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Asia 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 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 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 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 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 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 Discrimination against Ethnic Nepali Children in Bhutan Submission from Human Rights Watch to the Committee on the Rights of the Child In this submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Human Rights Watch provided information to the Committee on violations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the Bhutanese government against ethnic Nepali children in Bhutan and Bhutanese refugees in Nepal. October 3, 2007 Down to Business The Human Rights Council’s Backlog of Work As it enters its second year, the Council must take hold of the many situations that “require the HRC’s attention,” and take action of some sort to address them. The HRC’s efforts to address these situations will provide an important indication of its ability to fulfil the purpose for which it was created. The Council must seize this opportunity to demonstrate its relevance and responsiveness to human rights victims in these countries and beyond. September 10, 2007 Printer friendly version The US-Korea Free Trade Agreement Annex 22-B: A Missed Opportunity on Workers’ Rights in North Korea This 13-page briefing paper looks at Annex 22-B of the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and how it flouts the spirit of the recently amended workers’ rights provisions. It also makes recommendations on how to amend Annex 22 in order to effectively protect, in law and practice, the basic labor rights of the workers producing goods under the existing agreement. August 2, 2007 “Lives Destroyed” Attacks on Civilians in the Philippines Violent Islamist groups in the Philippines have killed or injured more than 1,700 people in bombings and other attacks since 2000. The attacks, mostly in Mindanao, Basilan, Jolo, and other southern islands, have also included kidnappings, executions, and shootings. This 28-page paper contains personal accounts and photographs of bombing sites and of victims of attacks and their relatives It describes how attacks have killed children, parents, husbands, and wives, and caused terrible suffering among wounded survivors and relatives. The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM), based in the southern Philippines, are implicated in or have claimed responsibility for many of the attacks. July 30, 2007 Off the Record U.S. Responsibility for Enforced Disappearances in the “War on Terror” This 21-page briefing paper, published by six leading human rights organizations, includes the names and details of 39 people who are believed to have been held in secret US custody abroad and whose current whereabouts remain unknown. The briefing paper also names relatives of suspects who were themselves arrested and detained, including children as young as seven. The list of missing people includes nationals from countries including Egypt, Kenya, Libya, Morocco, Pakistan and Spain. They are believed to have been arrested in countries including Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia and Sudan, and transferred to secret US prisons operated by the CIA. June 7, 2007 The UAE's Draft Labor Law: Human Rights Watch’s Comments and Recommendations The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is currently considering revisions to its main labor law. Like other countries in the Gulf, the UAE is heavily reliant upon the labor of migrant workers, primarily from South Asia. According to figures from 2005, 95 percent of the UAE’s labor pool, some 2.7 million workers, are migrants, many of whom work in the construction and domestic service industries. Meaningful reforms in the new labor law would have a significant and positive impact across South Asia and the Gulf and, if the final version of the law integrates key labor protections, it could become a leading model for the region. March 25, 2007 Also available in 
Ensure Access to Condoms in US Prisons and Jails The management of infectious disease in prisons is a human rights imperative as well as a matter of public health. Given the high level of HIV infections among those who enter prison, making condoms readily accessible to inmates is an effective and inexpensive measure that corrections officials should take to limit the spread of infection. The experience of correctional systems that have distributed condoms indicates no adverse security consequences associated with those policies. Human Rights Watch urges prison officials and policymakers to comply with best practice based upon international human rights standards, US constitutional law, and the recommendations of correctional health experts to ensure that condoms are available to inmates. March 14, 2007 More Business Than Usual: The Work Which Awaits the Human Rights Council In this first year of its existence, the Council is understandably preoccupied with institution building. But human rights violations haven’t been suspended while the Council focused on these tasks; in fact they have worsened in many locations. The Council’s attention to institution building has created a growing backlog of work that deserves the HRC’s attention. March 12, 2007 Printer friendly version North Korea Harsher Policies against Border-Crossers The North Korean government has hardened its policy towards its citizens it catches crossing the border into China without state permission, or whom China has forcibly repatriated. Until around November 2004 those who crossed the border—often to find food—were typically released after questioning or served at most a few months in forced labor camps, a relatively light punishment by North Korean standards for what is considered an act of treason.1 Recent interviews by Human Rights Watch show that this relative leniency is over: in late 2004 North Korea announced a new policy of harshly punishing border crossers with prison sentences of up to five years. Anyone imprisoned in North Korea is liable to face abusive conditions including beatings, forced labor, and starvation far worse than among the population at large. March 5, 2007 Also available in 
Indonesia: Reform of Military Business A Human Rights Watch Background Briefing Indonesia’s military has a longstanding practice of raising independent income outside the approved budget process. It earns funds from businesses it owns, services it provides for hire, and the protection rackets it operates. It is by now widely acknowledged that Indonesian military involvement in the economy is a harmful practice that undermines civilian control over the armed forces and fuels human rights abuses. The military’s economic involvement also contributes to crime and corruption, weakens the economy, and distorts the function of the military itself. February 16, 2007 Also available in 
Printer friendly version North Korea: Workers’ Rights at the Kaesong Industrial Complex This 19-page briefing paper provides an overview of labor conditions at the KIC, an industrial complex located in North Korea. It documents the KIC Labor Law’s shortcomings in the areas of the freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining, the prohibitions on sex discrimination and harassment and harmful child labor, among others. October 3, 2006 Also available in
Improving Civilian Protection in Sri Lanka Recommendations for the Government and the LTTE This 58-page briefing paper makes 34 recommendations to the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), known as the Tamil Tigers, to better protect civilians. Human Rights Watch urges the government and the LTTE to accept a United Nations human rights monitoring mission in Sri Lanka and adopt specific measures to protect the civilian population. September 19, 2006 |
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