• The United States

    The United States, with a history of both promoting and disregarding human rights abroad, has a similarly mixed record at home. The federal government continues abusive counterterrorism policies, including indefinite detention and flawed military commissions at Guantanamo Bay. The criminal justice system is marred by racial disparities and harsh sentences. The US incarcerates more people than any other country, often in conditions that violate inmates’ rights. The rights of immigrants—authorized and unauthorized—are threatened by federal policies, state laws, and the rapid expansion of immigration detention. Finally, the US sometimes fails to provide remedies to survivors of abuse, particularly women and vulnerable groups.   

  • A group of farmworkers makes their way across a field, hoeing weeds out of the rows, in the early morning on July 11, 2011.
    © 2011 AP Photo
    US: Sexual Violence, Harassment of Immigrant Farmworkers
    Hundreds of thousands of immigrant farmworker women and girls in the United States face a high risk of sexual violence and sexual harassment in their workplaces because US authorities and employers fail to protect them adequately, Human Rights Watch said in its 95-page report, “Cultivating Fear: The Vulnerability of Immigrant Farmworkers in the US to Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment.”
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Reports

United States

  • US: End Abortion Ban for Military Women
    May 23, 2012
    The US government should allow US servicewomen who are rape survivors to make their own decisions about their pregnancies. On May 24, 2012, the US Senate Armed Services Committee will consider a proposal under a military funding bill that would end the ban on military insurance coverage for abortion in cases of rape and incest.
  • Update: ICE Limits Immigrant Detainee Transfers
    May 22, 2012
    US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has fully implemented its new directive on immigration detainee transfers, which limits ICE’s ability to transfer detainees with nearby immediate family or attorneys of record to other detention facilities.
  • Update: Alabama Governor Signs Dangerous Amendments
    May 21, 2012
    On May 18, Governor Robert Bentley signed HB 658 into law, despite expressing concerns about the amended version of the Beason-Hammon Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act. Human Rights Watch renewed its call to the Alabama legislature and Governor Bentley to repeal the Beason-Hammon Act and the recent amendments to it.
  • Alabama: Seek Full Repeal of Anti-Immigrant Law
    May 18, 2012
    Alabama Governor Robert Bentley should call for the full repeal of the state’s immigrant law. It violates the right to equal protection under the law, and attempts to amend it do not address its basic flaws.
  • US: New Prison Rape Standards Offer Landmark Protection
    May 17, 2012
    The long awaited national prison rape elimination standards issued on May 17, 2012 by the Justice Department, if fully implemented, may end widespread prison rape in the United States. The standards provide detailed guidance to federal, state, and local officials on how to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse in their confinement facilities.
  • US: House Vote a Step Backward for Women’s Rights
    May 17, 2012
    The US Congress should move forward with a Senate bill to renew the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and reject the dangerous alternative passed by the House of Representatives.
  • US: Sexual Violence, Harassment of Immigrant Farmworkers
    May 15, 2012
    Hundreds of thousands of immigrant farmworker women and girls in the United States face a high risk of sexual violence and sexual harassment in their workplaces because US authorities and employers fail to protect them adequately, Human Rights Watch said in its 95-page report, “Cultivating Fear: The Vulnerability of Immigrant Farmworkers in the US to Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment.”
  • US/Burma: Don’t Lift Sanctions Too Soon
    May 15, 2012
    The US government should not ease sanctions on business activities in Burma until adequate safeguards are in place to prevent new investment from fueling human rights abuses.
  • The Breastfeeding Brouhaha
    May 15, 2012
    Love it or hate it, people are entitled to their opinions about the photo. They're also entitled to make their own choices about whether they can and want to breastfeed, and for how long. But what's truly disturbing are the US government policy failings ─ especially the lack of paid family leave ─ that drive many women who would like to continue breastfeeding to stop earlier than they wish, often after just a few weeks or months. The issue we should worry about is not women who breastfeed their 3-years-olds, it's that many women find it impossible to breastfeed their 3-month-olds.
  • Mothers are getting stiffed
    May 13, 2012
    Last year, for Mother’s Day my kids gave me a scribbled drawing, a chunky bead necklace and a big jar of Nutella. They know how to make me happy. No doubt they’ll spoil me again on Mother’s Day this year. But when it comes to U.S. policies and employment practices, moms aren’t spoiled. We’re stiffed.
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