• World Report 2012: Haiti
    Jan 22, 2012
    Still reeling from the devastating January 12, 2010 earthquake and subsequent deadly cholera epidemic, Haiti inaugurated Michel Joseph Martelly as president on May 14, 2011, after a contested electoral process. The government stalled for over four months as parliament failed to ratify two consecutive nominees for prime minister, before confirming Martelly’s third pick, Garry Conille, on October 4, 2011.
  • World Report 2012: Guatemala
    Jan 22, 2012
    Guatemala’s weak and corrupt law enforcement institutions have proved incapable of containing the powerful organized crime groups and criminal gangs that contribute to one of the highest violent crime rates in the Americas. Illegal armed groups are believed to be responsible for ongoing threats and targeted attacks against civil society actors and justice officials.
  • World Report 2012: Peru
    Jan 22, 2012

    In the June 2011 elections, Ollanta Humala, a former army colonel, won a narrow victory over Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori. Fujimori is serving a 25-year prison sentence for human rights violations during his first presidency.

  • World Report 2012: Ecuador
    Jan 22, 2012

    In a referendum held in May 2011, President Rafael Correa obtained a popular mandate for constitutional reforms that could significantly increase government powers to constrain media and influence the appointment and dismissal of judges.

    Those involved in protests in which there are outbreaks of violence may be prosecuted on inflated and inappropriate terrorism charges. Criminal defamation laws that restrict freedom of expression remain in force and Correa has used them repeatedly against his critics. Some articles of a draft communications law in the legislature since 2009 could open the door to media censorship.  

  • World Report 2011: Venezuela
    Jan 24, 2011
    The Venezuelan government’s domination of the judiciary and its weakening of democratic checks and balances have contributed to a precarious human rights situation. Without judicial checks on its action, President Hugo Chávez’s government has systematically undermined journalistic freedom of expression, workers’ freedom of association, and the ability of human rights groups to promote human rights. It has also harassed political opponents.
  • World Report 2011: Haiti
    Jan 24, 2011
    A devastating earthquake near Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on January 12, 2010, left an estimated 222,750 people dead, 300,000 injured including 4,000 to 5,000 amputees, and up to 1.6 million homeless and displaced. In total 3 million people were affected by the earthquake. Assessments calculate the material damage at about 120 percent of the country’s annual GDP. Twenty-eight of twenty-nine government ministry buildings and approximately 300,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Estimates from a range of NGOs, media outlets, and the World Bank suggest that Haiti’s government lost between 20 and 40 percent of its civil servants.
  • World Report 2011: Mexico
    Jan 24, 2011
    Many of Mexico's most significant human rights issues in 2010 stemmed from violent confrontations between state security forces and organized crime, as well as clashes among criminal groups. The Mexican military continues to commit serious abuses in public security operations, yet those responsible are virtually never held accountable. Journalists, human rights defenders, and migrants are increasingly the targets of attacks by criminal groups and members of security forces, yet Mexico has failed to provide these vulnerable groups with protection or adequately investigate the crimes against them.
  • World Report 2011: Honduras
    Jan 24, 2011
    President Porfirio Lobo took office in January 2010, seven months after a military coup ousted democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya. The Lobo administration created a truth commission to look into the events surrounding Zelaya's ouster. But Honduras is failing to hold accountable those responsible for the widespread human rights violations committed by the de facto government installed after the coup. At this writing no one has been held criminally responsible for these abuses.
  • Whose News?
    Jan 24, 2011

    These are tough times for foreign correspondents. A combination of rapid technological change and economic recession has caused deep cuts in the budget for foreign reporting at many Western news organizations. Plenty of ex-foreign correspondents have lost their jobs, and many others fear for their jobs and their futures. Consumers of news, meanwhile, are watching international coverage shrink in the pages of major papers. One recent study estimated that the number of foreign news stories published prominently in newspapers in the United Kingdom fell by 80 percent from 1979 to 2009. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates that 20 out of its 31 member states face declining newspaper readerships; since foreign reporting is expensive, it is often the first to be cut.

  • World Report 2011: Guatemala
    Jan 24, 2011
    Guatemala's weak and corrupt law enforcement institutions have proved incapable of containing the powerful organized crime groups and criminal gangs that contribute to one the highest violent crime rates in the Americas. Illegal armed groups, which appear to have partly evolved from counterinsurgency forces operating during the civil war that ended in 1996, are believed to be responsible for targeted attacks on civil society actors and justice officials. More than a decade after the end of the conflict, impunity remains the norm for human rights violations. The ongoing violence and intimidation threaten to reverse the little progress that has been made toward promoting accountability.