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  • Confronting Refugee Abuse in Indonesia’s Detention Centers
    Commentary
    Jul 1, 2013
    In February last year, guards at the Pontianak Immigration Detention Center in West Kalimantan beat Taqi Naroye, an Afghan asylum-seeker, so badly that he died.
  • Croatia: No Let Up on Rights Abuses
    Press release
    Jun 28, 2013
    Croatia’s European Union (EU) accession on July 1 is an opportunity for the government to show its commitment to safeguard human rights and to properly address outstanding abuses in the country, Human Rights Watch said today in an open letter to the Croatian prime minister, Zoran Milanović.
  • Letter to Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanović
    Letter
    Jun 28, 2013
    Croatia’s accession to the EU includes assuming the obligation to respect the principles of human dignity, democracy, and human rights as enshrined in the EU Treaty and further outlined in the legally binding Charter of Fundamental Rights. The government should use the formal accession as an opportunity to further strengthen the protection of human rights in several areas of concern and implement necessary measures to improve legislation and practices.
  • Tanzania's Victims of Torture
    Commentary
    Jun 26, 2013
    On June 26, the world commemorates the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. In Tanzania, however, such commemorations are likely to be muted. Tanzania is among a small minority of countries that have not signed or ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, a United Nations treaty.
  • Indonesia: Children Seeking Refuge Find Abuse, Neglect
    Press release
    Jun 24, 2013
    Indonesia detains and neglects migrant and asylum-seeking children. Each year, hundreds are detained in sordid conditions, without access to lawyers, and sometimes beaten. Others are left to fend for themselves, without any assistance with food or shelter.
  • Way to Stem Tide of Human Misery is Help Indonesia
    Commentary
    Jun 24, 2013
    Arif was only 15 when he fled Afghanistan, without his parents, and paid smugglers to take him to Indonesia. There, he was detained for months in sordid, overcrowded immigration detention facilities where the guards beat him. When he got out, he felt he had no options in Indonesia, so he risked the boat journey to Australia.
  • The Lost Boys—Arif’s Story
    Commentary
    Jun 23, 2013
    I have interviewed many boys who, like Arif, are traveling alone. They are often their family’s last hope – their parents sell off their last piece of land or borrow money to help them flee the violence or poverty of their homelands. They are resilient and brave, undertaking these remarkable journeys alone. They also carry a heavy weight on their shoulders – they know the sacrifices their family made to send them into safety, and they are desperate to make good on their opportunities, no matter how slim.
  • Letter to the Director General of the International Olympic Committee on Discrimination of LGBT People in Russia in Relation to 2014 Winter Olympics
    Letter
    Jun 20, 2013
    In this letter I would like to raise Human Rights Watch’s concerns about the homophobic draft law that is expected to pass in the Russian parliament’s upper chamber in the coming weeks. This draft law is clearly incompatible with the Olympic Charter’s promotion of “human dignity,” as well as a blatant violation of Russia’s international legal obligations to guarantee non-discrimination and respect for freedom of expression.
  • Governments Should Sign, Ratify Mercury Treaty
    Press release
    Jun 20, 2013
    (New York)- Governments around the world should sign and ratify the Minamata Convention on Mercury, and take immediate steps to reduce mercury pollution, Human Rights Watch said today in letters to environment ministers around the globe. Human Rights Watch sent its letters to countries with artisanal gold mining and to all others, including donor countries, in advance of a diplomatic conference for countries to sign the international treaty, from October 7 to 11, 2013, in Japan. For the treaty to go into force, at least 50 countries must sign.
  • To Stop the Spread of HIV, Address Rights of Marginalized Groups
    Commentary
    Jun 19, 2013
    In 2012, Mwamini K. a sex worker in Dar es Salaam, was raped at gunpoint by a client who got angry when she asked him to use a condom. She did not report the case to the police nor seek medical assistance because she did not trust that she could get the help that she needed, she told me. (Mwamini’s name, like all others here, has been changed.) Mwamini explained that in 2011, she sought treatment for a sexually transmitted infection at Mwananyamala Hospital. The nurse refused to treat her unless she brought her sexual partner. Mwamini told the nurse that she was a sex worker and did not know who infected her. The hospital turned her away.
  • Tanzania: Police Abuse, Torture, Impede HIV Services
    Press release
    Jun 18, 2013
    Tanzanians who are most at risk of HIV face widespread police abuse and often can’t get help when they are victims of crime, Human Rights Watch and the Wake Up and Step Forward Coalition (WASO) said in a report released today.
  • US/New York: Increase Protections for Farmworkers
    Letter
    Jun 17, 2013
    With the New York State legislative session scheduled to end on June 20, 2013, Human Rights Watch urges Republican Senate Leader Dean Skelos to schedule a vote on the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act, and further urges the New York State Legislature to pass this important bill.
  • Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 13 June
    Commentary
    Jun 13, 2013
  • Ghana: Mine Accident Highlights Risk to Children
    Press release
    Jun 13, 2013
    A recent mining accident that killed 16 people at an unlicensed artisanal gold mine in Ghana underscores the need for tougher measures to end child labor and protect the safety of adult artisanal miners. HRW visited the site of the mine collapse between May 31 and June 2, 2013.
  • Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 12 June
    Commentary
    Jun 12, 2013
  • Governments Should Ratify Domestic Workers Treaty
    Press release
    Jun 11, 2013
    Governments should mark June 12, 2013, the World Day against Child Labor, by strengthening legal protections for the 15.5 million child domestic workers worldwide. Governments should ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) Domestic Workers Convention, which has specific provisions for children, including on education and protection from violence.
  • US/North Carolina: Codify Compliance With Prison Rape Elimination Act
    Letter
    Jun 7, 2013
    Human Rights Watch wrote to urge the North Carolina Senate to pass House Bill 585, which would bring all correctional and juvenile facilities in the state into compliance with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA).
  • Syria: Attacks on Schools Endanger Students
    Press release
    Jun 5, 2013
    The Syrian government has interrogated students and carried out violent assaults on their protests and military attacks on schools. An interactive map shows the destruction of schools across the country.
  • UN Human Rights Council: Report of the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea Confirms Patterns of Abuses
    Oral statement
    Jun 5, 2013
    The Eritrean government remains among the worst human rights violators in the world. The report of the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea confirms the patterns of abuses that Human Rights Watch and other independent observers have documented over the past 15 years. As the Rapporteur noted, there is a “blatant disrespect for human rights in Eritrea” that requires “fundamental reform.”
  • Eritrea: Letter Regarding the Renewal of the Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Eritrea
    Letter
    May 31, 2013
    We are writing to call on members of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) to take action during the current 23rdsession of the HRC to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, in response to the continued appalling situation of widespread and systematic human rights violations in Eritrea and the lack of cooperation demonstrated by the Eritrean government towards international and regional human rights mechanisms.
  • Qatar: Abolish Exit Visas for Migrant Workers
    Press release
    May 30, 2013
    Qatar should immediately abolish its exit visa requirements, which expose migrant workers to the risk of exploitation and abuse. The exit visa system can prevent foreigners from leaving the country merely on the say-so of a current or former employer. The case of a French professional footballer who is unable to leave Qatar illustrates how the exit visa system can be used against migrant workers in disputes with their employers. Zahir Belounis, who played for the Al Jaish team, is pursuing a claim for unpaid wages in the Qatari courts. He told Human Rights Watch that his former employers have insisted that he drop his claim or they will not issue him the exit visa he must produce to leave Qatar.
  • North Korea: Denial of Rights Forces Back Refugees
    Press release
    May 30, 2013
    North Korea should immediately reveal the whereabouts and well-being of nine North Korean refugees who were forced back to Pyongyang from Beijing on May 28 according to media reports, Human Rights Watch said today, emphasizing that the government must ensure that they are not punished for having fled the country. Under international law, individuals have the right not to be forcibly returned to a place where they face persecution.
  • Burma: Failing to Demobilize Child Soldiers
    Press release
    May 28, 2013
    (New York, May 29, 2013) – Burma has failed to make progress in ending its use of child soldiers nearly one year after signing an agreement with the United Nations (UN) to do so, Human Rights Watch said in a new paper released today.
  • Briefing for the Security Council working group on children and armed conflict regarding the recruitment and use of child soldiers in Burma (Myanmar) and implementation of the joint action plan
    Written statement
    May 28, 2013
  • A Real Life 'Hunger Games'
    Commentary
    May 20, 2013
    Here’s a story to break your heart – thousands of Afghan refugee boys who roam Europe alone, without parents, without enough help from European governments, and at risk of destitution, detention, and death.
  • China: Submission by Human Rights Watch to the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council
    Written statement
    May 18, 2013
  • China: Revise Disability Regulations for Education
    Press release
    May 18, 2013
  • 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.
  • Thailand: Rebels Target Children in Southern Conflict
    Press release
    May 14, 2013
    Separatist insurgents in Thailand's southern border provinces are committing war crimes by targeting children and other civilians.
  • The Trials of Child Marriage
    Media spotlight
    May 13, 2013
    In Yemen, South Sudan, and other parts of the world, instead of going to school or spending time with their friends and families, girls, some as young as 8, are married -- often to much older men. If the girls don’t want to marry, their families generally force them. After they are wed, life often changes for the worse.
  • Bangladesh: Independent Body Should Investigate Protest Deaths
    Press release
    May 10, 2013
    The Bangladeshi authorities should immediately set up an independent commission to investigate the large numbers of deaths and injuries during the Hefazat-e-Islaam-led protests in Dhaka and elsewhere on May 5-6, 2013.
  • Central African Republic: Rampant Abuses After Coup
    Press release
    May 10, 2013
    Members of the Seleka rebel coalition, which ousted President François Bozizé of the Central African Republic on March 24, 2013, have committed grave violations against civilians, including pillage, summary executions, rape, and torture.
  • 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.
  • Saudi Arabia: Let All Girls Play Sports
    Press release
    May 7, 2013
    Saudi Arabia should allow all girls in the kingdom, including public school students, to play sports in school.
  • Dubai's child labor complicity
    Commentary
    May 3, 2013

    Dubai confirmed its position as an international trade hub for gold in April. At a precious metals conference in the city, the United Arab Emirates’ government announced that the gold traded in the country in 2012 exceeded $70 billion, more than a quarter of the world’s global gold demand that year. Gold refiners and traders like Dubai as a tax-free, business-friendly, well-functioning location.

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Mali: End Child Labor in Gold Mines
    Press release
    Apr 18, 2013
    The Malian government should take immediate action to address child labor in mining instead of denying it. Human Rights Watch published an in-depth report on the issue in December 2011, but Malian authorities attacked this research at a news conference earlier in April 2013 and rejected well-documented evidence that child labor is used in the country’s mines.
  • Protect rights of women, girls with disabilities
    Commentary
    Apr 16, 2013
  • 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.
  • Ban solitary confinement for youth in care of the federal government
    Commentary
    Apr 11, 2013
  • 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.
  • Philippines: Manila again drops ball in Human Rights Council
    Commentary
    Apr 4, 2013
    Last June, the Philippine delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council was an embarrassing no-show during an important vote on human rights abuses in Syria.
  • Morocco: French President Should Raise Rights Issues
    Press release
    Apr 2, 2013
    President François Hollande of France should press for further human rights reforms in Morocco during his first state visit to this longtime French ally. Hollande is expected to meet with King Mohammed VI in Rabat and address the parliament while in the country on April 3 and 4, 2013. Several French ministers are scheduled to accompany the president, including Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and Najat Vallaud Belkacem, the minister of women’s rights and government spokesperson.
  • Ghana: People With Mental Disabilities Face Serious Abuse
    Commentary
    Mar 31, 2013
    This week’s high-level ministerial meeting about gender equality in international development assistance should promote the rights and needs of women with disabilities, Human Rights Watch said today. Specifically, governments should address the marginalization of women with disabilities in the declaration to be adopted on July 1, 2010.
  • Sri Lanka: Probe into LTTE Crimes Should Start with Karuna
    Press release
    Mar 28, 2013
    The Sri Lankan government should act on the call by a government deputy minister to investigate war crimes by examining his own role in serious abuses.
  • UN: Emphasize Rights in Development Agenda
    Press release
    Mar 25, 2013
    The United Nations Post-2015 Development Agenda should be grounded in human rights, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the UN High Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
  • Letter to the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda
    Letter
    Mar 24, 2013
    Human Rights Watch welcomes the High-level Panel’s efforts to advance a Post-2015 Development Agenda that seeks to learn from and build on the progress achieved through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Post-2015 consultations have revealed a strong international consensus for placing human rights at the center of the Post-2015 framework. The human rights framework unites the core aims of economic development, equality, and environmental sustainability, and its use will ensure accountability for the new agenda by anchoring it in existing international human rights obligations.
  • DR Congo: Bosco Ntaganda’s Trail of Atrocities Ends at the ICC
    Press release
    Mar 22, 2013
    The Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda is on a plane to The Hague, where he will face justice at the International Criminal Court, almost seven years after the court issued its first arrest warrant against him.
  • Mercury Treaty Designed to Save Lives
    Impact
    Mar 14, 2013
    Suzanne, an 11-year-old who lives in Mali, eagerly explained how she handles deadly mercury to mine gold to help support her family.
  • Thailand: Fleeing Rohingya Shot in Sea by Navy
    Press release
    Mar 13, 2013
    Sailors from Thailand’s navy shot at ethnic Rohingya “boat people,” causing at least two deaths, Human Rights Watch said today. The Thai government should immediately investigate the incident, and direct the navy to abide by international standards on the use of force.
  • 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.
  • Exchanging Daughters for Livestock: Child Marriage In South Sudan
    Commentary
    Mar 10, 2013
    Aguet, from South Sudan, was forced at age 15 to marry a 75-year-old man. Her family received 80 cows as dowry in exchange. “I resisted the marriage,” she told Human Rights Watch. But her uncles beat her and the marriage went ahead. Aguet dropped out of school and went to live with her husband, who now also beats her.
  • Yemen: Halt Execution of Alleged Juvenile Offender
    Press release
    Mar 8, 2013
    President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi of Yemen should immediately halt the scheduled execution of a man who may have been under 18 at the time of the alleged crime, Human Rights Watch said today. Mohammad Abd al-karim Mohammad Haza`a is due to face a firing squad on the morning of March 9, 2013.
  • Young, Behind Bars and in Peril in Yemen
    Commentary
    Mar 7, 2013
    The Yemen donors meeting in London this week have plenty of issues to focus on, but they should speak up about one forgotten group in Yemen – youth offenders on death row.
  • South Sudan: End Widespread Child Marriage
    Press release
    Mar 7, 2013
    The government of South Sudan should increase efforts to protect girls from child marriage. The country’s widespread child marriage exacerbates South Sudan’s pronounced gender gaps in school enrollment, contributes to soaring maternal mortality rates, and violates the right of girls to be free from violence, and to marry only when they are able and willing to give their free consent.
  • Child and Forced Marriage in South Sudan
    Commentary
    Mar 7, 2013
    To be forced into marriage and pregnancy as a child--when your own life has barely begun--is a serious violation of human rights. Far from creating a nurturing and safe space, child marriage is a driver of poor maternal health, violence, poverty, and pain.
  • Where children are sentenced to death
    Commentary
    Mar 6, 2013
    I met Hind in a prison in Yemen almost a year ago. Nineteen years-old, she wore an orange hooded sweatshirt, a long denim skirt, and the sullen expression of a teenager who trusts that no one is on her side. “Hind doesn’t want to talk to anyone,” a social worker told me.
  • Saudi Arabia: Halt Planned Executions
    Press release
    Mar 4, 2013
    King Abdullah and Interior Minister Prince Naif should immediately intervene to halt the executions of seven young men scheduled for March 5, 2013. The seven include at least two child offenders, sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were under 18.
  • Yemen: Juvenile Offenders Face Execution
    Press release
    Mar 4, 2013
    Yemen’s government should stop seeking and carrying out the death penalty for child offenders, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi should immediately reverse execution orders for three alleged juvenile offenders on death row who have exhausted all appeals and could face a firing squad at any moment.
  • Syria: Unlawful Missile Attacks Kill More Than 140
    Press release
    Feb 26, 2013

    The Syrian government launched at least four ballistic missiles that struck populated areas in the city of Aleppo and a town in Aleppo governorate during the week of February 17, 2013, Human Rights Watch said today. The attacks killed more than 141 people, including 71 children, and caused immense physical destruction.

  • Child domestic workers: 'time to protect us'
    Commentary
    Feb 26, 2013
    Children make up nearly 30 per cent of the world's 50 to 100 million domestic workers, working long hours for little or no pay and at risk of exploitation – but now governments have a chance to do something about it.
  • Protect 15 Million Child Domestic Workers
    Press release
    Feb 25, 2013
    Ten leading international organizations called on ministers of labor around the globe in a letter released today to protect child domestic workers and to ratify the ILO Domestic Workers Convention (Convention 189 concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers). The convention, adopted in June 2011, will help eliminate child domestic labor and improve the lives of an estimated 15 million child domestic workers.
  • Mexico: Crisis of Enforced Disappearances
    Press release
    Feb 20, 2013

    Mexico’s security forces have participated in widespread enforced disappearances, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Virtually none of the victims have been found or those responsible brought to justice, exacerbating the suffering of families of the disappeared, Human Rights Watch found. 

  • Thailand: Insurgents Should Cease Attacks on Civilians
    Press release
    Feb 14, 2013

    Separatist insurgents in Thailand’s southern border provinces should immediately end deadly attacks oncivilians.

  • Canada: Abusive Policing, Neglect Along ‘Highway of Tears’
    Press release
    Feb 13, 2013
    The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in northern British Columbia has failed to protect indigenous women and girls from violence, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Women and girls Human Rights Watch interviewed also described abusive treatment by police officers, including excessive use of force, and physical and sexual assault.
  • Yemen: Political Interference in Massacre Probe
    Press release
    Feb 12, 2013
    Investigators never questioned top officials in the criminal investigation by Yemen’s previous government into the shooting of demonstrators during the so-called Friday of Dignity Massacre on March 18, 2011, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Former President Ali Abdullah Saleh dismissed his attorney general when he demanded that government officials be questioned in the shooting deaths of 45 protesters – three of them children – and wounding of 200 others. It was the deadliest attack on protesters of Yemen’s uprising
  • India: Child Sex Abuse Shielded by Silence and Neglect
    Press release
    Feb 7, 2013

    The Indian government should improve protections for children from sexual abuse as part of broader reform efforts following the gang rape and murder of a student in New Delhi in December 2012.

  • 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.
  • DR Congo: War Crimes by M23, Congolese Army
    Press release
    Feb 5, 2013
    M23 rebels and Congolese army soldiers raped scores of women and committed other war crimes during the rebels’ occupation of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in late 2012. Ongoing talks among parties to the conflict, countries in the region, and the United Nations should ensure that any agreements include holding those responsible for war crimes to account and that rebel commanders with abusive records do not serve in the Congolese army.
  • Nigeria: Funds Released for Lead Cleanup
    Press release
    Jan 29, 2013

    Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan’s decision to immediately release funds to clean up lead-contaminated villages in Nigeria will save untold lives. Releasing the funds clears the way for at least 1,500 children in urgent need of life-saving medical treatment in northern Nigeria to receive care.

  • 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.
  • Submission on the Fourth Periodic Report of Pakistan to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
    Written statement
    Jan 28, 2013
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Mercury Convention "Must Be Brought to Life"
    Commentary
    Jan 21, 2013
    This weekend, more than 140 governments agreed on the text for a new legally binding convention on mercury, a highly toxic metal. It has taken three years and many compromises to get here. What often seemed like a dry and bureaucratic process – delegates arguing over nuance during long night sessions – has very real implications for millions of people around the globe.
  • Kenya: Don’t Force 55,000 Refugees Into Camps
    Press release
    Jan 21, 2013
    The Kenyan authorities should halt their plan to forcibly move 55,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers from cities to overcrowded and underserviced refugee camps. Citing a number of grenade attacks in 2012, the authorities contend the move will improve Kenyan national security and lead to the return of Somali refugees to Somalia.
  • Mercury Treaty Will Help Protect Right to Health
    Impact
    Jan 19, 2013
    The international mercury treaty just agreed sends an important signal that governments must do more to address the threat of mercury to the right to health, Human Rights Watch said today. On January 19, 2013, 140 governments created the treaty after five rounds of intense talks, which began in 2010.
  • The gruesome toll of deadly cluster bombs in Syria
    Commentary
    Jan 16, 2013

    It was cloudy the afternoon of January 3 when residents say the cluster bombs fell on the Syrian town of Latamneh. Three rockets containing the cluster munitions fell in nearby fields, apparently doing no harm, but a fourth landed on the street between residential buildings. Its impact was devastating.

  • Six things U.S. can do to help Somalia
    Commentary
    Jan 16, 2013
    When the new Somali president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, took office in September, the United States encouraged him to “usher in a new era of governance that is responsive, representative, and accountable.” This week, President Hassan Sheikh is in Washington to discuss how to get this done.
  • Mali: Islamists Should Free Child Soldiers
    Press release
    Jan 15, 2013
    Islamist armed groups occupying northern Mali should immediately release all child soldiers within their ranks and end the military conscription and use of those under 18. With France carrying out aerial bombardment since January 11, 2013, to block the Islamists from advancing farther south, rebel groups should remove children immediately from training bases in or near Islamist military installations.
  • Syria: Army Using New Type of Cluster Munition
    Press release
    Jan 14, 2013

    Syrian forces are using notoriously indiscriminate rockets that contain explosive submunitions. Evidence indicates that Syrian forces used BM-21 Grad multi-barrel rocket launchers to deliver cluster munitions in attacks near the city of Idlib in December 2012 and in Latamneh, a town northwest of Hama, on January 3, 2013.

  • Discrimination, Inequality, and Poverty—A Human Rights Perspective
    Commentary
    Jan 11, 2013
    Despite recognition in the Millennium Declaration of the importance of human rights, equality, and non-discrimination for development, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) largely bypassed these key principles. The fundamental human rights guarantees of equality and non-discrimination are legally binding obligations and do not need instrumental justifications. Discrimination can both cause poverty and be a hurdle in alleviating poverty. Even in countries where there have been significant gains toward achieving the MDGs, inequalities have grown. The MDGs have supported aggregate progress—often without acknowledging the importance of investing in the most marginalized and excluded, or giving due credit to governments and institutions which do ensure that development benefits these populations. Recognition of this shortcoming in the MDGs has brought an increasing awareness of the importance of working to reverse growing economic inequalities through the post-2015 framework, and a key element of this must be actively working to dismantle discrimination.
  • Why global labor reforms are vital to protect vulnerable workers
    Commentary
    Jan 10, 2013
    Rizana Nafeek was a child herself -- 17 years old according to her birth certificate -- when a four-month-old baby died in her care in Saudi Arabia. She had migrated from Sri Lanka only weeks earlier to be a domestic worker for a Saudi family.
  • Last chance to take action on Mercury poisoning
    Commentary
    Jan 10, 2013
    Aminata D. is a self-confident, energetic 11-year-old girl who lives in southern Mali. When I meet her at the Worognan gold mine, she tells me that she never goes to school. Instead, she works in gold mining, using toxic mercury on a daily basis. She describes her work to me: "Once the ore is panned, you put a bit of mercury in. You rub the ore and the mercury with your two hands. Then, when the mercury has attracted the gold, you put it on a metal box and burn it."
  • 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.
  • Saudi Arabia: Halt Execution of Sri Lankan Migrant Worker
    Press release
    Jan 8, 2013
    On January 9, 2013, the Saudi Ministry of Interior announced the execution of Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan domestic worker convicted of killing a baby in her care in 2005 when she was 17 years old. Human Rights Watch strongly condemns the execution.
  • 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).
  • Thailand: Don’t Deport Rohingya ‘Boat People’
    Press release
    Jan 2, 2013

    The Thai government should immediately halt its plan to deport 73 ethnic Rohingya back to Burma.

  • Ending the cycle of abuse in Congo
    Commentary
    Jan 2, 2013
    On Nov. 19, armed men from a rebel group called the M23 were looking for a prominent civil society leader in a village outside Goma, a provincial capital in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. He'd been in hiding for several weeks after receiving text messages threatening him for his public denunciations of M23 abuses. When the rebels didn't find him, they shot his colleague, killing him.