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Iran: Rights Crisis Escalates Faces and Cases from Ahmadinejad’s Crackdown This paper documents the dire situation for human rights defenders and key dimensions of the human rights crisis in Iran today. Released ahead of Ahmadinejad’s arrival at the opening ceremonies of the UN General Assembly, the paper highlights Iran’s status as the world leader in juvenile executions. Iran is known to have executed six juvenile offenders so far in 2008, and more than 130 other juvenile offenders have been sentenced to death and are awaiting execution. September 18, 2008 Human Rights Watch Observations on the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Draft Protocol on Cluster Munitions Prepared for the Meeting of the CCW Group of Governmental Experts States parties to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) have spent most of 2008 developing a proposal to address the humanitarian impact of cluster munitions. At the third session of the CCW’s Group of Governmental Experts in July 2008, states considered the draft text of a protocol to regulate cluster munitions circulated by chair Ambassador Bent Wigotski of Denmark. For Human Rights Watch, this draft protocol is “too little, too late.” It is too little because it does not go far enough in tackling the challenges posed by cluster munitions and too late because it falls far short of the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) that 107 states adopted on May 30, 2008. September 2, 2008 Printer friendly version Libya: Rights at Risk Despite modest improvements in recent years, Libyans and foreign residents in Libya continue to suffer from serious violations of human rights. The continued arrests and incarceration of political prisoners, some of them “disappeared”; the torture of detainees; the absence of a free press; the ban on independent organizations; and violations of women’s and foreigners’ rights plague the country as it tries to reintegrate with the international community. The country is dominated by one leader, who tolerates no unsanctioned criticism of his rule or Libya’s unique political system. September 2, 2008 Also available in 
Printer friendly version Getting Away With Murder 50 Years of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act This 16-page report describes how the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, or AFSPA, has become a tool of state abuse, oppression, and discrimination in India. The law grants the military wide powers to arrest without warrant, shoot-to-kill, and destroy property in so-called “disturbed areas.” It also protects military personnel responsible for serious crimes from prosecution, creating a pervasive culture of impunity. August 18, 2008 Background on Russia and Cluster Munitions The Russian Federation was not part of the Oslo Process launched in February 2007 to develop a new international treaty banning cluster munitions. In May 2008, 107 nations adopted the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which comprehensively bans the use, production, trade and stockpiling of the weapon. It will be open for signature in Oslo on December 3, 2008. August 14, 2008 Printer friendly version Burma’s Gem Trade and Human Rights Abuses Updated July 2008 The color and quality of gems from Burma make them attractive for use in jewelry sold around the world, but the beauty of Burmese gems is marred by their association with serious human rights abuses. A growing number of governments, ethically-minded businesses, and civil society groups are working to curtail the international trade in Burmese gems through targeted sanctions and boycott campaigns. July 29, 2008 Printer friendly version United Kingdom: Briefing on the Counter-Terrorism Bill 2008 Second Reading in the House of Lords This 19-page briefing paper analyzes measures in the Counter-Terrorism Bill 2008 that Human Rights Watch believes are incompatible with the UK’s obligations under international human rights law. Much of the debate around the bill has focused legitimately on the government’s renewed effort to extend pre-charge detention beyond the already-excessive 28-day period, which Human Rights Watch believes should be rolled back rather than extended. But the bill contains other provisions that raise serious human rights concerns. July 4, 2008 Child Soldier Global Report 2008 Summary The Child Soldier Global Report documents military recruitment legislation, policy and practice in more than 190 countries worldwide – in conflict and in peacetime armies – as well as child soldier use by non-state armed groups. This summary provides an overview of facts and figures. May 20, 2008 Printer friendly version Interoperability and the Prohibition on Assistance Memorandum to Delegates of the Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions A provision obliging states parties not to assist with prohibited acts is an accepted and essential part of a modern weapons treaty. The draft cluster munitions convention includes such a provision in Article 1(c). Article 1(c) is based on extensive precedent from past weapons treaties and is indispensable to the humanitarian goal of the convention. Because it prevents states parties from contributing even indirectly to the use of cluster munitions, it promotes the object and purpose of the treaty, which is to minimize civilian harm from the weapons. It also stigmatizes cluster munitions by declaring that states parties will not tolerate their use by anyone and contributes to deterring use by non-states parties. May 19, 2008 Printer friendly version The Netherlands: Discrimination in the Name of Integration Migrants’ Rights under the Integration Abroad Act In the past years, the authorities in the Netherlands have introduced a series of measures with the stated aim of better integrating its migrant population. One of these measures is the integration test administered to would-be family migrants from some countries before they can join spouses or family members in the Netherlands. This report documents how the overseas integration test is discriminatory, in that citizens from certain countries are exempt altogether, and the test, coupled with increased financial requirements, targets primarily would-be family migrants from two of the three largest “non- western” migrant communities in the Netherlands – Moroccans and Turks. May 15, 2008 Executive Summary: The Rest of Their Lives Life without Parole for Youth Offenders in the United States in 2008 In this update to Human Rights Watch’s work on eliminating the sentence of life without parole for juvenile offenders, a number of findings are presented that illustrate the troublesome nature of the sentence and how it is applied to youthful offenders. Among those findings are that the United States is alone in the world in applying this harsh sentence to juveniles, that an estimated 59 percent of youth who receive the sentence had no prior adjudications or convictions, and that there are currently nearly 2,500 offenders who are serving life without parole for crimes committed while they were a juvenile. Additionally, data reveal that there are stark racial disparities in the imposition of the sentence, with black youth serving life without parole at a per capita rate that is 10 times the rate of white youth. May 13, 2008 Coercion and Intimidation of Child Soldiers to Participate in Violence Child soldiers are often compelled by their commanders to engage in combat operations, participate in human rights abuses against civilians, and carry out punishments against fellow soldiers under threat of severe punishment or execution. In this backgrounder, Human Rights Watch describes methods of coercion and intimidation used against child soldiers serving in armed conflicts in Angola, Burma, Colombia, Liberia, Nepal, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. April 16, 2008 Olympic Corporate Sponsors: Rhetoric and Reality Excerpts from all 12 “TOP” Olympic sponsor companies’ policies on commitment to social responsibility and their comments on China, the Olympics, and human rights. April 16, 2008 Printer friendly version Benchmarks, Consultations and Transparency Making the EU Central Asia Strategy an Effective Tool for Human Rights Improvements This 15-page briefing paper proposes specific benchmarks for each Central Asian country, and urges the EU to clearly link progress on the goals with possible future benefits. A similar position was also taken by the European Parliament in its February 20 resolution, which called for the strategy to include a “definition of clear objectives and priorities for the EU’s relations with each of the five countries,” including in human rights. April 8, 2008 Also available in 
Cluster Munitions and the Proportionality Test Memorandum to Delegates of the Convention on Conventional Weapons The calls for a new international legal instrument to ban or restrict cluster munitions derive in large part from the weapons’ significant and foreseeably grave aftereffects on civilians, which have been thoroughly documented by many, including Human Rights Watch. States parties to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) took a first step toward reducing the impact of unexploded submunitions with CCW Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War (ERW), but this instrument only provides post-conflict remedial measures. Because the severe and long-lasting aftereffects of cluster munitions on civilians are foreseeable, they can and must be prevented. This paper contends that to reduce civilian harm through preventive measures, the aftereffects of cluster munitions must be taken into account when applying the proportionality test. April 7, 2008 Thailand’s 'war on drugs' International Harm Reduction Association and Human Rights Watch briefing paper The International Harm Reduction Association and Human Rights Watch call on the international community to ensure that Thailand does not reinstate arbitrary killings in the name of a "war on drugs." March 12, 2008 Printer friendly version Chronology of Hu Jia’s Case The following is a chronology of Hu Jia's detention and his case. February 26, 2008 Printer friendly version User State Responsibility for Cluster Munition Clearance Memorandum to Delegates of the Wellington Conference on Cluster Munitions A cluster munition convention offers the international community an opportunity not only to prevent future use of cluster munitions, but also to eliminate the existing threat to civilians from remaining cluster duds. It should do so by adopting some version of the international cooperation provisions discussed in this memorandum. They will help advance the core goal of the convention, which is to prevent humanitarian harm to the civilian population February 19, 2008 Crackdown in Burma: Targeted Sanctions Needed Business-Related Recommendations on Burma Human Rights Watch issued a new report in December 2007 documenting the crackdown on popular protests in Burma that began in August. Hundreds of people remain arbitrarily detained. We recommend targeted financial, trade, and investment sanctions, and also make specific recommendations to companies doing business in Burma. January 11, 2008 Printer friendly version Libya: Rights at Risk Despite some improvements in recent years, in Libya serious rights abuses persist. The absence of a free press, the ban on independent organizations, the torture of detainees, and the continued incarceration of political prisoners, some of them “disappeared,” remain matters of deep concern. To date, international engagement with the oil-rich country has focused on counter-terrorism and business ties. Human Rights Watch welcomes improved relations between Libya and other governments, but not at the expense of human rights and the rule of law. January 3, 2008 Also available in
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