• UAE/UK: Cameron Should Demand Torture Inquiry
    Press release
    Apr 30, 2013
    Prime Minister David Cameron should demand a thorough and independent investigation by the UAE government into credible allegations of torture by three British nationals.
  • Russia: Security Forces Shut Down Protest at Sochi Olympic Site
    Press release
    Apr 30, 2013
    Police and private security forces forcibly dispersed a group of residents protesting construction at a proposed power plant site in the Hosta district of Sochi on April 29. The security forces injured some protestors while aggressively dragging some of them off of a temporary bridge being built to enable machinery access the site.
  • Russia: Voters’ Group First Victim of ‘Foreign Agent’ Law
    Press release
    Apr 25, 2013
    The decision of a Moscow court on April 25, 2013, to fine an independent nongovernmental organization and its leader is an alarming indicator for the future of civil society in Russia.
  • If all options are open, why not prosecute Abu Qatada in the UK?
    Commentary
    Apr 25, 2013
    Listening to Theresa May’s statement to Parliament today, it seems the British government is leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to deport Abu Qatada to Jordan to face terrorism charges.
  • Turkey: Justice Central to Kurdish Peace Process
    Press release
    Apr 25, 2013
    Justice for the thousands of state-perpetrated killings and disappearances of Kurdish civilians in the 1990s should be an essential part of the peace process under way in Turkey. Human Rights Watch released a video outlining the events of that era, with family members whose loved ones were killed describing the lack of justice ever since.
  • North Caucasus
    Fact Sheet
    Apr 24, 2013
    The recent Boston Marathon bombings have pushed the blood-soaked history of Chechyna back to the top of the news agenda. Human Rights Watch has a long history of work in the region, generating a substantive body of research on Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia.
  • Russia: Worst Human Rights Climate in Post-Soviet Era
    Press release
    Apr 24, 2013
    The Russian government has unleashed a crackdown on civil society in the year since Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency that is unprecedented in the country’s post-Soviet history.
  • Serbia/Kosovo: Landmark Opportunity for Human Rights
    Press release
    Apr 23, 2013
    The April 19 agreement between Serbia and Kosovo offers a landmark opportunity to improve human rights protection in both countries.
  • Turkmenistan/Uzbekistan: Abuses in International Spotlight
    Press release
    Apr 22, 2013
    Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan’s highly repressive policies are coming up for rare international scrutiny on April 22 and 24, 2013. United Nations member countries gathering at the Human Rights Council in Geneva under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) procedure should seize the opportunity to expose and denounce the ongoing repression in both countries and press for concrete steps to end abuses.
  • Tajikistan: Investigate Attack on Opposition Leader
    Press release
    Apr 20, 2013
    Tajik authorities should promptly and thoroughly investigate the brutal beating of an opposition leader.
  • Universal Periodic Review: Joint HRW Submission on Turkmenistan with Freedom Now and the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights - Submitted in October 2012
    Written statement
    Apr 19, 2013
  • Universal Periodic Review: HRW Submission on Uzbekistan - Submitted in October 2012
    Written statement
    Apr 19, 2013
  • Submission to the United Nations Committee against Torture on the United Kingdom
    Written statement
    Apr 19, 2013
  • Universal Periodic Review: HRW Submission on Azerbaijan
    Written statement
    Apr 18, 2013
    Azerbaijan’s human rights record has been on a continual decline since the previous UPR in 2009, casting serious doubt on the government’s willingness to abide by its commitments and to reform. The long-repressive atmosphere for independent journalists, political activists, and human rights defenders has grown acutely hostile, with authorities using imprisonment as a tool for political retribution and clamping down on freedom of assembly, breaking up peaceful demonstrations, often violently.
  • Universal Periodic Review: HRW Submission on Russia
    Backgrounder Briefing
    Apr 18, 2013
    Starting in June 2012, the Russian government reversed small, positive steps taken since the previous UPR, which had slightly loosened excessive government control over civil society organizations and aimed to improve pluralism in the political system. It launched a broad crackdown on freedom of assembly, association, and expression. Abuses in the counterinsurgency campaign in the North Caucasus continue. Several Russian regions have adopted homophobic laws, and preparations for the 2014 Olympic games in Sochi have been tainted by abuses.
  • Universal Periodic Review: Joint HRW Submission on Germany, with Forum Menschenrechte
    Written statement
    Apr 18, 2013
    Germany is State party to most of the core international human rights standards with the exception of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. The German Government continues to refuse ratification. This submission further explores the respect of human rights law by the Federal Republic of Germany, ahead of its UPR.
  • Russia: Activist Held Without Bail
    Press release
    Apr 17, 2013
    Authorities in Russia should free a civil society activist charged with misuse of government funds pending his trial.
  • Cotton Campaign Letter to US Secretary of State John Kerry
    Letter
    Apr 16, 2013
    The Cotton Campaign is a global coalition of companies, human rights NGOs, industry associations, investors and trade unions dedicated to ending forced labor in the cotton sector of Uzbekistan.
  • Ukraine: Reject Discriminatory LGBT Laws
    Press release
    Apr 16, 2013
    The Ukrainian parliament should reject two draft laws that would discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and infringe on their free expression rights.
  • Russia: Worker Exploited on Olympic Venues is Detained
    Press release
    Apr 11, 2013
    The Russian authorities have unlawfully detained a migrant construction worker who was seeking to file a complaint for nonpayment of wages on Olympic venues in Sochi.
  • Denying Genocide Won't Promote Reconciliation
    Commentary
    Apr 10, 2013

    A public debate at the UN on April 10 will serve up a revisionist denial of the worst killings in Europe since the end of World War II: the ethnic slaughter in the former Yugoslavia that horrified the world in the 1990s. While the session's ostensible purpose is to take "a closer look at the long-term impact of international criminal justice, in particular as it relates to reconciliation..." it is unlikely much thoughtful discussion will occur. 

  • Keep the Pressure on Putin
    Commentary
    Apr 10, 2013
    If Vladimir Putin had hoped for an easy time during his two-day Germany visit this week, he must be disappointed. There were some positive headlines on the Russian president’s visit, of course. The Hanover Trade Fair, which he opened on Sunday, featured 170 Russian companies – a record for the fair and a sign of the growing power of Russian business.
  • Turkmenistan: EU Should Press Foreign Minister on Rights
    Press release
    Apr 8, 2013
    European Union officials should press the Turkmen foreign minister for concrete human rights improvements during his meetings in Brussels on April 9, 2013.
  • Speak Up Against Repression
    Commentary
    Apr 8, 2013
    The Russian authorities’ inspections of the offices of German political foundations and hundreds of non-governmental organizations in Russia in recent days, including Human Rights Watch, have refocused attention in Germany on the crackdown on Russian civil society since Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency last May.
  • Russia: Woman in Dire Health Is Freed
    Press release
    Apr 5, 2013
    Russian authorities on April 5, 2013, released a young woman with a severe health condition after three months in pretrial detention.
  • Kyrgyzstan: Violence Mars Supreme Court Hearing
    Press release
    Apr 4, 2013
    Violence in the courtroom during an April 2, 2013 Supreme Court hearing undermined the fairness and integrity of the process.
  • Russia: Merkel, Rutte Should Press Putin on Rights
    Press release
    Apr 3, 2013
    The leaders of Germany and the Netherlands should urge President Vladimir Putin of Russia during his upcoming visit to reverse his administration’s crackdown on civil society and erosion of human rights.
  • Italy: Leather Buyers Beware
    Press release
    Apr 2, 2013
    (Barcelona) – Leather buyers at an international leather fair in Italy should only purchase leather goods from tanneries that comply with laws that protect the right to health and labor rights, Human Rights Watch said today as the fair opens in Bologna. Such compliance should include respecting both national and international environmental standards. Tanneries in the Hazaribagh area of the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka, do not meet these criteria, Human Rights Watch said.
  • Azerbaijan: Authorities Targeting Youth Activists
    Press release
    Apr 2, 2013
    An Azerbaijan court sent three political activists to pretrial detention in recent days on dubious charges of illegal weapons possession.
  • With new leadership, Italy has a real chance for asylum reform
    Commentary
    Apr 1, 2013
    Italy has changed in the last three decades from a country of emigration to one of immigration and asylum. Its reaction has been chaotic and confused, and sometimes downright cruel. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than in Italy’s response to boat migration.
  • What Are the BRICS Building?
    Commentary
    Mar 30, 2013
    The Chinese call it jin zhuan, or golden brick. The Russians have suggested calling it briuki, an acronym meaning trousers in Russian. And what about the ambiguous S? It originally was just a plural for the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, places where a Goldman Sachs analyst was urging greater investment. Now it stands for South Africa, which joined in 2010 despite having an economy roughly on the order of China’s sixth-largest province.
  • Russia wants BRICS partners to ignore its transgressions
    Commentary
    Mar 26, 2013

    Official communiqués on the BRICS summit in Durban are promising new initiatives on trade, economic development and technical co-operation. But Russia wants more from its partners than just trade. With concern rising in Europe over the worst crackdown on Russian democracy since the Soviet Union collapsed more than 20 years ago, Vladimir Putin is coming to Africa to find supporters of its world view.

  • BRICS: Take Concrete Steps to Help Syria’s People
    Press release
    Mar 26, 2013
    The BRICS countries should call for an end to indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian-populated areas in Syria, and insist that cluster munitions and incendiary weapons should not be used. Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa are meeting in Durban for the annual BRICS summit on March 26 and 27, 2013.
  • New UK Media Curbs May Please Beijing
    Commentary
    Mar 25, 2013
    British journalism often looks impressive from afar, with trusted media organizations like the BBC and Economist springing to mind. Closer up, its image is far more tarnished, particularly for newspapers, with a murky stew of phone-hacking, bribery and insider influence.
  • January 2013 Legal Opinion Submitted to Minister of Justice of Turkey
    Backgrounder Briefing
    Mar 25, 2013
    Human Rights Watch considers that repealing the statute of limitations for violations of the right to life and torture by suspected state perpetrators and public officials would be an effective means of combatting Turkey’s legacy of impunity for serious human rights abuses, particularly those committed during the early 1990s.
  • Turkey: Strengthen Law Reform Bill
    Press release
    Mar 25, 2013
    Strengthening a law reform bill currently before Turkey’s parliament could significantly improve human rights and help bolster the peace process with the armed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The Parliamentary Justice Commission is examining the bill, the “fourth reform package,” and parliament is expected to vote on it in the coming weeks.
  • Russia: New Pressure on Civil Society
    Press release
    Mar 24, 2013
    A wave of inspections of nongovernmental organizations in Russia is intensifying pressure on civil society since the adoption of a series of restrictive laws in 2012.
  • Time for Brics to stop sitting on the fence over Syria atrocities
    Commentary
    Mar 22, 2013
    Brics should call for the Syrian government to permit the delivery of humanitarian aid across its borders, including from Turkey
  • EU Failing to Tackle Hungary’s Constitutional Missteps
    Commentary
    Mar 15, 2013
    “The Constitution is not a game!” crowds chanted during a March 9 demonstration in Budapest against constitutional changes adopted on March 11. Hopefully those chants were heard in Brussels. It’s high time the EU took resolute action to hold the Hungarian government accountable for their ongoing assault on human rights and the rule of law.
  • UN Human Rights Council: Adoption of the Outcome of Ukraine's UPR
    Oral statement
    Mar 14, 2013
  • Azerbaijan: Unnecessary Police Force at Peaceful Protests
    Press release
    Mar 12, 2013
    Azerbaijani police used unnecessary force to disperse a peaceful protest in the capital, Baku, on March 10, 2013.
  • Hungary: Constitution Changes Warrant EU Action
    Press release
    Mar 12, 2013
    The EU should take resolute action in response to the latest constitutional changes adopted in the Hungarian parliament.
  • Uzbekistan: Kerry Should Raise Rights Abuses at Talks
    Press release
    Mar 7, 2013
    US Secretary of State John Kerry should publicly express concern about Uzbekistan’s deteriorating human rights situation during his meeting with the Uzbek foreign minister on March 12, 2013, and press for concrete improvements, Human Rights Watch said today.
  • Azerbaijan: Rights Lawyer Imprisoned
    Press release
    Mar 4, 2013
    An Azerbaijan court on February 27, 2013, sentenced a human rights lawyer to eight years in prison on the basis of a prosecution and conviction that appear politically motivated.
  • Belarus: Stop Harassing Rights Group
    Press release
    Mar 1, 2013
    The Belarusian authorities should immediately cease harassing and trying to shut down the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, the only human rights organization with registration status to operate nationally.
  • Russia: Free Pussy Riot Members
    Press release
    Mar 1, 2013
    Russian authorities should immediately and unconditionally free the two members of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot who remain behind bars.
  • Letter to the Greek Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights Regarding Proposed Modification to the Greek Criminal Code
    Letter
    Feb 28, 2013
  • Creating Sochi Olympic site comes at high cost for local residents
    Commentary
    Feb 28, 2013
    Bakinskaya Street is located on a sloping hillside in Veseloye village within the city limits of Sochi, the Russian city where, less than a year from now, the 2014 Winter Olympics will launch.
  • Kyrgyzstan: Locate Missing Uzbek Refugee
    Press release
    Feb 25, 2013
    An Uzbek refugee has been missing from Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, since February 18, 2013.
  • Russia: Hollande Should Press Putin on Rights
    Press release
    Feb 22, 2013
    President Francois Hollande of France should urge President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to reverse his administration’s crackdown on civil society and erosion of human rights when the two leaders meet on February 28, 2013.
  • Human Rights Watch letter to Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland regarding his recent press statement on media law and the judiciary in Hungary
    Letter
    Feb 22, 2013
  • The Netherlands: Halt Plan to Deport Somalis
    Press release
    Feb 21, 2013

    The Dutch government should not deport Somalis to any part of south-central Somalia, including Mogadishu, until security improves substantially, and the UN refugee agency has issued new guidelines.

  • Letter to the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission Ahead of the EU-Ukraine Summit
    Letter
    Feb 21, 2013
  • Ukraine: EU Should Raise LGBT Rights at Summit
    Press release
    Feb 21, 2013
    The European Union should urge the Ukrainian government at the upcoming EU-Ukraine summit to end abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Ukraine.
  • Turkmenistan: Activists Freed After Unjust Jailing
    Press release
    Feb 17, 2013
    Two Turkmen civil society activists convicted on politically motivated charges were freed on February 16, 2013, after serving out their prison terms. Sapardurdy Khajiev and Annakurban Amanklychev, wrongfully imprisoned since their arrest in June 2006, suffer numerous health problems from their incarceration.
  • Divided We Fall: Intolerance in Europe Puts Rights at Risk
    Commentary
    Feb 14, 2013
    An Afghan migrant is stabbed in the heart on the streets of Athens. Black-shirted paramilitaries linked to Hungary’s third-largest political party march through a Roma neighborhood shouting, “You will die here.” A neo-Nazi gang commits a string of murders of Turkish immigrants in Germany. An ideologue driven by hatred of “multiculturalism” kills 67 mostly young people on a Norwegian Island.
  • Ukraine: Breakthrough for Cancer Pain
    Impact
    Feb 13, 2013
    Ukraine’s recent registration of oral morphine, a strong pain medication used most frequently to treat severe cancer pain, is a major step toward improving end-of-life care, Human Rights Watch said today.
  • Should Companies Take Responsibility for Repression?
    Commentary
    Feb 13, 2013
    The Arab uprisings have been a poignant reminder of how the Internet can promote free expression and assembly, but also how governments can try abuse it. The medium used by demonstrators to organize protests and bring medical supplies to Tahrir Square, for example, was also used by the government to pinpoint human rights defenders for arrest, harassment, and even torture.
  • Azerbaijan: Stop Harassing Writer
    Press release
    Feb 12, 2013
    The Azerbaijani government should immediately end a hostile campaign of intimidation against writer Akram Aylisli. Aylisli recently published a controversial novel depicting relationships between ethnic Azeris and Armenians in Azerbaijan.
  • Russia's anti-Olympic spirit
    Commentary
    Feb 8, 2013
    The countdown to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi is officially under way. Exactly one year from today a colossal project few thought possible in 2007 – building a state-of-the-art winter sports venue in the Caucasus mountains and the on the subtropical Black Sea coast – will become reality.
  • François Hollande’s ‘Change’ Is More of the Same on Côte d’Ivoire
    Commentary
    Feb 6, 2013
    Les mêmes causes produisent les mêmes effets (“The same causes produce the same effects”). It’s a phrase I’ve heard Ivorian lawyers, taxi drivers, and civil society leaders utter repeatedly in recent months to describe Côte d’Ivoire’s uneven prospects for reconciliation so long as President Alassane Ouattara’s government makes little progress toward impartial justice and addressing abuses by the security forces. But the phrase applies just as aptly to the failure of Côte d’Ivoire’s most important partner, France, to publicly make human rights issues a priority in its diplomatic relationship.
  • Azerbaijan: Government Detains Outspoken Critics
    Press release
    Feb 6, 2013
    The arrest of two prominent government critics in Azerbaijan on broad charges of organizing mass disorder in Ismayilli raises concern they are facing political retribution.
  • Russia: Migrant Olympic Workers Cheated, Exploited
    Press release
    Feb 6, 2013
    Migrant workers building sites and infrastructure for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, have been cheated and exploited.
  • Getting to the truth about UK-Gaddafi ties
    Commentary
    Feb 4, 2013
    Some say we should put Britain's complicity in torture and human rights abuse in Libya behind us. We cannot do so. Lessons have not been learned, victims still await justice, while the 'secret courts bill' would help ensure future abuses remain hidden.
  • Kyrgyzstan: Stop Extradition to Uzbekistan
    Press release
    Feb 4, 2013
    An appeals court in Bishkek should stop the extradition of a former Imam to Uzbekistan, where he would be at serious risk of torture.
  • Human Rights Watch Letter to the Prosecutor General of Kyrgyzstan
    Letter
    Feb 1, 2013
  • Global: HRW Submission to the CEDAW Committee
    Written statement
    Feb 1, 2013
  • World Report 2013: Challenges for Rights After Arab Spring
    Press release
    Feb 1, 2013
    The euphoria of the Arab Spring has given way to the sobering challenge of creating rights-respecting democracies. The willingness of new governments to respect rights will determine whether those uprisings give birth to genuine democracy or simply spawn authoritarianism in new forms.
  • Balkans: Rights Protections Lagging
    Press release
    Jan 31, 2013
    Human rights protection in the Western Balkans fails to match the region’s aspirations for European integration, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2013. Human Rights Watch documented human rights concerns in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo during 2012.
  • Turkey: Terror Laws Undermine Progress on Rights
    Press release
    Jan 31, 2013
    Turkey needs to end its use of overly broad antiterrorism laws to hold thousands of activists and journalists, who have spoken out or engaged in the non-violent promotion of Kurdish rights, in prolonged detention, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its World Report 2013. Human Rights Watch identified the key human rights challenges facing Turkey in 2013 and reviewed domestic human rights developments in 2012.
  • Georgia: New Government Should Make Rights a Priority
    Press release
    Jan 31, 2013
    Georgia’s new government needs to rectify the troubling human rights problems it inherited, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2013. In addressing past abuses, the government should avoid politically motivated prosecutions, ensure public scrutiny of its actions, and make the worst abuses a top priority.
  • Central Asia: Widespread Rights Abuse, Repression
    Press release
    Jan 31, 2013
    Kazakh and Uzbek authorities intensified persecution of outspoken government critics in 2012, while none of the five Central Asian governments seriously tackled longstanding, grave human rights abuses, such as widespread impunity for torture.
  • EU: Human Rights Sidelined Amid Crisis
    Press release
    Jan 31, 2013
    National and European Union (EU) leaders failed to address serious human rights concerns in the region amid economic and political crisis in 2012, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2013. Human Rights Watch documented human rights concerns in the EU, highlighting events in 10 member states and EU-level developments in migration and asylum, discrimination and intolerance, and counterterrorism policy.
  • Russia: Worst Crackdown Since Soviet Era
    Press release
    Jan 31, 2013
    The Kremlin in 2012 unleashed the worst political crackdown in Russia’s post-Soviet history. The authorities introduced a series of restrictive laws, harassed and intimidated activists, and interfered in the work of nongovernmental organizations, crushing hopes for reform following the winter 2011 mass protests.
  • UK Should Show Leadership on Sexual Violence in Somalia
    Commentary
    Jan 31, 2013
    The new Somali government, in power since September and much feted by international donors, seems to think they can silence the discussion of sexual violence by the security forces by clamping down on women reporting rape and journalists. The UK - a key donor to Somalia - needs to send an urgent message to the contrary before Saturday's hearing date.
  • Azerbaijan: Ensure Rights for Ismayilli Protesters
    Press release
    Jan 29, 2013
    Azerbaijani authorities should ensure that everyone detained in connection with riots and protests in the city of Ismayilli has access to a lawyer and that no one is ill-treated in custody.
  • What Next for Azerbaijan’s Political Prisoners?
    Commentary
    Jan 28, 2013
    Azerbaijan’s abysmal rights record came under a rare spotlight last week. One of Europe’s foremost human rights bodies, the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, devoted an entire afternoon to debating two much-awaited reports on the country.
  • Italy turns its back on children seeking refuge
    Commentary
    Jan 27, 2013
    Every year, hundreds of boys travel alone, at great risk, from Afghanistan to Italy. They‘re looking for refuge, for an education, for an opportunity to escape the war zone in their country. And yet Italy turns away many of them, barring their entrance and taking no steps for their protection or care.
  • Russia: Reject Homophobic Bill
    Press release
    Jan 27, 2013
    Vicious attacks on gay rights protesters in Russia in recent days underscores the need for the Russian Duma to reject a draft law on “propaganda for homosexuality.”
  • Uzbekistan: Forced Labor Widespread in Cotton Harvest
    Press release
    Jan 25, 2013
    Uzbek authorities have increased the use of forced labor by adults and older children in the cotton sector during the past year. The move was apparently made to shift the burden away from younger children in response to public scrutiny and international pressure.
  • Tweets can't hide Uzbekistan's woeful record
    Commentary
    Jan 25, 2013
    Recent Twitter conversations between the wannabe-jet-set daughter of Uzbekistan’s authoritarian ruler and critics of the country’s atrocious human rights record may have been unusual and amusing. They may have even brought a rare blip of international media attention to a reclusive regime the world normally seems happy to ignore.
  • Human Rights Watch Letter to the Court of Cassation of the Republic of Armenia
    Letter
    Jan 24, 2013
  • Azerbaijan: Heed Council of Europe’s Call for Rights Reform
    Press release
    Jan 23, 2013
    Azerbaijan’s leadership should take to heart and act on the clear message sent by one of Europe’s foremost human rights bodies about the urgent need for rights reform.
  • Human Rights Watch Submission on Azerbaijan to the PACE Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe
    Backgrounder Briefing
    Jan 23, 2013
    This memorandum highlights Human Rights Watch’s principal concerns about the human rights situation in Azerbaijan.
  • Turkey: Nine Human Rights Lawyers Imprisoned
    Press release
    Jan 22, 2013
    Yesterday’s Istanbul court decision to order the pre-trial detention of nine human rights lawyers highlights the arbitrary and abusive use of anti-terrorism laws in Turkey. The 9 were among 12 lawyers arrested, 11 during early morning raids on January 18, and 1 on January 20.
  • Italy: Summary Returns to Greece Violate Rights
    Press release
    Jan 22, 2013
    Italy is summarily returning unaccompanied migrant children and adult asylum seekers to Greece, where they face a dysfunctional asylum system and abusive detention conditions, Human Rights Watch said in a report published today. Stowaways on ferries from Greece, including children as young as 13, are sent back by Italian authorities within hours without adequate consideration of their particular needs as children or their desire to apply for asylum.
  • Russia: Investigate Death Threats Against Defender
    Press release
    Jan 21, 2013
    Russian authorities should investigate death threats against Vitalii Ponomarev, the lead Central Asia expert with Memorial Human Rights Center. The investigation should be prompt and comprehensive, and Russia should seek cooperation from Uzbek authorities to ensure its thoroughness.
  • France: Approve Marriage Equality
    Press release
    Jan 21, 2013
    The French National Assembly should approve a bill for marriage equality. Supporters of the government’s plans for marriage equality will hold a demonstration on January 27, 2013, in Paris. More than 300,000 people opposing the measure held a protest on January 13.
  • Letter to Members of the French Parliament
    Letter
    Jan 21, 2013
    On the eve of your parliamentary debates regarding whether to support marriage equality in France, I invite you to look to another European country that went through the same discussions and soul-searching about 15 years ago. In 1994, as a member of the Dutch parliament, I proposed to introduce marriage equality legislation. Years of debate ensued, in part because nowhere else in the world had such legislation been introduced.
  • Another Greek Crisis That Needs the EU’s Attention
    Commentary
    Jan 19, 2013
    Last year was very tough for Greece, and there are few prospects that 2013 will be easier. Millions of people have been directly affected by the sweeping austerity measures arising from the economic crisis. The country is convulsed by political tensions, with the rise of the far-right Golden Dawn party the most worrying example. And there are severe social problems, linked in part to the huge influx in recent years of irregular migrants from outside the European Union.
  • Egypt: Don’t Force Palestinians Back to Syria
    Press release
    Jan 18, 2013
    Two Palestinians being held at the Cairo airport, apparently refused entry to Egypt, are at risk of deportation to Syria. The man and his son would face indiscriminate violence and possible persecution if returned to Syria.
  • Hungary’s Alarming Climate of Intolerance
    Commentary
    Jan 18, 2013
    A prominent columnist calls for a “final solution” for Hungary’s Roma population. A member of parliament calls for drawing up a list of Jewish people involved in Hungarian politics. Two-thirds of those asked in an opinion poll say they wouldn’t let their child be friends with a Romani child. Another poll suggests a similar number believe Jewish people have too much influence. One doesn’t have to be a student of history to be worried about the growing climate of intolerance in Hungary.
  • Uzbekistan: Effective EU Rule of Law Programmes Depend on a Principled Human Rights Policy
    Commentary
    Jan 17, 2013
  • Human Rights Watch Mourns the Loss of Yuri Shmidt
    Press release
    Jan 12, 2013
  • UAE/France: Hollande Should Convey Rights Concerns
    Press release
    Jan 12, 2013
    President François Hollande of France should publicly and privately convey concerns about deteriorating human rights conditions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on his visit there. Hollande is scheduled to arrive for his first official visit to the UAE on January 15, 2013.
  • Ireland: Clarify and Reform Abortion Laws and Regulations
    Press release
    Jan 10, 2013
    Irish legislators should take decisive action to safeguard in law the right of women and girls to terminate a life-threatening pregnancy, and explore further reforms to the countries’ near total ban on abortion. The Irish Human Rights Commission should advise the law makers on how current restrictive laws violate women’s human rights and put the lives and health of women and adolescent girls at risk.
  • Ireland: HRW Submission to the Irish Human Rights Commission
    Written statement
    Jan 10, 2013
  • Ireland: HRW Letter to the Joint Committee on Health and Children
    Letter
    Jan 4, 2013
  • Ireland: Human Rights Watch Submission to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children
    Written statement
    Jan 4, 2013
  • Nepal: A Warning to Rights Abusers
    Press release
    Jan 4, 2013
    The arrest in the United Kingdom on January 3, 2013, of a Nepali army colonel suspected of torture sends a warning to those accused of serious crimes in Nepal and elsewhere that they cannot hide from the law forever. Nepal failed to prosecute anyone for torture during the decade-long civil war in the nearly seven years since it ended.
  • Barack Obama: Dump These 8 Unsavory Allies
    Commentary
    Jan 2, 2013
    If Obama wants to bolster his legacy in his second term, he can and should get tough on some of the United States' most unsavory friends and allies. Here are eight leaders to start with.