger Army Without accompanying reforms, the risk is that President Tinubu’s plan only makes Nigeria’s army bigger but not better. Chatham House Aug 25 4 min read Denial in India: The Tenth Stage of Genocide In this final part of our Ten Stages of Genocide in India Series, we explain how Denial enables and continues Genocide Watch Aug 25 5 min read Amnesty: Argentina’s AI Surveillance is Social Control Amnesty International decries Argentina’s expanding AI surveillance as tool of social control Tiana Nowzari | Lincoln Alexander School of Law, CA August 21, 2026 Neslihan_Turan, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Amnesty International on Wednesday accused Argentina of building techno-authoritarian surveillance infrastructure without adequate legal safeguards, as the government’s newly created AI security unit expands state monitoring powers over citizens’ online communications and ph Jurist News Aug 25 3 min read Tajikistan and the Weaponization of Trauma Narratives By: Genocide Watch A protest in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe before the country's civil war. (Source: RFE/RL) Located in Central Asia, Tajikistan continues to navigate the aftermath of Civil War (1992-1997), which resulted in the loss and displacement of thousands of civilians. The Civil War’s widespread devastation, along with other internal issues (poverty, economic stagnation, internal division, and longstanding corruption), continues to plague the State today—particularl Genocide Watch Aug 24 1 min read Country Report: The Gambia August 2026 An anti-female genital mutilation (FGM) protester outside the National Assembly in Banjul. Genocide Watch Aug 24 3 min read Reshaping Europe Through Parliament By: Alexander Smith Far-right Patriots for Europe group meets in Madrid, February 8-9, 2025. (X/Viktor Orban). The far right has resurged across Europe. Over the past decade, the United Kingdom left the European Union (EU) after a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment; the National Front in France took more than 100 seats in the French parliament; Germany's right-wing became the second largest party in its parliament; dissatisfaction with mainstream governments surged across the c Genocide Watch Aug 23 1 min read West Africa Monthly Report: July 2026 West Africa in July 2026 saw worsening political repression, conflict, human-rights abuses and drug-related crises, alongside severe flooding and health challenges, while some countries made progress in healthcare and vaccination. Genocide Watch Aug 22 5 min read Nigeria and the Sahel: A growing security divide A widening diplomatic rift is complicating efforts to confront a shared cross-border security threat. Al Jazeera Aug 22 4 min read TTPS on alert after 11 bomb threats in 40 minutes By Anna-Lisa Paul, Senior Reporter, anna-lisa.paul@guardian.co.tt August 20, 2026 Valpark Plaza, Valpark (Source: Trinidad & Tobago Guardian) Chaguanas Magistrates' Court (Source: Trinidad & Tobago Guardian) Security agencies across Trinidad and Tobago, including the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) and the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service (TTFS), were placed on high alert yesterday, after a series of 11 bomb threats targeted several courts, a shopping plaza and a go Trinidad & Tobago Guardian Aug 20 3 min read Ecuador intelligence chief & 5 Americans killed in crash By Basillioh Rukanga, Thomas Mukhwana, Reporting fromin Nairobi, Henry Moore and Vanessa Buschschluter Published August 19, 2026 Rescue officials at the crash site in a remote area of Samburu County by Mount Ololokwe (Source: Kenya Red Cross/Handout via Reuters) Ecuador's intelligence chief and his wife have been killed in a helicopter that crashed at Mount Ololokwe in central Kenya. Michele Sensi-Contugi, 44, and his wife, fashion designer Stephany Hollihan, 42, were among t BBC News Aug 20 3 min read Death and torture of a man spark protests in Syria Picture showing White Helmets volunteer unconscious and with bruises on his body went viral By William Christou Mourners carry the coffin of Mohammad Ghamira for burial in the village of al-Haffah, in Latakia province, Syria on Monday. Photograph: AP Syrians have protested over the death of a man who was arrested and allegedly beaten by security forces, sparking widespread anger at a practice thought to have ended with the fall of Bashar al-Assad. A crowd gathered in the city The Guardian Aug 20 3 min read Israel strikes Idlib airbase; US, Türkiye condemn escalation By Al Jazeera Staff, AP and Reuters August 18, 2026 Eight air strikes hit an airbase in northwestern Syria's Idlib governorate, state TV reports [Al Jazeera] Turkiye rejects Israeli allegations that it posed a threat by preparing to send troops to airbase in Syria’s Idlib. Israel has bombed an airbase in Syria’s Idlib, according to Syrian media, with Turkiye denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “expansionist” policies and the United States criticising what i Al Jazeera Aug 20 3 min read Explosion in Kabul school injures at least 42 children By Mohammad Yunus Yawar August 18, 2026 Members of the Hazara community pray outside a mosque on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan in October 2021 (AAMIR QURESHI / AFP - Getty Images) KABUL, Aug 18 (Reuters) - An explosion at an education centre in Kabul injured at least 42 children on Monday, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said on Tuesday, calling for an "investigation to establish the circumstances of this incident." The blast occurred on Monday ev AFP, AP and Reuters Aug 19 2 min read Brazil Demarcates Land for Isolated Amazon Indigenous Group Brazil marks borders for isolated Indigenous group in the Amazon after decades. Shanna Hanbury August 19, 2026 The first sign demarcating the Rio Pardo Kawahiva Indigenous Territory. Image courtesy of FUNAI. Agents of Brazil’s Indigenous agency, FUNAI, spent 60 days in June and July 2026 physically marking the borders of the Rio Pardo Kawahiva Indigenous Territory. The 411,000-hectare (1 million-acre) area in the Amazon biome of Mato Grosso state is home to the Kawahiva, an i Mongabay Aug 19 2 min read How Pakistan Crushed Protests in Kashmir By Aqil Shah August 17, 2026 Protestors burn tyres along a road after clashes with police in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on July 31, 2026. (Sajjad Qayyum-AFP via Getty Images) Irish poets and American presidents have long spoken of Kashmir: its beauty and its dangers. The question of Kashmir has shaped the trajectories of India and Pakistan since the end of British rule and their birth as nation-states in August 1947. Both countries claim Kashmir in its enti TIME Aug 18 7 min read Country Report: Belarus August 2026 By Sophia Khan Belarus opposition supporters lay flowers near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester, died on Aug. 10, 2020, during a protest in Minsk. (Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images) Although Belarus was a founding republic of the Soviet Union, the 1988 discovery of mass grave sites from Stalin-era targeting prompted calls for independence. Belarus declared independence on August 25, 1991, after the dissolution of the Soviet U Genocide Watch Aug 17 2 min read 1 2 3 4 5

The International Association of Genocide Scholars The International Association of Genocide Scholars is a global, interdisciplinary, non-partisan organization that seeks to further research and teaching about the nature, causes, and consequences of genocide, and advance policy studies on prevention of genocide. The Association, founded in 1994, meets to consider comparative research, important new work, case studies, the links between genocide and other human rights violations, and prevention and punishment of genocide. A central aim of the Association is to draw academics, activists, artists, genocide survivors, journalists, jurists, public policy makers, and other colleagues into the interdisciplinary study of genocide, with the goal of prevention. Membership is open to interested persons worldwide. Visit the IAGS Website or see its social media site on Facebook Visit the Genocide Studies and Prevention Journal History of IAGS Summary The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) was founded in 1994. Initially, the organization was called the Association of Genocide Scholars. The Association’s first conference was held in 1995 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. In recognition of the rapid growth and global interest in genocide studies, the organization was renamed the International Association of Genocide Scholars in 2001. In 2006, the IAGS launched its official journal, Genocide Studies and Prevention. IAGS has hosted conferences all over the world, including its most recent conference in Brisbane, Australia (2017) and the upcoming conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (2019). Early History The origins of the IAGS go back to the early 1980s. At this time, a small group of scholars and teachers were using a comparative framework to study genocide. Leo Kuper published his seminal book Genocide in 1980 and Helen Fein published Accounting for Genocide in 1979. Israel Charny organized the first conference on the comparative analysis of genocide in Jerusalem in 1982. The Institute for the Study of Genocide was founded in New York in 1982 by Helen Fein. Prof. Gregory Stanton founded The Cambodian Genocide Project in 1982 to bring Khmer Rouge leaders to justice. It became part of Genocide Watch in 1999. These early genocide scholars, a number of whom began with study of the Holocaust, were attacked by other scholars who insisted on the “uniqueness” of the Holocaust. The pioneers in genocide studies also confronted institutional pressures. For example, it was a challenge to get platforms in traditional conferences such as the American Historical Association, the International Studies Association, the American Sociological Association, etc. Traditional academic disciplines did not find room for the interdisciplinary nature of genocide studies, so universities seldom had faculty positions for genocide scholars. However, what had been a marginalized area of study became one of urgent interest and scholarship as a response to the genocides in Rwanda and the Balkans in 1994 and 1995. The Association of Genocide Scholars The idea for an organization of genocide scholars grew out of a meeting between Israel Charny, Helen Fein, Robert Melson and Roger Smith at the Remembering for the Future Two conference, held at Humboldt University in Berlin in 1994. With over 500 persons in attendance and numerous panels and presentations, there was only one three-hour session on the comparative study of genocide. Hence, there was discussion of the need to create an organization that focused on the study and prevention of genocide. The Association of Genocide Scholars (AGS) was established in 1994. During this initial period, the AGS shared a website and affiliation with the Institute for the Study of Genocide. The organization’s first conference was held in 1995 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA, with about 45 persons attending. Helen Fein served as the association’s first President. Subsequent biennial conferences were held at Concordia University (Montreal) in 1997, the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1999, and the University of Minnesota in 2001. With the rapid growth and global interest in genocide studies, a number of scholars pushed for a more international perspective and argued that conferences should held outside North America. The organization revised its by-laws in 2001 and was renamed the International Association of Genocide Scholars. The revised bylaws provided that at least one officer be from outside North America, and that biennial conferences regularly be held outside North America. The International Association of Genocide Scholars The IAGS conference at the University of Galway, Ireland in 2003 was the first held outside North America. There were over 200 participants, with a significant increase in participation by European scholars. The increase also reflected growing scholarship in comparative genocide studies. In 2005, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, hosted the IAGS conference. In 2006, the IAGS, in partnership with the Zoryan Institute of Toronto, Canada began publication of Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal. It became an on-line publication, free to all, in 2012. In 2007, Gregory Stanton, founding President of Genocide Watch, became President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars. The IAGS was incorporated and accorded non-profit status. It launched the organization’s website: www.genocidescholars.org. Its bylaws and financial practices were legalized. The 2007 IAGS biennial conference was held in Sarajevo, Bosnia. It was the first IAGS conference to be held in a country that had recently experienced genocide, with major participation from genocide survivors in their own language. Over 500 people attended the conference, including many participants from Bosnia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The 2009 IAGS conference was held at George Mason University, Virginia, USA. In 2011, the IAGS held its first conference in South America, hosted by the Universidad Nacional de Tres Febrero, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The 2013 conference was held in Siena, Italy, hosted by the University of Siena and the Kingston University, Siena, Italy. In 2014 the IAGS held a conference at the University of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It was the first conference to focus on the genocide of Native Americans. It included sessions with these First Peoples on their own land. The 2015 IAGS Biennial Meeting held in Yerevan, Armenia focused on the Armenian Genocide. The 2017 conference in Brisbane, Australia focused on the genocide of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. The 2019 IAGS conference was held in Cambodia. It focused on the Cambodian Genocide and other Asian genocides and included significant participation from Cambodians. It was the first IAGS conference held in Asia. The 2021 IAGS conference focused on genocide and its prevention in the digital age. The 2021 conference was held virtually due to the Covid pandemic. It was hosted by the University of Barcelona, Spain. The 2023 conference was hosted in Barcelona, Spain by the University of Barcelona. The 2025 IAGS conference was held in Johannesburg, South Africa hosted by the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre. It was the first IAGS conferenced held in Africa. Genocide Watch is an institutional member of the International Association of Genocide Scholars. Visit the Wikipedia entry on the Holocaust co-authored by Genocide Watch and the International Association of Genocide Scholars here.

d4c60d9d-e677-4aee-8fc7-f25fc2889b33 Azerbaijan CIA World Factbook Country Overview Targeted Groups Perpetrators Alert Status Genocide Stage(s) Armenians Azerbaijani Government & Armed Forces Turkic Ultranationalists Warning Stage 8: Persecution, Stage 9: Extermination, Stage 10: Denial Details In September 2020, Azerbaijan had invaded the sovereign territory of Artsakh. After a long and costly war, Azerbaijan has occupied half of Artsakh's territory and displaced thousands of ethnic Armenians. Azerbaijan has begun to attack destroy Armenian culture in heritage Artsakh and often uses hate speech to demonize and degrade ethnic Armenians. Read Report Resources Eyewitness Accounts: Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte Discusses the Baku Pogroms Azerbaijan's 'Ethnic Hatred' Theme Park Draws Ire, Imperils Reconciliation - RadioFreeEurope Why Scholars, Cultural Institutions Are Calling to Protect Armenian Heritage - Smithsonian Magazine Page last updated: 6/23/2021

ee3e5f98-a33f-47dc-98ef-12a67c3c48ca Paraguay Country Overview Targeted Groups Perpetrators Alert Status Genocide Stage(s) Watch Details Read Report Resources Page last updated: 07/22/2026

2438b9fb-cc58-4dde-b432-ce1c122dc7d7 Bangladesh CIA World Factbook Country Overview Targeted Groups Perpetrators Alert Status Genocide Stage(s) Jummas (Ethnic and indigenous peoples of the Chittagong Hill tracts) Dalits Journalists and activists Bangladesh government Warning Stage 3: Discrimination, Stage 5: Organization, Stage 8: Persecution, Stage 10: Denial Details Bangladesh experienced genocide in 1971. While the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal continue to issue judgements the genocide still lacks recognition worldwide. Today, Bangladesh faces issues of government restrictions freedom of expression online, targeting critical voices. There also have been reports of torture, ill-treatment and enforced disappearances by law enforcement officials. Dalits face discrimination, vulnerability, and stigmatization. Further, the Bangladesh government continues the persecution of ethnic and indigenous groups in the Chittagong Hills Tract. Read Report Resources Bangladesh indigenous ban 'worse than aparthied' - Al Jazeera The 'forgotten' 1971 genocide in Bangladesh International Dalit Solidarity Network - Bangladesh Page last updated: 11/17/2021

Australia Country Overview World Atlas Targeted Groups Perpetrators Alert Status Genocide Stage(s) Indigenous Australians (Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people ) Government Watch Stage 3: Discrimination Details In 1788, the British began to colonize Australia, disrupting the lives and culture of the Aboriginal people. The colonizers brought disease--smallpox--with them and took the indigenous land and food sources. There was also a common practice of raping indigenous women and capturing many for slavery. Later, there was a large campaign for assimilation in which children were separated from their families. The Frontier Wars and Genocide was a movement to kill off the indigenous resistance. Reports have stated that 40,000-65,000 indigenous people were killed for over a century. Some are even higher. Over the decades, the Aboriginal people faced racist policies--similar to Jim Crow-era laws and became impoverished. Reform began in the late sixties, but, today, indigenous groups are still fighting policies that disregard their cultural heritage and their history. Read Report Page last updated: 10/2/2022 Resources Staying strong: Responding to racism Australia: Aboriginal peoples Discrimination against Indigenous Australians has risen dramatically, survey finds

French Guiana Country Overview Targeted Groups Perpetrators Alert Status Genocide Stage(s) Watch Details Read Report Page last updated: 07/22/2026 Resources

Uzbekistan Country Overview Getty Images Targeted Groups Perpetrators Alert Status Genocide Stage(s) Tajiks Karakalpaks ethnic group Luli/Roma Non-Sunni Muslims and Christians LGBTQ+ community Uzbek government Watch Stage 3: Discrimination, Stage 5: Organization Details Since the death of President Islam Karimov in 2016 there has been much hope for reform of human rights in the country. Current President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has taken some steps towards improving human rights, but the system remains authoritarian. Issues surrounding freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and freedom of religion persist. Restrictions are placed on religious practice and discrimination exists against non-Muslim minorities, some of whom are subject to fines or jail time for their activities. The state is particularly repressive of Shia Muslims and other Muslims that do not conform to the state-mandated version Islam. Discrimination and violence against LGBTQI+ people and women also exists. Read Report Page last updated: 8/30/2021 Resources Uzbekistan: Decade of Impunity for Massacre Uzbekistan 2020: Amnesty International Report Human Rights Watch: What Progress in Uzbekistan?

Turkiye Country Overview Nations Online Project Targeted Groups Perpetrators Alert Status Genocide Stage(s) Political opposition leaders Human rights advocates Kurdish civilians Kurdish fighters in Northern Syria Turkish government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Pro-Erdoğan forces in the army and police Emergency Stage 5: Organization, Stage 6: Polarization, Stage 9: Extermination, Stage 10: Denial Details Following a failed coup d’état in July 2016, repression of freedom of expression, disappearances, torture, and arbitrary arrests all drastically increased. Journalists and human rights defenders are regularly arrested under dubious charges of “membership in a terrorist organization.” Turkey committed war crimes during its October 2019 invasion of northeast Syria in which its forces targeted Kurdish civilians and fighters that had defeated ISIS in the region. Turkey continues to deny the Armenian, Assyrian, and Pontic Greek genocides perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire. In 2025, the regime engaged in a widespread political crackdown on opposition groups, media, and activists. Read Report Page last updated: 30/07/2025 Resources Why Turkey is Invading Syria Turkish-backed Rebels Leave Trail of Abuse and Criminality in Syria’s Afrin Turkey: Erdoğan’s Onslaught on Rights and Democracy

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Country Overview Maps of the World Net Targeted Groups Perpetrators Alert Status Genocide Stage(s) Pro-democracy activists Journalists Civil society actors Chinese Government Hong Kong police force Warning Stage 3: Discrimination, Stage 4: Dehumanization, Stage 5: Organization, Stage 6: Polarization, and Stage 8: Persecution Details Under the 1997 Basic Law of the HKSAR (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region), Hong Kong was granted relative political and economic freedom from China until 2047. However, China has since encroached on these civil rights. The passage of the National Security Law in 2020 has restricted protest activity and voting rights. Crackdowns on freedom of press, expression, as well as persecution of democrats in Hong Kong soon followed, and remain an ongoing process today. China now has direct legal control over Hong Kong. Read Report Page last updated: 06/12/2025 Resources Why We Protest: Hong Kong - VICE Hong Kong Democratic Movement 2019: Timeline - Hong Kong Democratic Movement OHCHR Hong Kong: Grave concerns over sentencing under National Security Law