• Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speaks next to Vice President Nicolas Maduro (right) and National assembly president Diosdado Cabello (left) during a national broadcast at Miraflores Palace in Caracas on December 8, 2012.
    © 2012 Reuters
    Venezuela: Chávez’s Authoritarian Legacy

    Hugo Chávez’s presidency (1999-2013) was characterized by a dramatic concentration of power and open disregard for basic human rights guarantees, Human Rights Watch said today.

More news »
Subscribe to content feed

Reports

More >>

Americas

  • Colombia: Military Justice Law a Blow to Human Rights
    Jun 18, 2013

    Colombia’s passage of a law to reform the military justice system is a major setback for human rights, Human Rights Watch said today. The law creates a serious risk that unlawful killings by the military, known as “false positives,” will be transferred from civilian prosecutors to the military justice system. The law also authorizes public security forces to use lethal force against civilians in a dangerously broad range of situations.

  • Brazil: Investigate Use of Violence against Protesters
    Jun 18, 2013
    The São Paulo state government should honor pledges to thoroughly and impartially investigate the legality of force used by security forces during recent crowd-control operations in São Paulo, Human Rights Watch said today.
  • Ecuador: End Assault on Free Speech
    Jun 17, 2013
    The Communications Law that the Ecuadorian National Assembly approved on June 14, 2013, seriously undermines free speech. The law includes overly broad language that will limit the free expression of journalists and media outlets.
  • Governments Should Ratify Domestic Workers Treaty
    Jun 11, 2013
    Governments should mark June 12, 2013, the World Day against Child Labor, by strengthening legal protections for the 15.5 million child domestic workers worldwide. Governments should ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) Domestic Workers Convention, which has specific provisions for children, including on education and protection from violence.
  • Americas: Decriminalize Personal Use of Drugs
    Jun 4, 2013
    National drug control policies that impose criminal penalties for personal drug use undermine basic human rights. To deter harmful drug use, governments should rely instead on non-penal regulatory and public health policies. The 43rd General Assembly of the Organization of American States, taking place in Antigua, Guatemala from June 4 to 6, 2013, will focus on drug control policy in the Americas.
  • Argentina: On the Death of Jorge Rafael Videla
    May 17, 2013
    Jorge Rafael Videla participated in the March 24, 1976 coup d’etat, and acted as de facto president of Argentina until 1981. According to local human rights groups, approximately 30,000 people were “disappeared,” thousands were tortured and arbitrarily detained, and hundreds of babies were stolen and illegally appropriated by other families during the military dictatorship that ended in 1983.
  • El Salvador: Authorize Abortion for Woman at Risk of Dying
    May 14, 2013
    President Mauricio Funes of El Salvador should ensure that a woman who faces substantial risk of death if her pregnancy continues can obtain an abortion without criminal penalty, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Funes.
  • Letter to President Funes: Authorize Abortion for Woman at Risk of Dying
    May 14, 2013
    We write to you urgently about the case of Salvadoran citizen “Beatriz,” a 22-year-old woman whose life is in grave danger as a result of her pregnancy. We are greatly concerned that the El Salvadoran government has not complied with the precautionary measures granted to Beatriz by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Fifty days after she first sought relief from your government, Beatriz is still awaiting a life-saving medical treatment.
  • Peru: Amicus Brief on Military Court Jurisdiction
    May 13, 2013
    The jurisdiction of Peru’s military courts should be limited to offenses that are strictly military in nature, Human Rights Watch said today in an amicus brief filed before the Constitutional Court of Peru.
  • Human Rights Watch Mourns Death of Cynthia Brown
    May 13, 2013
    Human Rights Watch deeply mourns the death of Cynthia Brown, a colleague, friend and mentor for more than 30 years. She died on May 12, 2013, in New York City, after battling cancer. She was 60 years old.
more documents on this topic »