World Report 2015 is Human Rights Watch’s 25th annual review of human rights practices around the globe. It summarizes key human rights issues in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide.

In his keynote, Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth reflects on a year so tumultuous, “it can seem as if the world is unraveling.” Surveying several of the year’s most daunting security challenges—including the rise of the extremist group Islamic State (also known as ISIS), China’s crackdown on Uighurs in Xinjiang, and Mexico’s abuse-riddled war on drugs—Roth stresses the important role that human rights violations played in fomenting and aggravating those crises.

The report reflects extensive investigative work that Human Rights Watch staff undertook in 2014, usually in close partnership with human rights activists in the country in question. It also reflects the work of our advocacy team, which monitors policy developments and strives to persuade governments and international institutions to curb abuses and promote human rights.