Robbie Newton

FIFA Needs to Call Full Time on Discrimination Just months before the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off, the world of football is again rocked by cases of discrimination both off and on the pitch.

Last week’s @championsleague1.bsky.social incident involving Viní Júnior showed once again how pervasive discrimination remains in football. With the World Cup fast approaching, #FIFA should be leading on anti‑racism — not stepping away from it. #SayNoToRacism @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

India will host the centenary #CommonwealthGames in 2030 in Ahmedabad, a moment that could shape not only the Games, but also the country’s bid for the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games. | @robnewt.bsky.social
🔗 Learn more: www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

India’s Sporting Ambition Needs Rights Safeguards India will play host to the centenary Commonwealth Games in 2030 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat state, which is also the proposed host city for the country’s 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games bid.

Hosting the #CWG2030 is an opportunity for #India to raise the bar on human rights in and around sport. By protecting athletes & workers’ rights and meaningfully engaging with affected communities, it could also boost its #Olympic ambitions @hrw.org

www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

HRW quote card that says, “The UK government’s decision to end the cruel "two-child limit” social security policy is welcome and long-overdue. It forced growing numbers of children and families into poverty and undermined their rights.” Kartik Raj, Europe Senior Researcher

Good riddance to rubbish policy.

The end to the UK's "two child limit" social security policy has been announced, and it will soon be gone.

We @hrw.org welcome the news, as one of many, many, many voices calling for an end to this arbitrary, cruel social security policy.

Australia Should Urge Singapore to Halt Execution Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should urge Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to halt an execution scheduled on the day of their meeting in Canberra on October 8 for the Australia-Si...

Australian PM @albomp.bsky.social should urge #Singapore’s Lawrence Wong to halt the execution of Malaysian national Pannir Selvam — scheduled for tomorrow, the day of the Australia-Singapore Annual Leaders’ Meeting. Quiet diplomacy is unlikely to cut it. @hrw.org

www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

Maldives: Authorities Tighten Grip on Media The Maldives parliament is considering a new law that could silence independent media amid an escalating crackdown on basic rights.

From restricting #MediaFreedom to plans to revive the death penalty, the @mmuizzu.bsky.social administration appears set on chipping away at human rights in the #Maldives @hrw.org

www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

The recent proposal in the Maldives to introduce the death penalty for drug trafficking is in stark contrast to moves elsewhere in Asia where governments are limiting crimes punishable by death. Instead, the Maldives should abolish capital punishment once & for all. www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

UK Acts to Protect Football from Rights Abusers After years of promises from successive governments and parliamentary ping-pong, the United Kingdom parliament has finally delivered a game-changing reform to how football is governed in England and W...

Big win for #EnglishFootball 🏆

UK passed a historic law last week to set up an Independent ⚽ Regulator, with powers to tackle financial instability, safeguard heritage, and weed out rogue owners, including those responsible for #humanrights abuses #FairerFuture @hrw.org

www.hrw.org/news/2025/07...

As Climate Change Threatens, Maldives Is No Island Paradise Every year, thousands of couples choose to spend their honeymoon in the Maldives. Tucked in the Indian Ocean, this tropical atoll nation consistently ranks among the world’s most desirable destination...

Beyond the Maldives crystal-clear waters and pristine, white-sand beaches, local communities are facing a far harsher reality: a growing water crisis driven by climate change. Some islands are literally running out of fresh water.
By @hrw.org's @robnewt.bsky.social www.hrw.org/news/2025/05...

Beyond Maldives's crystal-clear waters and pristine, white-sand beaches, local communities are facing a far harsher reality: a growing water crisis driven by climate change. Some islands are literally running out of fresh water www.hrw.org/news/2025/05...

Tourism Thrives, But Water Crisis Grips Maldives’ Island Communities As tourism booms in the Maldives, climate change is creating a water crisis for islanders—exposing deep inequalities and human rights concerns

While tourists sip cocktails in luxury resorts, many Maldivians are facing a far harsher reality: a growing water crisis driven by climate change, writes Robbie Newton, @hrw.org
www.ipsnews.net/2025/05/clim...

Pressure grows on Fifa as reports warn of serious risk to workers amid Saudi World Cup building boom Two reports published today catalogue ‘gruesome yet avoidable accidents’ on construction sites despite the Gulf kingdom’s claims that work-related deaths have fallen

Trump lands in Saudi Arabia to chase deals, as workers die building MBS’s World Cup dream. FIFA looks away, Trump shrugs, and migrant blood stains the foundations. Profit over lives, again.
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Maldives: Communities Lack Equitable Access to Water Marginalized island communities in the Maldives face limited access to water because of inadequate government consultations, poor monitoring, and economic barriers.

Marginalized communities in the #Maldives' outer islands face severe barriers to accessing safe, clean, affordable water🚰. Climate change impacts 🌊 are threatening freshwater supplies & govt-led water projects are failing 2 protect rights of those most affected @hrw.org
www.hrw.org/news/2025/05...

First migrant worker dies building a World Cup stadium in Saudi Arabia Muhammad Arshad, from Pakistan, was a foreman building Aramco Stadium in Al Khobar, one of 11 new venues for 2034

Muhammad Arshad, a migrant worker from Pakistan, has died while working on a new stadium being built for the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

#RallyForPannir: anger, rage, grief and determination on display tonight in #Singapore, all directed against the #DeathPenalty, a cruel regime that dehumanises and devalues human life.

Rally for Pannir YouTube video by Transformative Justice Collective

Tonight there will be vigils in Singapore & Malaysia to protest the execution of Malaysian Pannir Selvam Pranthaman scheduled for tomorrow morning. Transformative Justice Collective will livestream the vigil in Singapore, which begins at 7pm local time. Join here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qhfp...

Sportswashing Explained Rights & Wrongs · Episode

New @hrw.org podcast on the history of #sportswashing and the way its impacting sports fans today. Featuring John Hird, one of the founders of Newcastle United Fans Against Sportswashing, and HRW's Minky Worden

open.spotify.com/episode/3tjS...

Rights & Wrongs is a podcast by Human Rights Watch that takes a deep dive into major human rights issues. The podcast, hosted by Ngofeen Mputubwele, formerly of The New Yorker, taps into the expertise of our researchers around the world and the stories of local activists on the ground. In this episode, 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. Featuring Minky Worden: Director of Global Initiatives at Human Rights Watch John Hird: Co-founder of Newcastle United Fans Against Sportswashing

Football (⚽ not 🏈) fans may be interested.

New @hrw.org podcast on “sportswashing,” the phenomenon where countries notorious for human rights abuses host major sports events to launder their reputation. This episode looks from the 1936 Olympics🏅to the 2034 World Cup🏆

www.hrw.org/video-photos...

We cannot cheer on Afghanistan’s cricket team when Afghan women are being silenced | Zahra Joya With Afghanistan set to play England in a tournament, we are calling for a boycott of a team that sportswashes the Taliban’s brutal campaign of misogyny Since the Taliban took power in August 2021, Afghan women have been experiencing a situation that is…

We cannot cheer on Afghanistan’s cricket team when Afghan women are being silenced | Zahra Joya

Italy’s security bill threatens fundamental rights

It criminalizes peaceful protest, with harsh penalties for activists, detainees, and migrants

Human rights bodies warn of serious risks - the Senate should listen

❌Repression is not security❌
hrw.org/news/2025/02...

Donald Trump’s return to power lays bare the lie that sports don’t matter | Jules Boykoff The Democrats find themselves out of power because they failed to embrace spaces where community connection is forged

Fascinating piece. "Democrats lost the 2024 presidential election in part because they failed to embrace spaces where community connection was being forged. Sports is an ever-bubbling cauldron of connection on full boil. To ignore it is to concede defeat."

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/j...

Lisa Nandy calls out Tory Lords over plan to ‘wreck’ football regulator bill * Culture secretary says ‘hopes and dreams’ of fans at risk * Bill could be derailed by Tory amendments in Lords The secretary of state for culture, media and sport has attacked the Conservative front bench in the House of Lords over what she called…

Lisa Nandy calls out Tory Lords over plan to ‘wreck’ football regulator bill

Hopes for regulator in the balance as Lords tie up Football Governance Bill Members of the House of Lords have proposed 375 amendments to the legislation, many of which may require lengthy consultation and could take years to resolve

Huge debate in the House of Lords today on the future of English football, as Tory peers seek to further delay the Regulator which footy fans have been waiting on for years. @fairgameuk.bsky.social will be there in numbers to push back against these delay tactics.
www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Hun Sen Adviser Wanted in Thailand Over Lim Kimya Killing The Thai authorities accused an adviser to Hun Sen of hiring the gunman who killed a former Cambodian opposition figure in Bangkok last week.

Spoke to @nytimes.com about how the brazen killing of Lim Kimya in downtown Bangkok sends a terrifying message to Cambodians that no one is safe. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/w...

The same questions should be asked about LA hosting matches of the 2025 Club World Cup and 2026 World Cup (sponsored by one of the companies most responsible for these wildfires, Saudi Aramco).

Saudi Arabia's grandiose stadium plans mock FIFA’s climate claims By awarding Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup in men’s football, FIFA has legitimised a massively polluting construction project of stadiums and infrastructure and bent its own rules on requirements for...

"By awarding Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup in men’s football, FIFA has legitimised a massively polluting construction project of stadiums and infrastructure and bent its own rules on requirements for pre-existing stadiums." New from @playthegame-org.bsky.social

www.playthegame.org/news/saudi-a...

Nobel winner Ressa tells AFP 'dangerous times' ahead after Meta ends US fact-checking Philippine Nobel laureate Maria Ressa warned Wednesday, January 8, of "extremely dangerous times ahead" in an interview with AFP after social media giant

Meta's actions would lead to a 'world without facts' and 'that's a world that's right for a dictator,' Maria Ressa warns

The zone of interest - josimarfootball.com In the week that Fifa awarded the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, a group of Bangladeshi workers went on strike over unpaid wages at a luxury resort in Neom. They were immediately fired.

New.

In the week that Fifa awarded the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, a group of Bangladeshi workers went on strike over unpaid wages at a luxury resort in Neom. They were immediately fired.

By @samindrakunti.bsky.social and @aselliaas.bsky.social

josimarfootball.com/2025/01/06/t...

The takeover of Newcastle United in 2021 by the PIF and the opaque manner in which the deal was conducted exposed a glaring hole in the Premier League’s human rights standards and due diligence. The Independent Regulator is the chance to put that right.

The Bill is a key opportunity for the UK to lead by example. By addressing fans concerns, closing loopholes in legislation & ensuring robust human rights due diligence measures, peers can ensure English ⚽️ is protected & it’s clubs don’t become playthings for dictators & despots.