• Florida has a chance to get mandatory youth sentencing right — next time
    Commentary
    May 17, 2013
    A bill requiring judges to sentence youth convicted of homicide to at least 50 years in prison has put the Florida Senate on a collision course with the courts — unless Florida gets it right. The Florida Legislature should not spend its time trying to craftily dodge a Supreme Court ruling. It should tackle this difficult issue directly and fairly.
  • US: Statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee on the AUMF, Targeted Killing, & Guantanamo
    Testimony
    May 16, 2013
    On May 16, 2013, the US Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing entitled “The Law of Armed Conflict, the Use of Military Force, and the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force”. Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, gave the following testimony before the committee.
  • Joint letter to Chuck Hagel on the force-feeding of hunger-striking prisoners at Guantánamo Bay
    Letter
    May 13, 2013
    We write to request that you intervene to end the force-feeding of competent hunger-striking prisoners in Guantánamo Bay, which constitutes cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.
  • Mark Mother’s Day by Reforming Family Leave Laws in US
    Commentary
    May 9, 2013
    Every industrialized nation in the world—except the United States—guarantees paid leave for new mothers.
  • DC Police Improving Their Response to Sexual Assault Victims
    Media spotlight
    May 8, 2013
    Although the man held a knife to her throat when he tried to rape her, Eleanor managed to escape. When she reported the attack to Washington DC’s Metropolitan Police, she thought the worst was over – but that was before the police refused to consider the attack an “attempted sexual assault.” Nothing she said could convince them otherwise. She felt betrayed by the people whose job it was to protect her, and she lost her faith in law enforcement. Eleanor also worried that her attacker might assault more women who, unlike her, may not be lucky enough to escape.
  • Sex Offenders Aren’t All Monsters
    Commentary
    May 8, 2013
    Sex offender laws are meant to protect children, but research increasingly shows the severe damage they cause, reports Nicole Pittman.
  • Joint letter to President Obama on SSCI Study of CIA Interrogation and Detention Program
    Letter
    May 6, 2013
    In order to ensure the Executive Branch response is as objective and comprehensive as possible, we strongly urge you to designate a senior White House official to coordinate a single Executive Branch response, incorporating the views of all the relevant agencies.
  • US: Federal Prison Release Program Badly Mismanaged
    Written statement
    May 3, 2013
    A landmark report by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Justice concludes that the compassionate release program of the federal Bureau of Prisons is badly mismanaged. The OIG findings confirm those made by Human Rights Watch and FAMM in a jointly published report last November.
  • New York Bail Reform: Letter to Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman About His Proposals
    Letter
    May 3, 2013
  • US: Maryland Abolishes Death Penalty
    Press release
    May 2, 2013
    Maryland on May 2, 2013, became the sixth US state in six years to abolish the death penalty, continuing a trend to end this inherently cruel punishment in the United States. Maryland’s governor should commute the sentences of the five men who remain on the state’s death row.
  • Raised on the Registry - Brandon's Story
    Media spotlight
    May 2, 2013
    Brandon has certainly made a series of bad choices, and he should be held responsible for them. But that doesn’t diminish the fact that he’s being continuously punished for something that happened when he was 11 – and that never happened again. Not only does this harm Brandon and his family, but it uses precious government resources needed to track people who are much more likely to endanger children.
  • How to Close Guantanamo
    Commentary
    May 2, 2013

    President Barack Obama finally broke his long silence on Tuesday on the need to close Guantanamo. Echoing comments he made four years ago -- when, on his second day in office he promised to close the facility within a year -- he said "Guantanamo is not necessary to keep America safe. It is expensive. It is inefficient.... It needs to be closed." Welcome words, but it's unlikely they will brighten the day of the 100 men currently on hunger strike at the facility.

  • Q&A: Raised on the Registry
    Q & A
    May 1, 2013
    Questions and answers about Human Rights Watch's recent report, "Raised on the Registry: The Irreparable Harm of Placing Children on Sex Offender Registries in the US."
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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: 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.
  • 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
    On March 18, 2013 the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing entitled “How Comprehensive Immigration Reform Should Address the Needs of Women and Families.” Human Rights Watch submitted the following written statement for the record.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Immigration Reform: Focus Enforcement, Protect Due Process
    Fact Sheet
    Feb 1, 2013
    The US immigration enforcement system has grown exponentially since the last major legalization program under President Ronald Reagan. Deportations have increased dramatically, from 30,039 in 1990 to over 400,000 in 2012, totaling over 4 million since 1990.
  • Immigration Reform: Include Legalization Process
    Fact Sheet
    Feb 1, 2013
  • 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.
  • 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: 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.
  • 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.