• Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speaks next to Vice President Nicolas Maduro (right) and National assembly president Diosdado Cabello (left) during a national broadcast at Miraflores Palace in Caracas on December 8, 2012.
    © 2012 Reuters
    Venezuela: Chávez’s Authoritarian Legacy

    Hugo Chávez’s presidency (1999-2013) was characterized by a dramatic concentration of power and open disregard for basic human rights guarantees, Human Rights Watch said today.

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Americas

  • Canada: Safety of Indigenous Women Under UN Scrutiny
    Apr 30, 2013
    The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted today the report on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Canada’s human rights record, which included a large set of questions, recommendations, and comments from countries across the world about violence against indigenous women and girls. The attention should spur Canada to take decisive action to address the hundreds of murders and disappearances of indigenous women and girls over the last four decades, Human Rights Watch said today.
  • Obama: Address Human Rights Failures of Joint Counternarcotics Strategy
    Apr 29, 2013

     

    I am writing to you to express our concern regarding the negative impact that the public security approach pursued in recent years in Mexico has had upon human rights. When you meet with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto this week in Mexico, public security will be one of the main issues on the agenda. The visit offers a critically important opportunity to evaluate the public security crisis that continues to afflict Mexico, with extremely powerful cartels, endemic corruption of police forces, and virtually zero accountability for those who commit crimes. 

  • Mexico: Abolish “Arraigo” Detention from Constitution
    Apr 25, 2013
    Mexico’s congress should reject a proposed constitutional change on preventive detention, Human Rights Watch said today. The proposed change, which would reduce the maximum preventive detention period from 80 days to 40, would not meet international human rights standards. Instead, Mexico’s Congress should move to eliminate the practice, known as “arraigo,” Human Rights Watch said.
  • Argentina: Reject Interference with Judicial Independence
    Apr 24, 2013

    The Argentine Congress should reject proposals by the Fernández de Kirchner administration to reform the justice system because they would undermine judicial independence, Human Rights Watch said today.

  • Guatemala: Genocide Trial Suspension
    Apr 19, 2013
    The abrupt suspension of the genocide trial of former de facto head of Guatemala, Efraín Ríos Montt, raises serious concerns about victims’ access to justice, Human Rights Watch said today.
  • Syria: Allow UN Aid Directly Over Borders
    Apr 19, 2013
    Brazil should respond to the stark new picture of Syria’s humanitarian crisis by working with India and South Africa for improved access to humanitarian aid, including over Syria’s borders.
  • Universal Periodic Review: HRW Submission on Cuba
    Apr 18, 2013
    Cuba remains the only country in Latin America that represses virtually all forms of political dissent. In 2012 the government of Raúl Castro continued to enforce political conformity using short-term detentions, beatings, public acts of repudiation, travel restrictions, and forced exile. During its first UPR review, Cuba rejected all recommendations addressing the arbitrary detentions of political prisoners, the lack of protection of human rights defenders, and restrictions on freedom of expression. Since then, Human Rights Watch has continued documenting cases of serious abuses of these rights.
  • Venezuela: Respect Free Speech and Assembly
    Apr 17, 2013

    The government of Venezuela should not limit citizens’ rights to freely express their views and assemble peacefully in response to the disputed presidential election, Human Rights Watch said today. It should respect freedom of the press and all violent incidents should be subject to prompt, thorough, and impartial investigations, Human Rights Watch said.

  • Peru: Reject ‘Terrorism Denial’ Law
    Apr 9, 2013
    The Peruvian Congress should reject a legislative proposal that includes overly broad language to criminalize the denial of terrorist crimes, Human Rights Watch said today.
  • Is justice gaining a foothold?
    Apr 8, 2013
    Former Guatemalan strongman Efraín Ríos Montt went on trial in Guatemala City late last month on charges of genocide relating to the massacres of indigenous Mayan people during his rule.
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