Ever since the European Parliament adopted its first resolution on the United Arab Emirates in late October, expressing profound concerns about its human rights record, the UAE has gone to great lengths to contest its accuracy.
On his second full day in office, President Barack Obama signed an executive order banning the use of torture and closing the CIA “black sites” that were the locus of so much abuse. Standing behind him as he signed the order were retired admirals and generals, highly decorated officers who had dedicated their lives to keeping the United States safe.
The Afghanistan government appears to have a new policy for dealing with government officials accused of sadistic torture: it rewards them with job promotions.
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov correctly pointed out in a recent article that human rights problems are one of the “main causes of the ‘Arab revolutions.’” As an investigator for Human Rights Watch who has interviewed hundreds of people in Syria who have suffered human rights abuse, I would heartily agree.
Human Rights Watch submitted this written statement to the Senate Committe on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights, for their hearing on solitary confinement. Based on years of research and analysis, we are convinced the unnecessary, counter-productive, and devastating use of this harsh form of confinement in many US prisons cannot be squared with respect for human rights.
Andrea Prasow writes on Huffington Post regarding the significance of the military commission arraignment of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.
The stubborn determination of Formula One’s governing body to press ahead with the grand prix in Bahrain has delighted the country’s rulers, who portray it as a sign that the Gulf state is back to normal. It is anything but.
Recent executions in Belarus exemplify repression on a scale unprecedented in the post-Soviet era, and the EU should apply more pressure on the Lukashenka regime.
Torture occupies a special place in international law – it is banned at all times and in all places, no exceptions. Most countries, including the UK and Jordan, have signed up to the UN Convention Against Torture, which means they agree not only to the absolute ban on torture, and inhuman and degrading treatment, but also to refrain from any complicity in the crime. They cannot send people to a country where there is a real risk of torture, or use evidence in court obtained through torture.
Andrea Prasow writes on Huffington Post regarding the significance of the military commission arraignment of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.