• Canada: Investigate Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women
    Dec 17, 2012
    Press release
    Canada’s federal government should establish a national commission of inquiry into the country’s hundreds of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. This recommendation follows today’s release by the British Columbian government of the final report from the provincial Missing Women’s Commission of Inquiry.
  • Brazil: Rousseff Should Condemn Russian Crackdown
    Dec 12, 2012
    Press release
    President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil should express concern about the crackdown on civil society in Russia when she meets with President Vladimir V. Putin.
  • Brazil: States Should Act on Killings by Police
    Nov 29, 2012
    Press release
    A resolution by Brazil’s Human Rights Defense Council outlines crucial steps needed to reduce unlawful killings by police, Human Rights Watch said today. The resolution calls on law enforcement officials at the state level to ensure that all killings by their police forces are properly investigated.
  • Colombia: Obstacles to Care for Abused, Displaced Women
    Nov 14, 2012
    Press release
    Colombia’s laws on violence against women are not adequately protecting victims displaced by the armed conflict. Approximately two million internally displaced women and girls face high rates of rape and domestic violence. Daunting obstacles impede displaced victims’ access to healthcare, justice, and protection services.
  • Uruguay: New Abortion Law Breaks Ground for Women’s Rights
    Oct 26, 2012
    Press release
    In a historic move this week, Uruguayan President José Mujica has signed into law a bill that waives criminal penalties for abortion in the first 12 weeks of gestation, with certain procedural requirements, and in the first 14 weeks of gestation in the cases of rape.
  • Colombia: Make Victims’ Rights Central to Peace Talks
    Oct 16, 2012
    Press release
    Colombia will only achieve sustainable peace by protecting victims’ right to justice, Human Rights Watch said today in advance of peace talks between the Colombian government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas. The talks will begin in Oslo on October 17, 2012.
  • Guatemala: Swift Charges Against Soldiers for Killing Protesters
    Oct 11, 2012
    Press release
    The prompt and comprehensive investigation by the prosecutor’s office into killings at a recent protest in Totonicapán is an important step toward accountability in Guatemala, Human Rights Watch said today.
  • Peru: Humala Shouldn’t Give Fujimori Special Treatment
    Oct 11, 2012
    Press release
    Arbitrarily releasing former President Alberto Fujimori from serving his full prison sentence for human rights crimes would be incompatible with Peru’s obligations under international law, Human Rights Watch said today. Fujimori has been receiving medical treatment for cancer of the tongue, and his family presented a request for pardon to President Ollanta Humala on October 10, 2012.
  • Canada: Rehabilitate and Reintegrate Ex-Child Soldier
    Sep 29, 2012
    Press release
    The government of Canada should rehabilitate and reintegrate into society former child soldier Omar Khadr, and seek to remedy abuses he suffered during a decade in United States custody.
  • Honduras: Investigate Murder of Rights Lawyer
    Sep 24, 2012
    Press release
    Authorities in Honduras should ensure a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation into the killing of attorney Antonio Trejo Cabrera, Human Rights Watch said today. Trejo, a lawyer who advocated for peasant land rights and publicly opposed the creation of special autonomous development zones, was shot and killed on September 22, 2012, after attending a wedding south of Tegucigalpa.