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  • Spain’s Attacks on Fighting Back
    Commentary
    May 17, 2013
    The Spanish government's violent campaign against the grassroots Platform for Mortgage Victims is a dangerous turn against freedom of speech and association. These attacks must stop.
  • Iran: Government Trampling Workers’ Rights
    Press release
    Apr 30, 2013
    The Iranian government is increasingly violating workers’ rights to peaceful assembly and association. Dozens of labor and independent trade union activists are in prison for speaking out in defense of workers.Human Rights Watch called for the government to end the crackdown and free labor rights advocates in anticipation of International Workers’ Day on May 1, as part of a joint campaign by Iranian and international rights groups to highlight the plight of workers.
  • World Bank: Commit to Rights in 2030 Vision
    Press release
    Apr 19, 2013
    The World Bank’s “vision” statement will be undermined if it fails to recognize the importance of human rights, nine organizations warned. The human rights and development groups called on President Jim Kim to make a firm commitment to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights in all of its activities.
  • World Bank: Uphold Rights to End Poverty, Economic Exclusion
    Press release
    Apr 19, 2013
    The World Bank Group should uphold human rights as it works to create a world free of poverty and economic exclusion, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the Group’s president, Dr. Jim Kim.
  • Letter to President Kim Re. a Human Rights Agenda for the World Bank
    Letter
    Apr 19, 2013
    Human Rights Watch recognizes that the World Bank operates in countries and environments where there are many human rights challenges. A commitment to human rights would greatly enhance the impact of the Bank’s efforts to reduce poverty and promote inclusive and sustainable development.
  • 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.
  • Algeria: Activists Barred from World Social Forum
    Press release
    Mar 27, 2013
    Algerian authorities illegally restricted rights to free movement when they barred 96 Algerian civil society activists from travelling to Tunisia, without giving any reason.
  • 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.
  • Cameroon: Rights Abuses in ‘Homosexuality’ Prosecutions
    Press release
    Mar 21, 2013
    Cameroon prosecutes people for consensual same-sex conduct more aggressively than almost any country in the world, four human rights organizations said in a report released today. At least 28 people have been prosecuted for same-sex conduct in Cameroon since 2010. Most cases are marked by grave human rights violations, including torture, forced confessions, denial of access to legal counsel, and discriminatory treatment by law enforcement and judicial officials.
  • World Bank: Investigate ‘Development’ Project Abuses
    Press release
    Mar 18, 2013
    The World Bank’s board should support an internal investigation into allegations of abuse linked to a World Bank project in Ethiopia. The Inspection Panel, the World Bank’s independent accountability mechanism, has recommended an investigation into whether it has violated its policies in a project linked to the Ethiopian government’s resettlement program, known as “villagization.”
  • Egypt: Amend Draft Demonstrations Law
    Press release
    Feb 25, 2013
    The government-proposed draft law in Egypt concerning public demonstrations would severely limit the right to peaceful public assembly and is open to abuse by police, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the president and the Justice Ministry.
  • Israel/Palestine: New Abuses, No Justice
    Press release
    Feb 14, 2013

    Israel engaged in discriminatory practices and other rights violations against Palestinians during 2012, while Palestinian authorities committed abuses against their own population, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2013.  

  • Iran: Consolidating Power as Elections Near
    Press release
    Jan 31, 2013
    Authorities arrested, detained, and harassed some of Iran’s most celebrated rights lawyers, and stepped up their assault on critical journalists, bloggers, and their families in 2012, HumanRightsWatchsaidtodayinitsWorld Report 2013.The government also prevented reformists and opposition leaders from participating in parliamentary elections, and is holding the opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard under house arrest as Iran prepares for its presidential election in June 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.