• The Paradox of Losing Life While Giving Life in Africa
    Commentary
    May 25, 2012
    Giving life is a leading cause of death of women and girls in Africa. And in the last 20 years, few African countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, have made enough progress in bringing down the number of maternal deaths.
  • Equatorial Guinea: End Harassment of Jailed Opponent, Lawyers
    Press release
    May 25, 2012
    Authorities in Equatorial Guinea should cease all harassment of a jailed political opponent and those close to him. Dr. Wenceslao Mansogo Alo, a medical doctor, human rights defender and leading member of the political opposition who was convicted and sentenced on May 7, 2012, to three years in prison following a politically motivated trial, was transferred on May 18 without explanation to a filthy, isolated cell in Bata central prison.
  • Sudan: Cluster Bomb Found in Conflict Zone
    Press release
    May 24, 2012

    The Sudanese government should investigate the discovery of a cluster bomb in Southern Kordofan, a conflict zone hit by government bombing

  • Burundi: Verdict in Activist's Killing Fails to Deliver Justice
    Press release
    May 23, 2012
    The verdict on May 22, 2012, in the trial of those accused of killing Ernest Manirumva, a Burundian anti-corruption activist, has been a missed opportunity to deliver justice, 20 Burundian and international nongovernmental organizations said today in a joint statement. The outcome was a grave disappointment to those who have campaigned for his killers to be held to account, as potentially important evidence in the case was not pursued.
  • Kenya: Refugees Describe Abuse by Police
    Press release
    May 23, 2012
    Kenyan police arbitrarily arrested, detained, and beat refugees following the discovery of explosives and an attack on a police vehicle in the Dadaab refugee camps in mid-May 2012. Senior officials visiting the camps on May 23 should ensure a full and speedy investigation leading to the identification and disciplinary measures against any officer responsible for abuse and the compensation of victims.
  • Angola: Stop Rape, Abuse of Congolese Migrants
    Press release
    May 21, 2012
    Angolan security forces frequently abuse irregular migrants during expulsions from Angola, including sexual violence and other degrading and inhuman treatment, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
  • The Ethiopian Enigma
    Commentary
    May 18, 2012
    Mariam was painfully thin. Several of her 13 children peered out from behind her with hollow eyes. "I am trying to save my children. We are not living. We are subhuman," she told me. Food aid was available in her village in Southern Ethiopia. But not for her children. Her husband belonged to the wrong political party.
  • Ethiopia: Letter to President Obama Regarding the Invitation of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to the G-8 Summit
    Letter
    May 18, 2012
    Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International write to express their concern about President Obama's invitation to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to attend a meeting on food security during the G-8 summit at Camp David on May 19.
  • Sudan: Repression Intensifies after Border Violence
    Press release
    May 17, 2012
    Sudan has stepped up harassment of journalists, censorship, and arrests of political opponents in the wake of recent fighting with South Sudan.
  • DR Congo: Bosco Ntaganda Recruits Children by Force
    Press release
    May 15, 2012
    Gen. Bosco Ntaganda, who mutinied against the Democratic Republic of Congo in early April 2012, has forcibly recruited at least 149 boys and young men into his forces since April 19. Ntaganda, a former rebel leader turned army general, is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes for previous recruitment and use of child soldiers.