• 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.

  • 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.
  • 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: 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 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • UN Human Rights Council: Statement under Item 4 General Debate, addressing Guantanamo
    Oral statement
    Mar 13, 2013
  • 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.
  • Listening In
    Commentary
    Feb 21, 2013
    New revelations at Guantánamo show the walls have ears, and justice is being made a mockery.
  • 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: 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.
  • 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.