ESC Rights | Human Rights Watch

Groups of miners in the diamond fields in Marange in 2006. When the scramble peaked in October 2008, more than 35,000 people, including children and women, were either mining or buying diamonds in Marange.

© 2006 Associated Press

Kimberley Process: Zimbabwe Action Mars Credibility
The credibility of the world's "blood diamond" monitoring group has been damaged after its failure this week to suspend Zimbabwe despite overwhelming evidence of serious human rights abuses and smuggling in the Marange diamond fields in eastern Zimbabwe.

Olympic Congress: Monitor Host Countries on Rights

Oct 1, 2009
Afghanistan: Law Curbing Women’s Rights Takes Effect

Aug 13, 2009
Kosovo: Act Now to Close Poisoned Camps

Jun 23, 2009
Iran: Violent Crackdown on Protesters Widens

Jun 23, 2009

Reports

“Being Neutral is Our Biggest Crime”

Government, Vigilante, and Naxalite Abuses in India’s Chhattisgarh State
Neighbors In Need

Zimbabweans Seeking Refuge in South Africa
"Chop Fine"

The Human Rights Impact of Local Government Corruption and Mismanagement in Rivers State, Nigeria

ESC Rights

Olympic Congress: Monitor Host Countries on Rights

Oct 1, 2009

The Copenhagen Olympic Congress should create a permanent mechanism to monitor human rights in host countries before, during and after Olympic Games. Human Rights Watch, which has submitted a proposal to the Congress, is particularly concerned about potential abuses in Russia, host for the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.
Afghanistan: Was the Women's Vote Counted?

Sep 14, 2009

The young woman from Kandahar sat with me in the office of an independent monitoring group two days before Afghanistan’s August 20th presidential election. Halima had defied her family and threats from neighbors in the tumultuous southern region to work as an election observer and to vote.
Afghanistan: Law Curbing Women’s Rights Takes Effect

Aug 13, 2009

Afghanistan’s influential international supporters should insist that President Hamid Karzai act to amend the notorious law that formalizes discrimination against Shia women.
Kosovo: Act Now to Close Poisoned Camps

Jun 23, 2009

The Kosovo authorities need to work with international donors to close lead-contaminated camps occupied by internally displaced Roma without delay, relocate their inhabitants, and provide medical treatment for lead poisoning.
Iran: Violent Crackdown on Protesters Widens

Jun 23, 2009

A notoriously abusive Iranian prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi, has been put in charge of the investigation of detained reformist leaders and party officials amidst a widening security crackdown in Iran following the disputed June 12 election.
Nigeria: Abusers Reign at Midterm

Jun 7, 2009

President Umaru Yar’Adua of Nigeria, halfway through his presidential mandate, has undermined the country’s foremost anti-corruption body, done little to rein in an abusive police force, and failed to address the root causes of the escalating crisis in the Niger Delta.
Burma: One Year After Cyclone, Repression Continues

Apr 30, 2009

One year after the devastation of Cyclone Nargis, the Burmese military government should release all those imprisoned for independently providing humanitarian aid to victims for criticizing the government’s response.
Sri Lanka: Government Admission Shows Need for UN Inquiry

Apr 27, 2009

The Sri Lankan government's admission that it has been using heavy weapons in an area crowded with displaced civilians underscores the need for an international commission of inquiry into violations of the laws of war by government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Q & A on Accountability for Violations of International Humanitarian Law in Sri Lanka

Apr 27, 2009

Human Rights Watch is calling for a United Nations commission of inquiry to investigate violations of international humanitarian law by both Sri Lankan government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the recent fighting. This Q & A addresses various issues relating to accountability for crimes in violation of international law.
UN Race Conference Undermined by Western Withdrawals

Apr 19, 2009

The announcement by the US government that it would not participate in the upcoming UN Review Conference on Racism, followed by the decision of the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Australia to pull out and Germany to attend as an observer, strikes a blow at UN efforts to fight racism.