• Q&A: Raised on the Registry
    Q & A
    May 1, 2013
  • US: More Harm Than Good
    Press release
    May 1, 2013
    Harsh public registration laws often punish youth sex offenders for life and do little to protect public safety, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. A web of federal and state laws apply to people under 18 who have committed any of a wide range of sex offenses, from the very serious, like rape, to the relatively innocuous, such as public nudity.
  • US: Fulfill Promises to Close Guantanamo
    Press release
    Apr 30, 2013
    US President Barack Obama should move swiftly to fulfill newly repeated promises to end indefinite detention without trial at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay.
  • US: Supreme Court Limits Suits against Rights Abusers Abroad
    Written statement
    Apr 29, 2013

    A decision by the US Supreme Court could severely limit the use of a federal statute that for more than 30 years has permitted foreign victims of atrocities abroad to obtain civil remedies in federal courts and has denied rights abusers a safe haven in the United States. It undercuts case law that had made the US courts a mainstay for redress for victims of serious human rights abuses.

  • Immigration reform overlooks asylum-seekers
    Commentary
    Apr 26, 2013
    "Work authorization is not meant to get you rich, it's to let you live," said an Egyptian asylum-seeker who fled to the United States after a radical group beat him and tried to kidnap his wife and daughter. After fleeing persecution in their home countries, asylum-seekers like this man in New Jersey face a new type of maltreatment in the United States: The U.S. government won't let them work during what is often a drawn-out asylum process.
  • Guantanamo Bay and Indefinite Detention - Hunger Strike Continues
    Press release
    Apr 25, 2013
    More prisoners have joined a hunger strike at the US-run detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, bringing the reported total to 93 out of 166 held at the facility.
  • US: Statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee on "Targeted Killing"
    Testimony
    Apr 23, 2013
    On April 23, 2013, the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights held a hearing entitled “Drone Wars: The Constitutional and Counterterrorism Implications of Targeted Killing”. Letta Tayler, Senior Researcher in the Terrorism/Counterterrorism Division submitted the following testimony for the record.
  • Re: Letter of Support from Human Rights Watch for Bill: AB 336 (Condoms as Evidence in Prostitution)
    Letter
    Apr 22, 2013
  • Memorandum of Support from Human Rights Watch for Bill: S1379/A2736
    Memorandum
    Apr 22, 2013
  • US: Senate Immigration Plan Important Yet Flawed
    Press release
    Apr 16, 2013
    The US Senate is set to take an important step toward establishing landmark protections for unauthorized immigrants. The plan could grant eventual legal status to millions of people and reduce their vulnerability to human rights abuses. A summary of the proposed bill was made public on April 16, 2013, outlining significant changes to the complex array of immigration laws in the United States.
  • 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.
  • US: Ban Fully Autonomous Weapons
    Press release
    Apr 16, 2013

    Temporary US restrictions on lethal fully autonomous weapons should be strengthened and made permanent.

  • US: Bipartisan Study Shows Need to Investigate Torture
    Press release
    Apr 16, 2013
    A bipartisan study finding “indisputable” evidence of torture for which the highest United States officials bear responsibility should spur the US government to thoroughly investigate detainee abuse since September 11, 2001, and provide redress to victims.
  • Review of the 2012 US Policy on Autonomy in Weapons Systems
    Backgrounder Briefing
    Apr 15, 2013

    On November 21, 2012, the US Department of Defense issued its first public policy on autonomy in weapons systems. Directive Number 3000.09 (the Directive) lays out guidelines for the development and use of autonomous and semi-autonomous weapon systems by the Department of Defense.

  • Joint Letter to President Obama on US Drone Strikes and Targeted Killings
    Letter
    Apr 12, 2013
    We write to convey a statement of shared concerns regarding US targeted killing policy. Our statement, attached, urges the administration to take essential steps to: publicly disclose key targeted killing standards and criteria; ensure that US lethal force operations abroad comply with international law; enable meaningful congressional oversight and judicial review; and ensure effective investigations, tracking and response to civilian harm.
  • Ban solitary confinement for youth in care of the federal government
    Commentary
    Apr 11, 2013
  • US/California: Improve Proportionality in Drug Sentencing
    Letter
    Apr 11, 2013
    Human Rights Watch wrote to the California Senate Public Safety Committee in support of SB 649, which would grant prosecutors the discretion to charge individuals arrested for simple possession of illicit drugs with a misdemeanor rather than a felony, as well as give judges the ability to reduce a felony simple possession charge to a misdemeanor at the time of conviction.
  • Joint letter to President Obama on closing Guantanamo
    Letter
    Apr 11, 2013
    If ever there were a moment to act upon the promise you made over four years ago to shutter the prison, it is now.
  • Joint letter to CIA Director Brennan on Appointment of Director of Clandestine Service
    Letter
    Apr 10, 2013
    We are deeply concerned by reports in reputable news sources that you are considering appointing as the new Director of Clandestine Service of the Central Intelligence Agency an individual who reportedly was closely involved in setting up CIA secret detention facilities (known as “black sites”).
  • Florida: End Life Without Parole for Youth Offenders
    Letter
    Apr 5, 2013
    Human Rights Watch urged the Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee to oppose Senate Bill (SB) 1350, Criminal Penalties. HRW believes that this bill is in violation of international human rights law.
  • New Police Practices Help Fight HIV Epidemic
    Impact
    Apr 4, 2013
    Sex workers in San Francisco, Washington DC, and part of New York State can now carry condoms – protecting themselves and their clients from HIV/AIDS – without fearing that police will use the condoms as evidence of prostitution.
  • Testimony of Tom Malinowski Before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Syria’s Humanitarian Crisis
    Testimony
    Apr 2, 2013

    Since the beginning of the uprising in Syria, Human Rights Watch has made numerous trips to the northern part of the country from across the Turkish border. I was there in December for four days, visiting several towns in the countryside north and east of Aleppo City. Some of my colleagues went to Aleppo in February; we have also conducted research trips in the last year in Idlib and Latakia provinces. The Syrian opposition controls the ground in these areas, and is struggling, with growing but still insufficient international help, to provide for the civilian population. The Syrian government, meanwhile, still controls the skies.

  • US: Address Guantanamo Hunger Strike, End Indefinite Detention
    Letter
    Mar 29, 2013
    The current hunger strike highlights the problem of ongoing detention without charge at Guantanamo.
  • The Supreme Court Cases on Same-Sex Marriage
    Media spotlight
    Mar 28, 2013
    In June 2013, the US Supreme Court will decide two cases on the right of same-sex couples to civil marriage. Human Rights Watch has long advocated the right of same-sex couples to marry based on the international human rights principles of nondiscrimination and equal protection of the law.
  • 'Too Little Justice': Misdemeanor Defendants in the US
    Commentary
    Mar 22, 2013
    Indigent defendants in Midland, Texas are not receiving proper instructions regarding their right to counsel, a problem leading to uneducated plea bargains.
  • Mississippi Moving Forward
    Backgrounder Briefing
    Mar 21, 2013
    Mississippi has one of the nation’s highest rates of HIV infection and deaths from AIDS. In March 2011, Human Rights Watch published "Rights at Risk: State Response to HIV in Mississippi." Since then, Mississippi has made progress in meeting the challenges of HIV; however, much remains to be done.
  • Jordan: Obama Should Press King on Asylum Seeker Pushbacks
    Press release
    Mar 21, 2013
    Jordan is routinely and unlawfully rejecting Palestinian refugees, single males, and undocumented people seeking asylum at its border with Syria, said Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic (the Harvard Clinic).
  • US: Move Drone Strike Program to Military
    Press release
    Mar 21, 2013
    A reported plan to transfer the United States targeted killing program from the Central Intelligence Agency to the Defense Department could improve transparency and accountability, though a number of other concerns with the program would remain.
  • US: Obama Should Press Mideast Leaders on Abuses
    Press release
    Mar 21, 2013
    US President Barack Obama should press Israeli and Palestinian leaders to tackle persistent human rights abuses during his visit to the region. Obama is visiting the Middle East from March 20 to 22, 2013.
  • US: Statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on “Building an Immigration System Worthy of American Values”
    Written statement
    Mar 20, 2013
    On March 20, 2013, the United States Senate held a hearing entitled "Building an Immigration System Worthy of American Values." Human Rights Watch submitted the following written statement for the record.
  • Lawmakers Must Reevaluate Immigration Detention System
    Commentary
    Mar 19, 2013
    Too many immigrants have been detained unnecessarily, at significant cost to the U.S. taxpayer.
  • Leaning In, and Sometimes Falling Over the Edge
    Commentary
    Mar 18, 2013
    Kimberly N. "leaned in" to her career for years. As a vice president of a large charitable organization, she earned high praise and enjoyed her work. When Kimberley got pregnant, she negotiated a six-week maternity leave, and looked forward to resuming work. Things did not go according to plan.
  • Military commissions don't give victims justice
    Commentary
    Mar 18, 2013
    More than a decade after the attack on the USS Cole, the victims and family members of those lost in the attack are still waiting for justice.
  • US: Maryland Expected to Abolish Death Penalty
    Press release
    Mar 15, 2013
    Maryland is on the verge of becoming the sixth US state in six years to abolish the death penalty, though five men may continue to sit on the state’s death row.
  • US: Statement to the House Judiciary Committee on "The Separation of Nuclear Families under US Immigration Law"
    Written statement
    Mar 14, 2013
    On March 14, 2013, the US House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, held a hearing entitled “The Separation of Nuclear Families under US Immigration Law.” Human Rights Watch submitted the following written statement for the record.
  • UN Human Rights Council: Statement under Item 4 General Debate, addressing Guantanamo
    Oral statement
    Mar 13, 2013
  • What Rules Should Govern US Drone Attacks?
    Commentary
    Mar 11, 2013
  • Letter to Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: Examine Incarceration of Youth in US Adult Prisons and Jails
    Letter
    Mar 11, 2013
    Human Rights Watch submitted an expert letter on the incarceration of youth offenders in adult prisons in the United States. We commend the commission for holding a hearing on this issue and engaging in a productive dialogue with the United States on this topic of grave importance to the human rights of children.
  • US: NY Trial Right for Bin Laden In-Law
    Press release
    Mar 8, 2013
    The Obama administration’s decision to try an alleged al Qaeda figure in federal court rather than before a military commission at Guantanamo best serves the interests of justice. Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden who had been an al Qaeda spokesman, was indicted on a criminal charge of conspiracy to kill United States citizens. He appeared in US District Court in Manhattan on March 8, 2013, and pleaded not guilty.
  • Time for US to embrace ban on landmines
    Commentary
    Mar 4, 2013

    The US is already acting like it has given up antipersonnel landmines – so why doesn't Nobel peace laureate Barack Obama turn it into formally declared policy by ratifying the Mine Ban Treaty?

     

  • United States: The Time has Come to Ban Landmines
    Press release
    Mar 1, 2013

    The Obama administration, which is poised to make a decision on future US policy on landmines, should at long last embrace the ban on antipersonnel landmines.

  • US: Violence Against Women Act Renewed
    Press release
    Feb 28, 2013
    Bipartisan efforts to ensure the safety of all domestic violence victims should continue following the vote in Congress on February 28, 2013, to renew the Violence against Women Act (VAWA), Human Rights Watch said today. The bill includes provisions aimed at improving access to justice and services for victims from a range of backgrounds, and continuing efforts should include advancing protections for immigrant victims of violence during the process of comprehensive immigration reform, Human Rights Watch said.
  • US House: Don’t Fail Violence Victims Again
    Press release
    Feb 27, 2013
    The United States House of Representatives should approve a Senate-passed bill to renew the Violence against Women Act (VAWA), not a weaker House version that undermines protections, Human Rights Watch said today. Approving the Senate-passed bill would ensure that all women who are victims of violence have access to protection and services, Human Rights Watch said. The House is expected to vote on renewing the act this week.
  • US: Comments on Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Sexual Abuse in Detention Facilities
    Written statement
    Feb 21, 2013
    Human Rights Watch submitted these comments to the US Department of Homeland Security in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding Standards To Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Sexual Abuse and Assault in Confinement Facilities. The comments address the standards that apply to immigration detention facilities.
  • Listening In
    Commentary
    Feb 21, 2013
    New revelations at Guantánamo show the walls have ears, and justice is being made a mockery.
  • US: Statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Immigration Reform and Family Unity
    Written statement
    Feb 18, 2013
  • Don’t Overlook Domestic Violence
    Commentary
    Feb 18, 2013
    According to December 2011 figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four women in the U.S. has been a victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in her lifetime. Nearly one in five has been raped.
  • US: Statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee for Hearing on "Comprehensive Immigration Reform"
    Written statement
    Feb 13, 2013
    On February 13, 2013, the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing entitled “Comprehensive Immigration Reform.” Human Rights Watch submitted the following written statement for the record. The US immigration system should respect and protect families – including binational same-sex couples.
  • Extend family leave to all workers
    Commentary
    Feb 6, 2013
    Two years ago, the signs were clear. My mother, with Alzheimer's, heart failure, and kidney failure, was not going to live long. My brothers and I took time off work for medical appointments and hospice care. I worried about her comfort, about how my dad would cope and how the grandkids would feel.
  • Enhance This Interrogation
    Commentary
    Feb 6, 2013
    The Senate confirmation hearings need to get to the bottom of the truth about CIA chief nominee John Brennan.
  • DC Police Should Release Documents
    Press release
    Feb 6, 2013
    Comments by the Washington, DC police chief Cathy Lanier reported in the news media suggest that the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) may not have provided documents it was legally obligated to release in response to a freedom of information request and a settlement agreement, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Chief Lanier.
  • US: Act to Protect Children in Conflict
    Press release
    Feb 5, 2013
    The United States government should promptly carry out the recommendations of a United Nations committee of experts to improve protection of children abroad from armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said today. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child released a report and recommendations to the US government on February 5, 2013.
  • US: Statement to the House Judiciary Committee on "America's Immigration System"
    Written statement
    Feb 5, 2013
    On February 5, 2013, the US House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, held a hearing entitled “America’s Immigration System: Opportunities for Legal Immigration and Enforcement of Laws against Illegal Immigration.” Human Rights Watch submitted this written statement for the record.
  • Arkansas: Tenants Face Prosecution Over Rent Problems
    Press release
    Feb 5, 2013
    Hundreds of Arkansas tenants face criminal charges every year because they don’t pay their rent on time and then fail to vacate their homes quickly enough. The Arkansas state legislature should repeal the abusive law that allows for these prosecutions, which has no parallel in any other US state.
  • Why Immigration Reform Will Strengthen American Communities
    Commentary
    Feb 4, 2013
    Perhaps one of the greatest defects in the U.S. immigration system, including Alabama's 2011 law, is the failure to recognize the profound ties millions of unauthorized immigrants have to U.S. citizens through family, work, and community.
  • A Dangerous Model
    Commentary
    Feb 1, 2013
    The US should reveal its legal rationale for drone attacks.
  • US: Immigration Reform Should Uphold Rights
    Press release
    Feb 1, 2013
    The United States government should urgently reform its unfair immigration system to uphold the basic rights of non-citizens and provide a path to legal status for the country’s unauthorized immigrants, Human Rights Watch said in a policy briefing released today. While the Senate and White House proposals are a good start, more attention should be paid to ongoing abuses in enforcement policies.
  • 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.
  • US: Injustices Filling the Prisons
    Press release
    Jan 31, 2013

    The enormous prison population in the United States partly reflects harsh sentencing practices contrary to international law, Human Rights Watch said in the US chapter of its World Report 2013.

  • US: Senators’ Bipartisan Immigration Proposal a Promising Start
    Press release
    Jan 28, 2013
    The bipartisan framework for immigration reform released by eight United States senators on January 28, 2013, includes helpful language but needs more work on the details to protect basic rights.
  • Making sure the D.C. police take sex assault seriously
    Commentary
    Jan 25, 2013
    In spring 2011, a federal government employee in her 30s was sexually assaulted in the District by a man she met on an Internet dating site. At Washington Hospital Center, where she went for a forensic exam so medical personnel could collect evidence from her body, a female detective from the Sexual Assault Unit of the city’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) questioned the woman for three hours, interrupting her frequently in a manner — as the woman saw it — meant to discourage her from reporting the assault and to minimize the seriousness of what had happened to her.
  • US: DC Police Mishandle Sexual Assault Cases
    Press release
    Jan 24, 2013
    Victims of sexual assault in Washington, DC are not getting the effective response they deserve and should expect from the district’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Sexual assault cases are too often not properly documented or investigated and victims may face callous, traumatizing treatment, despite official departmental policy to the contrary.
  • US: South Carolina Is Unfair to Prisoners Who Have HIV
    Commentary
    Jan 17, 2013
    On the Friday before Christmas, a federal judge in Alabama ordered an end to 25 years of segregation of HIV-positive prisoners in state prisons. District Court Judge Myron Thompson ruled that segregating HIV-positive prisoners in separate housing with unequal program opportunities, inferior mental health care and fewer work options violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. This landmark decision leaves South Carolina the only state in the Union that segregates prisoners with HIV. It is high time South Carolina abandoned this unnecessary, harmful and discriminatory policy.
  • US: Zero Dark Torture
    Commentary
    Jan 11, 2013
    Viewers and critics have been shocked by Zero Dark Thirty's depiction of enhanced interrogation techniques. But, if anything, the film goes way too easy on the CIA.
  • US: Zero Dark Thirty and the Truth About Torture
    Press release
    Jan 11, 2013
    The movie Zero Dark Thirty, which depicts the hunt for Osama bin Laden, wrongly suggests that torture was an ugly but useful tactic in the fight against terrorism.
  • Mercury Treaty: Last Chance to Address Health Effects
    Press release
    Jan 10, 2013
    A proposed international treaty to address the damaging effects of mercury should include specific provisions to protect the health of children and other vulnerable populations, Human Rights Watch said today. Governments are to meet in Geneva beginning January 13, 2013, for a fifth and final round of talks for the treaty. Mercury is a toxic metal that attacks the central nervous system and is particularly harmful to children.
  • Jailers should not be the judge, too
    Commentary
    Jan 9, 2013
    Les Miserables' Inspector Javert is one of those characters who defines "blind justice." Such is the power of his symbolism that today, our laws allow just the mercy that Javert denied. However, putting mercy into practice, such as in the form of compassionate release, is a challenge.
  • US: Human Rights Watch Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee
    Written statement
    Jan 4, 2013
    Human Rights Watch submitted this statement to inform the Human Rights Committee’s understanding of the US government’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
  • US: Defense Bill Signing Backtracks on Guantanamo
    Press release
    Jan 3, 2013
    US President Barack Obama’s refusal to veto a defense spending bill restricting detainee transfers from Guantanamo undercuts his pledge to close the prison. Obama signed the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), even though his advisers had said they would recommend a veto if it contained detainee transfer restrictions.