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United States of America 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 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 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 2007 US Trade Policy Template Opportunities and Risks for Workers’ Rights On May 10, 2007, congressional leaders and the US Trade Representative (USTR) reached an historic agreement on a “new trade policy template” (template) that has the potential to be an important step towards ensuring that workers’ rights are better protected in US trade accords. The template applies to the US-Panama and US-Peru Free Trade Agreements and could also apply to other pending and future US free trade accords. Human Rights Watch is concerned, however, that ambiguities in the template could prevent it from reaching its full potential. June 5, 2007 The Omar Khadr Case A Teenager Imprisoned at Guantanamo In this backgrounder, Human Rights Watch said that although Khadr was just 15 when he was arrested, the United States has completely ignored his juvenile status throughout his detention. The US government incarcerated him with adults, reportedly subjected him to abusive interrogations, failed to provide him any educational opportunities, and denied him any direct contact with his family. June 1, 2007 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 Cases Involving Diplomatic Assurances against Torture Developments since May 2005 This briefing paper shows how EU states have relied upon empty promises of humane treatment, known as “diplomatic assurances,” in efforts to justify the return of terrorism suspects to countries where they risk being tortured. In the report adopted today, the European Parliament’s Temporary Committee on illegal CIA activity in Europe focuses on CIA flights and US-sponsored transfers of terrorism suspects. It also calls on EU member states to oppose the use of “diplomatic assurances” on torture in returning terrorism suspects. Europe pioneered the use of these “no torture” promises in the 1990s, well before the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. January 23, 2007 Also available in 
Briefing Paper on U.S. Military Commissions On November 7, the Supreme Court agreed to review the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who is challenging the lawfulness of the U.S. government trying him for alleged war crimes before a military commission at Guantánamo Bay. The Court is expected to render a decision in the case of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld in late June, 2006. Human Rights Watch has raised serious due process concerns about the Guantánamo military commissions since they were first announced in November 2001. These concerns, restated in this backgrounder, remain valid so long as the military commissions continue under the rules in place on the eve of the Hamdan decision. June 28, 2006 Printer friendly version Q & A on Military Instruction Number 10 Will It Keep Evidence Obtained through Torture or Cruel Treatment out of Commission Trials? On March 24, 2006, the General Counsel of the Department of Defense issued Military Commission Instruction No. 10, “Certain Evidentiary Requirements,” in response to growing public concern that evidence acquired through torture might be admissible in military commission proceedings. The new rule falls far short of the safeguards contained in the Convention Against Torture, the International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights, and in rules for courts-martial and federal courts to ensure statements acquired through torture, or through other cruel and abusive treatment, are not admissible in trial. March 31, 2006 Printer friendly version U.S.Detainees Disappeared into Secret Prisons: Illegal under Domestic and International Law Questions and Answers The United States is holding an unknown number of terrorism suspects in secret overseas locations, and refusing either to acknowledge the detentions or to give information on the fate or the whereabouts of these detainees. The following questions and answers address legal issues concerning U.S. detainees disappeared into secret prisons. December 12, 2005 List of “Ghost Prisoners” Possibly in CIA Custody List of Detainees Published by Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch has released a list of persons believed to be in U.S. custody as “ghost detainees” -- detainees who are not given any legal rights or access to counsel, and who are likely not reported to or seen by the International Committee of the Red Cross. The list is compiled from media reports, public statements by government officials, and from other information obtained by Human Rights Watch. November 30, 2005 Also available in
Printer friendly version Descriptions of Techniques Allegedly Authorized by the CIA Techniques described in the November 18 ABC News report—prolonged forced standing, sleep deprivation, and exposure to cold—are illegal and may possibly amount to torture. These techniques were used by Soviet and North Korean interrogators, and have been reported more recently in Egypt, Burma, Iran and Turkey. This backgrounder provides descriptions of these techniques and their effects – both historical examples and accounts from the State Department’s own human rights reports. November 21, 2005 Also available in
Printer friendly version Back in Business? U.S. Landmine Production and Exports The Bush administration appears poised to erase many of the positive steps the United States has taken in the past toward banning antipersonnel mines. The United States will decide in December 2005 whether it will begin the production of a new antipersonnel mine called Spider. According to a media report, which the Pentagon has yet to confirm or deny, in May 2005 the U.S. Army was to begin deploying to Iraq a new remote-controlled landmine system called Matrix, which relies on technology developed for Spider. In addition, the Pentagon has requested a total of $1.3 billion for development and production activities for another new antipersonnel mine called the Intelligent Munitions System, with a full production decision expected in 2008. August 3, 2005 Printer friendly version Time to Take Stock: The U.S. Cluster Munition Inventory and the FY 2006 Department of Defense Budget No weapons used by U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq in 2003 caused more civilian casualties than cluster munitions, large weapons that contain dozens or hundreds of smaller submunitions. This briefing paper critically examines the status and quality of current U.S. cluster munition stockpiles and assesses in detail the Department of Defense’s (DoD) fiscal year 2006 (FY 2006) budget requests related to such weapons. It concludes that, despite recent positive developments in its cluster munition policy and procurement practice, the United States retains—and still is willing to use—at least 728 million old, unreliable, and inaccurate cluster submunitions. July 21, 2005 US/Canada: Transfer of Maher Arar to Torture Human Rights Watch Report to the Commission of Inquiry on Maher Arar On June 7, Julia Hall, Senior Researcher for Human Rights Watch, testfied before a Canadian Commission of Inquiry that is investigating the transfer of Maher Arar to Syria, where he alleges he was brutally tortured. Arar, a Canadian citizen, was transferred by U.S. authorities to Jordan with the understanding he would be turned over to Syria. Hall presented a report written by Wendy Patten, former U.S. Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch, that detailed U.S. rendition policy. The U.S. government has come under increasing scrutiny for its policy of accepting assurances of proper treatment from countries that routinely use torture. June 7, 2005 Worldwide Production and Export of Cluster Munitions The potential future dangers of widespread production and continued proliferation of cluster munitions demand urgent action to bring the humanitarian threat under control. At least seventy countries stockpile cluster munitions and the aggregate number of submunitions in these stockpiles is staggering. April 7, 2005 Printer friendly version Cairo to Kabul to Guantanamo A Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper `Abd al-Salam `Ali al-Hila, a Yemeni intelligence officer, disappeared in Cairo in 2002. Since then, he is believed to have been held without trial in Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. March 30, 2005 Also available in
Printer friendly version Executive Summary: Blood, Sweat, and Fear Workers’ Rights in U.S. Meat and Poultry Plants Workers in American beef, pork, and poultry slaughtering and processing plants perform dangerous jobs in difficult conditions. January 25, 2005 Printer friendly version No Second Chance People with Criminal Records Denied Access to Public Housing The United States provides federally subsidized housing to millions of low-income people who could not otherwise afford homes on their own. U.S. policies, however, exclude countless needy people with criminal records, condemning them to homelessness or transient living. November 18, 2004 Printer friendly version Condensed Brochure: No Second Chance People with Criminal Records Denied Access to Public Housing Decent and stable housing is essential for human survival and dignity, a principle affirmed both in U.S. policy and international human rights law. The United States provides federally subsidized housing to millions of low income people who could not otherwise afford homes on their own. U.S. policies, however, exclude countless needy people with criminal records, condemning them to homelessness or transient living. November 18, 2004 |
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