• The Failure to Protect

    While the obligation of the government to protect the rights of those deprived of their liberty is clear, governmental failures to protect individuals who are not in custodial settings also raise human rights concerns. The United States has an international legal obligation to protect individuals from violence perpetrated by the state and by private actors. And when public officials such as border agents or police officers have the authority to use force, human rights standards require that it be used proportionally, and only when necessary. Unfortunately, either because abuse happens at the hands of public officials, or because public officials turn a blind eye to victims of private abuse, the United States sometimes fails those who seek and deserve government protection. In so doing, it violates basic human rights and erodes public safety by making it less likely that victims will seek justice when they believe they will be met with abusive treatment, inaction, or indifference.

  • 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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The Failure to Protect

  • US: What a Senate Vote for Disabilities Treaty Would Really Mean
    Dec 10, 2012
    When the Senate returns to this treaty in the new Congress, it should approach arguments against ratification with caution. The US is already committed to protecting human rights through its ratification of important human rights treaties. Opponents to CRPD missed that boat many years ago.
  • US: Senate Misses Opportunity on Disability Convention
    Dec 4, 2012
    The United States missed an opportunity to display global leadership on disability rights on December 4, 2012, as the Senate failed to approve ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
  • Ban Solitary Confinement of Children
    Nov 7, 2012
    Solitary confinement is a bad idea for prisoners of any age. It is costly, does nothing to rehabilitate prisoners and exacerbates mental health problems. All of that is never more evident than when young people are isolated in tiny cells. This practice should be banned.
  • US/Pennsylvania: Don't Codify Excessive Sentences for Children
    Oct 19, 2012
    Human Rights Watch writes to urge Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett to veto Senate Bill 850, which would maintain life without parole sentences as an option for child offenders. The bill would codify excessive sentences for children that are inconsistent with international human rights law to which all US states are bound.
  • How Not to Rehabilitate Young Prisoners
    Oct 18, 2012
    Prisons across the country rely too much on solitary confinement for prisoners young and old. It costs too much, does nothing to rehabilitate prisoners and exacerbates mental health problems. All of that is never more evident than when young people are locked away in solitary. It is time to ban the practice.
  • US Supreme Court: Halt Georgia Execution
    Jul 18, 2012
    The US Supreme Court should stop the state of Georgia from executing a man who evidence indicates has significant intellectual disabilities. Warren Lee Hill, Jr. is scheduled to be executed on July 23, 2012.
  • US Supreme Court: Positive Youth Sentencing Ruling
    Jun 25, 2012
    The Supreme Court decision barring the mandatory sentencing of juvenile offenders to life without parole recognizes children’s capacity for change. It also recognizes their distinct status from adults under international human rights and constitutional law.
  • US/Massachusetts: Protect Children With Disabilities
    Jun 21, 2012
    Human Rights Watch wrote in support of Amendment 548 in the proposed Massachusetts state budget, which would end to the practice of administering electric shocks as behavior modification to people with disabilities in the state. This pratice, which is used only at the Judge Rotenberg Center, fails to respect the dignity of individuals with disabilities and is tantamount to torture .
  • US: Issue Comprehensive Prison Rape Protections for All Immigration Detainees
    Jun 13, 2012
    Human Rights Watch and 45 other organizations sent a letter to Secretary Janet Napolitano today, urging the Department of Homeland Security to develop strong, comprehensive standards to implement the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) in immigration facilities.
  • US: Female Farmworkers at Risk for Sex Abuse
    Jun 3, 2012
    Hundreds of thousands of female farmworkers face a high risk of sexual violence and harassment as they grow, pick and pack food in the United States. Americans may disagree on the way forward for immigration reform, but our current mix of contradictory federal laws infused with harsh state and local anti-immigrant policies is not only dysfunctional - it is abusive. Congress must act on comprehensive immigration reform to ensure that farmworkers can fully assert their rights to protection from abuse. When we eat what farmworkers produce, we must also work to ensure their safety.
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