• UN/Western Sahara: Give Peacekeepers a Human Rights Mandate
    Apr 17, 2013
    Press release
    United Nations Security Council members should task the United Nations with monitoring human rights violations in Western Sahara and in the refugee camps around Tindouf, in Algeria, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to all 15 Security Council member countries.
  • UN Rights Body Forms Landmark Investigation Into North Korea
    Mar 21, 2013
    Press release
    The United Nations Human Rights Council took a landmark step by establishing a commission of inquiry for North Korea.
  • Syria: Authorize Cross-Border Humanitarian Aid
    Feb 11, 2013
    Press release
    Syria should urgently agree that humanitarian aid may be brought into the country across all of its borders, including from Turkey.Syria’s allies, including Russia, should press Syria to consent to such transfers. Donors should not wait for Syria’s go-ahead, but instead should immediately expand support to non-governmental organizations already able to deliver aid from Turkey into opposition-held areas of Syria.
  • North Korea: Activists Welcome Japan’s Support for Inquiry
    Feb 5, 2013
    Press release
    The International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK), consisting of over 40 leading human rights organizations and activists, today welcomes Japan’s strong position in favor of the establishment of a new United Nations commission of inquiry on serious human rights violations committed by the North Korean Government at home and abroad.
  • North Korea: Japan’s Backing of UN Inquiry Gives Hope
    Jan 25, 2013
    Press release
    Japan’s official decision to support the establishment of a new United Nations inquiry mechanism on human rights violations in North Korea is an important step toward the establishment of an in-depth investigation into human rights violations committed by the North Korean Government at home and abroad.
  • North Korea: Launch a UN Commission of Inquiry
    Jan 21, 2013
    Press release
    Members of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) should vote to establish a commission of inquiry into human rights abuses in North Korea when the matter comes up before the February-March session of the council, said Human Rights Watch today. A detailed memo released by Human Rights Watch, Q&A on a United Nations Commission of Inquiry on North Korea, explains why a commission is urgently needed, how it could be established, what it should examine, and how it will support the efforts of the UNHRC to press for Pyongyang’s compliance with international human rights standards.
  • UN Security Council: Heed Call for Justice in Syria
    Jan 14, 2013
    Press release
    A letter sent to the United Nations Security Council on behalf of 57 states calling for a referral of the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) gives momentum to international efforts to stop grave abuses committed there. More countries should join the call and impress on reluctant Council members the urgency of taking up the issue of accountability.