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The Children's Rights Division monitors human rights abuses against children around the world and works to end them. We investigate all kinds of human rights abuses against children: the use of children as soldiers; the worst forms of child labor; torture of children by police; police violence against street children; conditions in correctional institutions and orphanages; corporal punishment in schools; mistreatment of refugee and migrant children; trafficking of children for labor and prostitution; discrimination in education because of race, gender, sexual orientation, or HIV/AIDS; and physical and sexual violence against girls and boys. Children's physical and intellectual immaturity makes them particularly vulnerable to human rights violations. Their ill-treatment calls for special attention because, for the most part, children cannot speak for themselves, their opinions are seldom taken into account and they can only rarely form their own organizations to work for change. UN Urged to Ban Executions of Juvenile OffendersGroups from 82 Countries Seek Urgent Reforms As UN member states begin three days of debate on the rights of the child, more than 300 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from 82 countries called on the UN General Assembly to take urgent action to end executions for crimes committed by children, Human Rights Watch said today. October 14, 2008 Press Release Also available in 
Printer friendly version United States: Bush Signs Law on Child Soldiers Measure to Prosecute Recruiters Abroad Puts Commanders on Notice Under a new law signed today by US President George W. Bush, leaders of military forces and armed groups who have recruited child soldiers may be arrested and prosecuted in the United States, Human Rights Watch said today. The law could apply to leaders of dozens of forces that have recruited and used child soldiers in over 20 armed conflicts. October 3, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version Separating Image from Substance in Saudi Arabia Published in Middle East Report Saudi Arabia, its image in need of polishing in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, has opened itself up to foreign scrutiny of its notoriously poor human rights record. Members of Congress now make regularly scheduled stops in the kingdom; in February 2008, the Saudis even welcomed the two-week fact-finding mission of the UN special rapporteur on violence against women. The scrutiny tends to be tightly managed: A visit to the government’s Human Rights Commission or the National Society for Human Rights, an NGO, is de rigueur. September 23, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Submission to the Yogyakarta Special Committee on Manpower on the Treatment of Child Domestic Workers Human Rights Watch submits this submission to the Special Committee on Manpower’s review of the draft Regional Regulation for Yogyakarta City Concerning Manpower with regard to the treatment of child domestic workers. September 22, 2008 Legal Submissions Also available in 
Printer friendly version Testimony of Elizabeth Calvin, Children’s Rights Advocate, in Support of H.R. 4300 the “Juvenile Justice Accountability House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, thank you for holding this hearing and for inviting me to testify on the important topic of the sentencing of youth who were below the age of 18 at the time of their offenses to life without the possibility of parole. I am here to testify in support of legislation that would end this practice in the United States and provide meaningful access to parole hearings or other review for youth offenders serving this sentence. September 18, 2008 Testimony Printer friendly version UN: Hold Ahmadinejad Accountable for Iran Rights Crisis Executions Increase Almost 300 Percent, Persecution of Rights Defenders Intensifies Under the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, basic human rights protection in Iran has deteriorated to new lows, Human Rights Watch and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said in a briefing paper released today. September 18, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version Letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Immigration of Papua New Guinea Human Rights Watch writes to commend Papua New Guinea on its recent accession to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Accession is an important step towards guaranteeing respect for fundamental human rights in Papua New Guinea, and we welcome your government’s actions in this regard. September 15, 2008 Letter Printer friendly version US: Congress Acts to Prosecute Recruiters of Child Soldiers No Safe Haven for Exploiters of Children New legislation adopted on September 15, 2008 will permit the United States to prosecute foreign military commanders who recruit child soldiers abroad, Human Rights Watch said today. The Child Soldiers Accountability Act passed the House of Representatives unanimously on September 8 and was adopted by the Senate today. September 15, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Child soldiers and the China factor By Jo Becker September 12, 2008 Published in International Herald Tribune Myin Win was 11 years old when he was first recruited into Burma's national army. He was picked up by soldiers while selling vegetables at a railway station and sent to a military training camp. He weighed only 70 pounds, or about 32 kilograms, and said that the guns were so heavy he could hardly lift them. September 12, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version The Last Holdouts Ending the Juvenile Death Penalty in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Pakistan, and Yemen
HRW Index No.: 1-56432-375-7 September 10, 2008 Report Also available in
Download PDF, 175 KB, 23 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release UN: Five Countries Responsible for All Executions of Juvenile Offenders Since 2005 Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Pakistan, and Yemen Executed 32 for Crimes Committed as Children Ending executions for crimes committed by children in just five countries would result in universal implementation of the prohibition on the juvenile death penalty, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Governments should use next week’s United Nations General Assembly session opening to commit to urgently needed reforms to protect the rights of children in conflict with the law. September 8, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version India: All Sides Using Children in Chhattisgarh Conflict Rehabilitate Children in Armed Groups Indian security forces and Naxalite rebels should immediately end the use of children in the conflict in Chhattisgarh state in central India, Human Rights Watch said today. Using children under age 18 in armed operations places them at risk of injury and death and violates international law. September 5, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Dangerous Duty Children and the Chhattisgarh Conflict The 58-page Human Rights Watch report, “Dangerous Duty: Children and the
HRW Index No.: 1-56432-374-9 September 5, 2008 Report Download PDF, 423 KB, 62 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release International Criminal Court’s Trial of Thomas Lubanga Questions and Answers In its decision of September 3, 2008, Trial Chamber I rejected the prosecution’s application to lift the stay of proceedings in the trial of Thomas Lubanga, which the trial chamber imposed on June 13, 2008. In that earlier decision, the trial chamber unanimously decided to “stay” the proceedings against Lubanga—therefore suspending the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) first-ever trial— because the prosecution was unable to release more than 200 documents containing potentially “exculpatory” information that it gathered during its investigation. The court defines “exculpatory” material as documentation that shows or tends to show the innocence of the accused, that mitigates the guilt of the accused, or information which may affect the credibility of the prosecution evidence. According to the judges, “the right to a fair trial—which is without doubt a fundamental right—includes an entitlement to disclosure of exculpatory material.” September 5, 2008 Questions and Answers Also available in
Printer friendly version Afghanistan: Free Aafia Siddiqui’s 11-Year-Old Son Child Is Too Young to Be Treated as Criminal Suspect The Afghan government should immediately relinquish 11-year-old Ahmed Siddiqui to the custody of his family, Human Rights Watch said today. Siddiqui, a US citizen, is believed to be the son of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman held on US federal charges in New York. August 27, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version First Prosecution in the United States for Torture Committed Abroad The Trial of Charles ‘Chuckie’ Taylor, Jr. Published in Human Rights Brief, Volume 15, Issue 3 (Spring/Summer 2008) On December 6, 2006, the United States Department of Justice indicted Charles “Chuckie” Taylor, Jr., son of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, for committing torture in Liberia. The case, which is scheduled to go to trial in September 2008, is significant on a number of levels. First, it stands in contrast to what has been widespread impunity for human rights violations in Liberia. Second, the charges are brought under a U.S. federal law that has been unique in its criminalization of human rights violations committed outside U.S. territory. Third, although torture committed abroad has been a crime in the United States for more than a decade, the case against Chuckie Taylor is the first prosecution for the crime. August 27, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Iran: Executions of Juvenile Offenders Rising Iran Executes Sixth Juvenile Offender This Year, 26th Since 2005 Calling Iran’s execution on August 26, 2008 of juvenile offender Behnam Zare abhorrent, Human Rights Watch urged the Iranian judiciary to immediately commute the sentences of more than 130 other prisoners facing death for crimes committed while children. August 26, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version Corporal punishment proves to be discriminatory, ineffective By Alice Farmer and Nsombi Lambright Published in The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Mississippi) All parents want their children to attend safe schools where the focus is on learning and students of all races are treated fairly. Unfortunately, after months of investigation into the use of corporal punishment in Mississippi, including interviews with dozens of parents, children and educators, we have discovered that neither is true in many of Mississippi's public schools. August 23, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child for the Period Review of the DRC In this submission to the committee, Human Rights Watch presents information on child soldiers, children in detention, sexual violence against girls, and abuses against street children in the Democratic Republic of Congo. August 22, 2008 Written Statement Also available in
Printer friendly version US: End Beating of Children in Public Schools Abusive, Discriminatory Punishment Undermines Education More than 200,000 US public school students were punished by beatings during the 2006-2007 school year, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union said in a joint report released today. In the 13 states that corporally punished more than 1,000 students per year, African-American girls were twice as likely to be beaten as their white counterparts. August 20, 2008 Press Release Also available in
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