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 News Releases 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 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 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 Download E-Book 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 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 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 American credibility on trial Was one of the youngest prisoners at Guantánamo rushed to court by the Bush administration for political reasons? By Jo Becker, children's rights advocacy director Published in Salon.com One of the youngest detainees at Guantánamo Bay, a 23-year-old Afghan named Mohammed Jawad, spent two days in a courtroom here last week as his defense lawyer argued that his case should never go to trial. The attorney, Maj. David Frakt, claimed that his client was repeatedly tortured and abused in U.S. custody, charges that were supported by the testimony of a senior U.S. Army criminal investigator. August 20, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Kenya: Government Should End All Corporal Punishment The government should make it a priority to end violence against children whether in the home, school or elsewhere, five human rights organizations said today in joint letters to Kenya’s ministers of education, gender and children affairs, and justice. July 23, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version “Being Neutral is Our Biggest Crime” Government, Vigilante, and Naxalite Abuses in India’s Chhattisgarh State
HRW Index No.: 1-56432-356-0 July 15, 2008 Report Download PDF, 1700 KB, 172 pgs Purchase online Download E-Book India: End State Support for Vigilantes Prosecute Rights Violators and Protect Internally Displaced Communities The Indian central and Chhattisgarh state governments should hold accountable government security forces and state-backed vigilantes responsible for attacking, killing, and forcibly displacing tens of thousands of people in armed operations against Maoist rebels since mid-2005 in southern Chhattisgarh, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. July 14, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version ICC: Good Progress Amid Missteps in First Five Years Court Needs Continuing International Support for Challenges Ahead The International Criminal Court (ICC) has made notable progress in bringing justice for the worst crimes despite mistakes in policy and practice, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today that assesses the court’s first five years. Human Rights Watch urged greater international support of the ICC to meet the political and financial challenges ahead. July 11, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version When peace talks undermine justice Published in International Herald Tribune Diplomats, judges, lawyers, human rights activists and members of nongovernmental organizations are currently marking the 10th anniversary of the completion of the treaty that established the International Criminal Court. The court's creation was an extraordinary step in extending the reach of law to those responsible for the mass slaughter of civilians and the use of rape as a weapon of war. July 4, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version UK: Abusive Ex-Commander Allowed to Return to Sri Lanka Colombo Should Now Prosecute Karuna Amman The British government today regrettably allowed an abusive former Tamil Tiger leader who had been in its custody to return to Sri Lanka as a free man, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called on the Sri Lankan government to investigate and prosecute Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, known as Colonel Karuna Amman, for war crimes committed as a commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and later as head of an anti-LTTE armed group. July 3, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version The war on teen terror The Bush administration's treatment of juvenile prisoners shipped to Guantánamo Bay defies logic as well as international law. By Jo Becker, children's rights advocacy director Published in salon.com Although most of the 20 juvenile detainees have now been released, three remain, having spent more than a quarter of their lives at Guantánamo. The US continues to turn a blind eye to their juvenile status at the time of capture, has not provided opportunities for their rehabilitation, and has subjected them to prolonged isolation and ill-treatment such as a sleep deprivation regime known as the "frequent flyer" program. June 24, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version UN: Council Should Help End Fresh Abuses by Uganda’s LRA Boys, Girls Among Hundreds Abducted Across Three Countries (New York, June 19, 2008) – The UN Security Council should adopt a resolution or presidential statement supporting efforts to rein in the capacity of the Lord’s Resistance Army to attack civilians and to ensure justice for the most serious crimes committed during the northern Uganda conflict, Human Rights Watch said in a letter released today to council members. The Security Council will be briefed on June 20 by the former president of Mozambique, Joaquim Chissano, who is the UN secretary-general’s special envoy to areas affected by the insurgent Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). June 19, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version International Criminal Court’s Trial of Thomas Lubanga “Stayed” Questions and Answers Common questions on the "staying" of the ICC trial of Thomas Lubanga answered. June 19, 2008 Questions and Answers Also available in
Printer friendly version Letter to Security Council Members in Advance of the June 20 Briefing by the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on the LRA-Affected Areas We write in advance of the briefing to the Security Council on June 20 by the Secretary-General’s special envoy for the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)-affected areas, the former President of Mozambique, Joaquim Chissano. June 19, 2008 Letter Printer friendly version Additional Submission on US Compliance with the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict This submission by Human Rights Watch supplements the November 2007 submission by the US Campaign to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. It reflects new information and developments related to the United States and children involved in armed conflict between November 2007 and April 2008. June 6, 2008 Legal Submissions Printer friendly version BACK TO: Children's Rights > Stop the Use of Child Soldiers! |
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