• Joint Letter to UN Special Rapporteur on Health
    Letter
    May 9, 2012
    Human Rights Watch, Positive Voice, and the European AIDS Treatment Group write to the special rapporteur on two issues of urgent and serious concern in Greece: the administrative detention and compulsory medical testing of immigrants and asylum seekers based on health status and the arrest, criminal prosecution and compulsory HIV testing of sex workers.
  • A sick system abuses its refugees
    Commentary
    Mar 18, 2012

    South Africa's tourism website describes the country as the "land of good times and friendly people". Sadly, Araya Y, a pregnant Somali refugee living in Port Elizabeth, did not experience this side of the country. Instead, when she went to a government district hospital in July 2010 to give birth, she was abused by medical staff and denied care. 

  • Malaysia: ‘Sexual Diversity’ Festival Ban Needs Court Review
    Press release
    Feb 28, 2012
    The Malaysian government should not seek to block judicial review of the 2011 ban on the Seksualiti Merdeka (“Sexual Diversity”) festival. The Kuala Lumpur High Court will hear the case filed by festival organizers on March 1, 2012.
  • Memorandum of Support for New York State Bill S.323/A.1008
    Memorandum
    Feb 27, 2012
    Human Rights Watch submits this memorandum in support of S.323/A.1008, which would change the current law by explicitly prohibiting the introduction of condoms as evidence of prostitution and prostitution-related offenses in certain criminal and civil proceedings. Amendment of the existing law is essential to promoting both public health and human rights.
  • One AIDS march that should end
    Commentary
    Oct 28, 2011
    “No prejudice against HIV/AIDS patients.” That’s a banner worth walking behind. To make it real in Vietnam will require those walking in Washington to ask tough questions of U.S. global AIDS policies.
  • UN: Report Is Milestone for Reproductive Health
    Written statement
    Oct 25, 2011

    Human Rights Watch joined other human rights groups and health groups in issuing the following statement today following the release of a report about reproductive health by Anand Grover, the UN special rapporteur on the right to health. 

  • Keeping Health Systems Accountable: A Critical Component of the Every Woman, Every Child Campaign
    Commentary
    Oct 20, 2011

    Abeba M., an Ethiopian refugee living in Port Elizabeth, a small coastal town of South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province, developed severe high blood pressure during her pregnancy. She went to a district hospital for treatment of this dangerous condition, but left because “the nurses and doctors did not treat me well,” she told me. She had to return when her condition worsened, though, and was admitted. Instead of getting the help she needed, she experienced treatment delays, abuse, and negligence.

  • We Know What to Do
    Backgrounder Briefing
    Sep 13, 2011
    Implementing harm reduction practices widely in the US is not just sound public health policy, it is a human rights imperative. Yet in too many states, misguided laws and policies block harm reduction and prevent drug users from accessing sterile syringes that can save their lives. One such state is North Carolina.
  • 30 Years into the HIV Epidemic, Still Locked Up and Left Out
    Commentary
    Aug 4, 2011
    Worldwide, funding for HIV programs decreased last year, and UNAIDS estimates that there is a $6 billion annual gap between what is needed and what donors are prepared to provide. Until more funding is available, demanding more funds to address HIV in prisons risks robbing Peter to pay Paul. But there is a better approach.
  • US: Court Overrules Anti-Prostitution Gag Rule for US Groups
    Press release
    Jul 8, 2011
    The US Court of Appeals' ruling on July 6, 2011, that the government may not force US organizations that get funding for international anti-AIDS work to pledge their opposition to prostitution is an important step in the global fight against AIDS, Human Rights Watch said today.