The 48-page report, “‘I’ll Never Feel Secure’: Undocumented and Exploited Myanmar Nationals in Thailand,” examines how the Thai police frequently stop and interrogate Myanmar nationals and extort them with the threat of arrest and detention if they fail to pay bribes. Human Rights Watch found this practice to be prevalent in the town of Mae Sot near the Myanmar border, where people refer to Myanmar nationals as “walking ATMs.” Myanmar nationals, living under the constant threat of deportation that could put them at grave risk, restrict their movements to stay out of sight of police and other authorities seeking to exploit them.

The 72-page report, “Punished for Getting Older: South Korea’s Age-based Policies and Older Workers’ Rights,” documents how three age-based employment laws and policies – the mandatory retirement age of 60 or older, the “peak wage” system, and re-employment policies – harm older workers, and how inadequate social security programs exacerbate their situation.

The 43-page report, “Congress in Cahoots: How Peru’s Legislature is Allowing Organized Crime to Thrive,” details how recent legislative actions and decisions by Congress have undermined efforts to investigate and prosecute criminal networks, eroded the autonomy of key public institutions, and rolled back environmental protections. President Dina Boluarte’s administration has often enabled this agenda, while relying heavily on declaring “states of emergency” – which suspend constitutional rights – as its primary crime-fighting tool.

The 88-page report, “‘Without Water, We Are Nothing’: The Urgent Need for a Water Law in Guatemala,” documents the pervasive lack of access to safe and sufficient water and sanitation services in Guatemala, which disproportionately affects Indigenous people, particularly women and girls. It also details the impact of inadequate access to water and sanitation on the right to health, including for children, in a country where nearly one in two children under five suffers from chronic malnutrition.

The 29-page report, “‘A Conspiracy to Grab the Land’: Exploiting Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws for Blackmail and Profit," documents the use of blasphemy accusations for personal economic gain. Accusers have long used blasphemy charges to incite mob violence that has forced entire communities to flee their homes, leaving their property vulnerable to land grabs. Those seeking to exploit the law for their own profit have used blasphemy accusations as a weapon against rivals and businesses owned by religious minorities.

The 93-page report, “Hunted From Above: Russia’s Use of Drones to Attack Civilians in Kherson, Ukraine” and an accompanying web feature, document how Russian forces appear to be deliberately or recklessly carrying out drone strikes against civilians and civilian objects with these mostly inexpensive commercially available drones. The attacks spread terror among the civilian population and cause them to fear leaving their homes, and have caused the depopulation of the two areas being targeted in Kherson.