• Testimony of Elaine Pearson before the House of Commons of Canada regarding Human Rights in Sri Lanka
    Testimony
    Nov 1, 2011
    Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, thank you for inviting Human Rights Watch to testify at this timely and important hearing. Over the last two decades, my organization, Human Rights Watch, has documented human rights violations in Sri Lanka, especially violations committed by security forces and the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) during the conflict which ended in May 2009.
  • Canada: Don’t Let Bush Get Away With Torture
    Press release
    Oct 12, 2011
    The Canadian government should investigate possible criminal charges against former US President George W. Bush for his role in authorizing the torture of detainees. Bush is scheduled to visit to Surrey, British Columbia on October 20, 2011.
  • Canada: Intelligence Service Accused of Libya Interrogations
    Press release
    Sep 28, 2011
    A Libyan-Canadian citizen who was imprisoned for eight years by the Muammar Gaddafi government says that agents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) were among foreign agents who interrogated him while he was in Libyan custody for suspected terrorist ties.
  • Canada: Investigate Cheney for Role in Torture
    Press release
    Sep 24, 2011
    The Canadian government should be prepared to bring criminal charges against former US Vice President Dick Cheney for his alleged role in the torture of detainees when he visits Vancouver on September 26, 2011.
  • Canada: Caribbean Activists Honored
    Press release
    Jun 9, 2011
    Today, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Human Rights Watch will jointly present their 2011 International Award for Action on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights to the late Dr. Robert Carr and the organization he founded and co-chaired, the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities coalition.
  • Canada: Make Human Rights a Priority
    Press release
    May 9, 2011
    Canada should take concrete steps to renew its reputation as a global leader on the international human rights stage, Human Rights Watch said today in an open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
  • Open Letter to Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Federal Party Leaders on Human Rights Priorities
    Letter
    May 9, 2011
    Canada has a celebrated and respected history as a leading advocate for human rights on the international stage. Unfortunately, in recent years, Canada's voice as a champion of these principles has become muted. In light of Prime Minister Harper's re-election, Human Rights Watch presents its concerns and suggests steps that Canada and its parliament should take to address them.
  • Why Canada Should Reject Bill S-10
    Commentary
    Feb 16, 2011
    Canada has been a regional leader in drug policy, but Bill S-10 would waste billions of dollars on ineffective approaches that only appear to be tough on crime.
  • Responsible Mining: Companies Can't Go it Alone
    Commentary
    Feb 10, 2011

    Human Rights Watch recently released a report that details brutal gang rapes and other abuses allegedly carried out by employees of Barrick Gold in Papua New Guinea. Barrick, a Canadian firm, is the world's largest gold producer and Porgera is one of the world's largest gold mines. Now the company is scrambling to put things right, investing in new mechanisms for oversight and accountability and firing some of its private security personnel while others are being hauled away by the police.

  • Papua New Guinea: Serious Abuses at Barrick Gold Mine
    Press release
    Feb 1, 2011
    Private security personnel employed at a gold mine in Papua New Guinea have been implicated in alleged gang rapes and other violent abuses, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Porgera mine has produced billions of dollars of gold in its twenty years of operation, and  is operated and 95 percent owned by Barrick Gold, a Canadian company that is the world's largest gold producer.