• Mali: Rising Ethnic Tensions Threaten New Violence
    Dec 20, 2012
    Press release
    Mali’s newly appointed prime minister, Diango Sissoko, should take urgent measures to end rights abuses by the security forces and address rising ethnic tensions linked to the occupied northern provinces, Human Rights Watch said today. Sissoko was appointed prime minister of the country’s transitional government on December 11, 2012, a day after the military forced Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra – in office since April – to resign.
  • Mali: Islamist Armed Groups Spread Fear in North
    Sep 24, 2012
    Press release
    Three Islamist armed groups controlling northern Mali have committed serious abuses against the local population while enforcing their interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law. Human Rights Watch in recent weeks has interviewed some one hundred witnesses who have fled the region or remain there.
  • Mali: Security Forces ‘Disappear’ 20, Torture Others
    Jul 24, 2012
    Press release
    Soldiers loyal to Mali’s coup leader have forcibly disappeared at least 20 soldiers allegedly linked to an April 30, 2012 counter-coup, and committed torture and other abuses against dozens of others. The security forces of Capt. Amadou Sanogo, who led the March 22 coup against President Amadou Toumani Touré, have also engaged in a campaign of intimidation against journalists, family members of detained soldiers, and others deemed a threat.
  • UN Human Rights Council: Eritrea, Belarus Told to End Abuses
    Jul 5, 2012
    Press release
    The United Nations Human Rights Council took bold action to address the chronically poor human rights situations in Belarus and Eritrea
  • Mercury Treaty: Ban Mercury Use by Child Gold Miners
    Jun 24, 2012
    Press release
    Negotiations for an international treaty to limit the use of mercury should seek to protect the health rights of artisanal gold mining communities
  • Mali: War Crimes by Northern Rebels
    Apr 29, 2012
    Press release
    Separatist Tuareg rebels, Islamist armed groups, and Arab militias who seized control of northern Mali in April 2012 have committed numerous war crimes, including rape, use of child soldiers, and pillaging of hospitals, schools, aid agencies, and government buildings. An Islamist armed group has summarily executed two men, amputated the hand of at least one other, carried out public floggings, and threatened women and Christians.
  • Mali: Coup Leaders Must Respect Rights
    Mar 22, 2012
    Press release
    Military officers responsible for a coup in Mali should restore basic human rights protections, ensure the humane treatment of everyone in custody, and protect the lives and property of all Malians.
  • Mali: Artisanal Mines Produce Gold With Child Labor
    Dec 6, 2011
    Press release
    At least 20,000 children work in Malian artisanal gold mines under extremely harsh and dangerous conditions, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Malian government and international donors should take action to end child labor in artisanal mines, Human Rights Watch said. Artisanal miners rely on low-tech methods and often organize informally.
  • Global Mercury Reduction Treaty: Protect Health of Gold Miners
    Oct 27, 2011
    Press release
    Governments around the world should protect the health of millions of artisanal gold miners working with mercury, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch submitted recommendations to governments ahead of negotiations for an international, legally binding convention on mercury.
  • Mali: Enforce New Plan to Curb Child Labor
    Jun 15, 2011
    Press release
    Mali’s new action plan to combat child labor creates a huge opportunity to improve the lives of over two million Malian children working in harmful conditions. The Malian government adopted the National Action Plan for the Elimination of Child Labor in Mali on the eve of the World Day Against Child Labor, June 12, 2011.