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Labour Regulations Foreign domestic workers need rest, too By Emily Allen and Nisha Varia Published in The Straits Times Today as many of us celebrate May Day with a break from our jobs, others in Singapore are expected to work through the day. In fact, foreign domestic workers often work through all holidays. Far too many of them work every day of the week, every week of the year, without a single day of rest. May 1, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Lebanon: Protect Domestic Workers From Abuse, Exploitation Labor Day Campaign Challenges Employers to ‘Put Yourself in Her Shoes’ Lebanese employers, placement agencies, and the Lebanese authorities should improve the treatment of domestic workers by ensuring fair contracts, timely payment of wages, and a weekly day’s leave, Human Rights Watch said today, on the eve of Labor Day. Human Rights Watch is launching a campaign to highlight the often invisible abuses that many women who are domestic workers suffer in Lebanon. April 30, 2008 Press Release Also available in 
Printer friendly version The Future of Human Rights: U.S. Policy for a New Era The thirteen essays in this volume, edited by William F. Schulz, provide thematic assessments of the current state of global human rights programs. Human Rights Watch's Refugee Policy Director Bill Frelick writes an essay on U.S. refugee and asylum policy and Senior Labor Rights and Trade Researcher Carol Pier contributes a chapter on labor rights. Taken together, the essays converge on one overarching point: to attract the widest support, the U.S. commitment to universal human rights should be presented as reflecting the best of the American tradition. April 16, 2008 Web Site Universal Periodic Review of the State of Bahrain Human Rights Watch's Submission to the Human Rights Council The Human Rights Council, in its review of Bahrain’s human rights record, should assess this legislation and recommend steps to bring existing legislation, especially in the areas of freedom of association, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, and accountability for grave crimes April 7, 2008 Written Statement Printer friendly version Universal Periodic Review of Morocco Human Rights Watch's Submission to the Human Rights Council Morocco continues to present a mixed picture on human rights. It has made great strides in addressing past abuses, allowed considerable space for public dissent and protest, and reduced gender inequality in the family code. But authorities, aided by complaisant courts, continue to use repressive legislation to punish peaceful opponents. April 7, 2008 Written Statement Printer friendly version “One Year of My Blood” Exploitation of Migrant Construction Workers in Beijing
HRW Index No.: C2003 March 12, 2008 Report Download PDF, 304 KB, 59 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release Women’s Work By Nisha Varia Published in As-Safir International Women’s Day is an opportunity not only to evaluate women’s progress in areas such as education, employment, and politics, but also to honor the importance of what has been traditionally viewed as “women’s work”: cooking, cleaning, and childcare. March 8, 2008 Commentary Also available in
Printer friendly version Business: Rights at Risk in the Global Economy Companies Harm Human Rights Worldwide People in countries across the world are regularly harmed when businesses fail to respect basic human rights, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at New York University School of Law. February 19, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version On the Margins of Profit Rights at Risk in the Global Economy
HRW Index No.: G2003 February 19, 2008 Report Download PDF, 1100 KB, 54 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release Bangladesh: Labor Activists in Export Sector Harassed Recent Arrest Shows Government’s Misuse of Emergency Powers Bangladesh’s interim government should immediately end the recent harassment of labor rights activists who are conducting legitimate activities to protect the rights of workers in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. January 31, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version UAE: Meetings Should Address Migrant Workers’ Rights When labor ministers from 22 Asian and Middle Eastern countries meet in Abu Dhabi this week to discuss Asian contract migrant workers, they should address widespread violations of migrant workers’ rights, Human Rights Watch said today. January 18, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version Letter to Governments in Asia and the Middle East on International Migrants' Day Migrants’ Groups Call for Key Reforms We are writing on December 18, 2007, International Migrants’ Day, to call upon you to implement key reforms to respect and uphold migrants’ rights. On January 21-22, 2008, the United Arab Emirates will host the latest round of the “Colombo Process,” a series of regional consultative processes focused on Asian contract migrant workers. We believe this meeting could provide an important stepping stone to establishing regional minimum standards regarding recruitment, employment, and protection of migrant workers. December 17, 2007 Letter Printer friendly version Asian Migrant Workers Abandoned to Abuse Migrants’ Groups Call for Key Reforms on International Migrants Day Governments in Asia and the Middle East must take stronger action to fight rampant abuse against migrant workers, several migrants’ and human rights groups said in a joint letter on the eve of December 18, International Migrants’ Day. December 17, 2007 Press Release Printer friendly version Lebanon's slaves, Lebanon's shame By Nadim Houry Published in The Daily Star Over a month ago, a French documentary, "Liban, Pays des Esclaves," harshly criticized Lebanese society and the authorities for their treatment of migrant domestic workers. But instead of being outraged by the behavior of their fellow citizens, many Lebanese expressed outrage against the filmmaker who dared to sully their reputation in France. One group even organized a petition against the documentary on Facebook, Lebanon's latest craze. December 4, 2007 Commentary Printer friendly version China: End Child Labor in State Schools ‘Work and Study’ Programs Put Hundreds of Thousands of Children at Risk The Chinese government should abolish the use of income-generating child labor schemes in middle and junior high schools because of their chronic abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. Many programs interfere with children’s education, lack basic health and safety guarantees, and involve long hours and dangerous work. December 3, 2007 Press Release Printer friendly version Exported and Exposed Abuses against Sri Lankan Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates
HRW Index No.: C1916 November 14, 2007 Report Also available in 
Download PDF, 905 KB, 133 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release Middle East: Sri Lankan Domestic Workers Face Abuse Labor Laws Leave Migrant Women Exposed Sri Lankan domestic workers face serious abuses, including violence, harassment and exploitation when they migrate to work in the Middle East, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch said the governments of Sri Lanka, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates should do more to protect women from labor exploitation and violence when they migrate to the Middle East, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. November 13, 2007 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version Colombia: New Killings of Labor Leaders Anti-Union Violence Prevents Free Exercise of Labor Rights The killings last week of two labor leaders in Colombia underscore the need for the government to prosecute anti-union violence, Human Rights Watch said today. November 7, 2007 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version FTSE: Remove Smithfield Foods, Inc., from FTSE4Good Index Response to FTSE’s letter of August 22, 2007 We appreciate FTSE's engagement with Smithfield regarding the company's compliance with FTSE4Good workers' rights criteria and welcome Smithfield's adoption of a new human rights policy on May 7, 2007. However, we are very concerned by reports that Smithfield continues to deny its workers the right to choose freely whether to form and join a union. Those reports suggest that neither the letter nor the spirit of the company’s new human rights policy is being implemented. For these reasons, we believe FTSE4Good should remove Smithfield from its Index. September 6, 2007 Letter Printer friendly version Letter to FTSE Group Human Rights Watch's letter to FTSE Group asserts that the March 2007 decision to maintain Smithfield Foods, Inc., in the FTSE4Good Index of socially responsible companies was disappointing and raises serious questions about the interpretation and application of the index's social screening criteria. FTSE sent a reply to Human Rights Watch on August 22, 2007. That reply can be read at: www.ftse.com/ftse_response_to_hrw August 22, 2007 Letter |  |
 Display Only: Reports Briefing Papers Press Releases Themes: Featured Reports: Angola: Some Transparency, No Accountability
This 93-page report investigates the use of oil revenues in Angola and the loss of approximately $4.2 billion from government coffers between 1997-2002, and examines how this loss undermines the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of the Angolan people. January 2004
Bad Dreams: Exploitation and Abuse of Migrant Workers in Saudi Arabia
Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia—who comprise more than one-third of the population—endure abysmal and exploitative labor conditions. This 135-page report also provides compelling evidence of torture, forced confessions, and unfair trials when foreign workers enter into the flawed Saudi justice system. July 2004 Deliberate
Indifference: El Salvador’s Failure to Protect Workers’ Rights
This 110-page report documents violations of workers’ rights – most pervasively, the right to freedom of association – and investigates the government’s disregard and facilitation of such abuses; to prevent these violations, the report recommends revising and strengthening the labor rights protections afforded by the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). December 2003 2004 World Report Chapter: Engine of War: Resources, Greed, and the Predatory
State
Written by Arvind Ganesan, director of the Business and Human Rights Program, this chapter explores how corruption, lack of transparency, and private and public sector profiteering play into the “greed or grievance” theory on the cause of civil conflict; it cites examples from recent conflicts in Angola, Liberia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. January 2004  Beijing Olympic Watch |
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