Incendiary weapons cause particularly cruel injuries to both civilians and combatants. They are also prone to being indiscriminate by starting fires and causing casualties over a large area without distinction. A complete ban on the use of incendiary weapons would have the most humanitarian benefits and provide the strongest protection under international law.

New evidence has emerged that the Syrian air force has used cluster munitions in recent days. Many of the strikes were near the main highway that runs through Ma`arat al-Nu`man, the site of a major confrontation between government and rebel forces this week.

Machines are starting to take the place of human soldiers on the battlefield. Some military and robotics experts predict that "killer robots" -- fully autonomous weapons that could select and engage targets --- could be developed within 20-30 years.

Workers in many leather tanneries in the Hazaribagh neighborhood of Dhaka, the Bangladesh capital, including children as young as 11, become ill because of exposure to hazardous chemicals and are injured in horrific workplace accidents. The tanneries, which export hundreds of millions of dollars in leather for luxury goods throughout the world, spew pollutants into surrounding communities. Human Rights Watch documents an occupational health and safety crisis among tannery workers, both men and women, including skin diseases and respiratory illnesses caused by exposure to tanning chemicals, and limb amputations caused by accidents in dangerous tannery machinery.