• The Disaster at "Christ is Love"
    Commentary
    Feb 9, 2012
    On Jan. 28 in Lima, Peru, 27 people were killed and at least five others critically injured by a fire that swept through Christ is Love, a privately run drug rehabilitation facility. Witnesses said patients started the fire in an effort to escape, after a caretaker refused to release them.Firemen on the scene reported terrible overcrowding -- up to 70 people, 18 to a room, in a facility equipped for 12. Who would blame them for trying to escape?
  • Russia: Government Shuts HIV-Prevention Group’s Website
    Press release
    Feb 8, 2012
    The Russian government’s anti-drugs agency has ordered the blocking of the website of a public health organization, the Andrey Rylkov Foundation, for discussing the addiction medicine methadone, human rights groups said today. The move is an assault on freedom of expression in the midst of pro-democracy protests, the groups said.
  • Hope for BC at BC?
    Commentary
    Feb 8, 2012

    When I went to college, I chose a highly regarded university with a strong tradition as a Jesuit institution. I was pleased with my undergraduate education at Boston College, but I still lament that my alma mater denies students access to contraceptive services through its health system.  

  • Nigeria: Child Lead Poisoning Crisis
    Press release
    Feb 7, 2012
    Thousands of children in northern Nigeria need immediate medical treatment and dozens of villages remain contaminated two years into the worst lead poisoning epidemic in modern history, Human Rights Watch said today while releasing a video on the issue. Four hundred children have died, according to official estimates, yet environmental cleanup efforts have not even begun in numerous affected villages.
  • Haiti: Duvalier Ruling Disappoints Justice
    Press release
    Jan 31, 2012
    A Haitian judge’s decision to dismiss the case against former president-for-life Jean-Claude Duvalier for grave human rights violations ignores Haiti’s international obligation to prosecute such crimes.
  • Iran: New Arrests of Labor Activists
    Press release
    Jan 30, 2012

    Iranian authorities should immediately release dozens of labor and independent trade union activists imprisoned for speaking out peacefully in defense of workers. Convictions solely for the peaceful exercise of freedom of association and assembly should be quashed, and charges should be dropped against others facing prosecution for these reasons.

  • US: Number of Aging Prisoners Soaring
    Press release
    Jan 26, 2012
    Aging men and women are the most rapidly growing group in US prisons, and prison officials are hard-pressed to provide them appropriate housing and medical care. Because of their higher rates of illness and impairments, older prisoners incur medical costs that are three to nine times as high as those for younger prisoners.
  • Turkey: Credibility Depends on Rights at Home
    Press release
    Jan 22, 2012
    Turkey's international credibility as a rising regional power will be compromised as long as it imprisons journalists, Kurdish political activists, and other government critics.
  • Universal Periodic Review of South Africa
    Written statement
    Jan 20, 2012

    South Africa has failed to clarify its position on the 22 recommendations made during the first UPR cycle in 2008 – making the assessment of the implementation problematic.  South Africa should clearly communicate its responses and commitments on all recommendations made during its second UPR cycle. 

  • Written Testimony for Hearing on Prostitution-Free Zone Amendment Act of 2011
    Letter
    Jan 19, 2012