• China: End Arbitrary Detention in Mental Health Institutions
    May 3, 2013
    Press release
    As China’s first ever Mental Health Law came into force on May 1, 2013, Human Rights Watch said the law has major shortcomings including that it does not eliminate the country’s system of involuntary confinement.
  • China: Activist’s Imprisoned Nephew Needs Effective Care
    Apr 30, 2013
    Press release
    Chinese central government and Shandong provincial authorities should immediately facilitate effective medical treatment for Chen Kegui, the imprisoned nephew of blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng, Human Rights Watch said today. Chen Kegui is receiving only antibiotics for appendicitis, which could lead to a life-threatening result. Failure to provide prisoners access to adequate medical care is cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment that may rise to the level of torture, and violates the right to health and the Standard Minimum Rules on the Treatment of Prisoners.
  • China: EU Commitments Demand Tough Response
    Apr 24, 2013
    Press release
    European Union (EU) High Representative Catherine Ashton should publicly raise concerns over ongoing and persistent human rights violations in China when she visits Beijing later this week, Human Rights Watch said today. Ashton’s visit to China will take place on April 25 and 26, and is the Head of the EU’s External Action Service’s first official visit since the new Chinese leadership assumed power.
  • China: Kerry Should Prioritize Rights With New Leadership
    Apr 9, 2013
    Press release
    US Secretary of State John Kerry should publicly deliver a strong message in defense of human rights to China’s new leadership when he visits the country later this week.
  • China: Free Anti-Corruption Activists
    Apr 3, 2013
    Press release
    The Chinese government should immediately release four activists detained after calling for requiring government officials to disclose their assets publicly.
  • BRICS: Take Concrete Steps to Help Syria’s People
    Mar 26, 2013
    Press release
    The BRICS countries should call for an end to indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian-populated areas in Syria, and insist that cluster munitions and incendiary weapons should not be used. Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa are meeting in Durban for the annual BRICS summit on March 26 and 27, 2013.
  • China: Alarming New Surveillance, Security in Tibet
    Mar 20, 2013
    Press release
    The Chinese government’s announcement that it will expand a pervasive new security system throughout the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) despite an already heavy security presence and little evidence of violent threats to the state raises grave concerns about threats to human rights of this intrusive monitoring across the region, Human Rights Watch said today. Officials announced the system’s expansion in the annual TAR work report, which was released on February 7, 2013.
  • UN Report Highlights Abuse as ‘Drug Treatment’
    Mar 3, 2013
    Press release
    A United Nations report about torture and other abuses in healthcare settings points to the need for donors to withdraw funds to compulsory drug detention centers, Human Rights Watch and Harm Reduction International said today.
  • China: Advance Rights Reforms at National People’s Congress
    Feb 28, 2013
    Press release
    China’s National People’s Congress should follow through on official statements by putting forward laws to strengthen human rights protections.
  • Zambia: Safety Gaps Threaten Copper Miners
    Feb 20, 2013
    Press release
    Workers in the copper mining sector in Zambia remain vulnerable to abuse. New Human Rights Watch research found that the government of President Michael Sata, who promised to prioritize labor rights when he took office in September 2011, has made some improvements in supporting the oversight of the mines, but there remains inadequate enforcement of national labor laws designed to protect workers’ rights.
  • China: Stop Sentencing Tibetans for “Inciting” Immolations
    Feb 1, 2013
    Press release
    Chinese judicial authorities should immediately release two Tibetans who were found guilty in legal proceedings that relied solely on confessions they gave during five months in detention.
  • China: Government Represses Growing Demand for Rights
    Feb 1, 2013
    Press release
    China’s human rights record remained poor in 2012, with minimal significant progress on political, civil, socio-economic, or cultural rights, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2013.
  • China: Commute Death Sentence in Domestic Violence Case
    Jan 30, 2013
    Press release
    The Chinese government should immediately commute the death sentence against Li Yan, a woman convicted of killing her husband following months of violent abuse
  • China: Fully Abolish Re-Education Through Labor
    Jan 8, 2013
    Press release
    The Chinese government’s announcement today that it will sometime this year “stop using” the notorious Re-Education Through Labor (RTL) system is a rare positive response to the system’s growing unpopularity, Human Rights Watch said today. While suspending use of RTL would be an important step, the government should aspire to fully abolish the RTL system.
  • China: Renewed Restrictions Send Online Chill
    Jan 4, 2013
    Press release
    The Chinese government’s further tightening of internet controls and mandating real name registration threaten security and privacy of internet users. On December 28, 2012, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s legislative body, passed the “Decision to Strengthen the Protection of Online Information.” The Decision contains troubling provisions that require internet access and telecommunications providers to collect personal information about users when they sign up for internet access, landline, or mobile phone service.