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  • Q & A: Child Marriage and Violations of Girls' Rights
    June 14, 2013
  • Q&A: The Senate Immigration Bill
    June 3, 2013
    The proposed Senate immigration reform bill (S.744) would make significant changes to the complex array of laws that govern immigration in the US. Some of these changes would address longstanding and serious problems in the immigration system, but some aspects of the bill continue to threaten the rights of immigrants to family unity and due process.
  • Q&A: Turning Migrants into Criminals
    May 22, 2013
    Questions and answers about Human Rights Watch's report, "Turning Migrants into Criminals: The Harmful Impact of US Border Prosecutions."
  • ICC: Libya's Bids to Try Gaddafi, Sanussi
    May 13, 2013

    On February 26, 2011, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 1970 by a vote of 15-0 referring the situation in Libya to the ICC. Under the Rome Statute, the ICC's founding treaty, the Security Council may refer a situation in any country to the ICC prosecutor under its Chapter VII mandate if it determines that the situation threatens international peace and security.

  • Q&A: Raised on the Registry
    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."
  • Kenya: Q&A on Recent Developments on the International Criminal Court
    April 8, 2013

    On April 9, 2013, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta was sworn in as Kenya’s president, following a Supreme Court decision rejecting challenges to the March 2013 election. Kenyatta, along with the deputy president-elect, William Samoei Ruto, both face trial (in two separate cases) before the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of committing crimes against humanity during Kenya’s 2007-2008 post-election violence.

  • Q&A: Laurent Gbagbo and the International Criminal Court
    February 12, 2013

    Laurent Gbagbo is the former President of Côte d’Ivoire. He has been charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) with four counts of crimes against humanity: murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, other inhumane acts, and persecution. The crimes were allegedly committed by forces under his control during post-election violence in Côte d’Ivoire, between November 28, 2010 and mid-May 2011. He has been charged as being responsible for these crimes as an indirect co-perpetrator or, in the alternative, because he contributed to the commission or attempted commission of crimes “by a group of persons acting with a common purpose.” The confirmation of charges hearing against Gbagbo—the first former head of state to be in ICC custody—brings victims one step closer to learning the truth behind his role in the post-election violence.

  • Q & A for Governments on a United Nations Commission of Inquiry on North Korea
    January 21, 2013
  • Q & A for Activists on a United Nations Commission of Inquiry on North Korea
    January 21, 2013
  • Q & A on Hostilities between Israel and Hamas
    November 21, 2012
    The following questions and answers address issues relating to international humanitarian law (the laws of war) governing the current conflict between Israel and Hamas and armed groups in Gaza. Human Rights Watch has not yet been able to undertake a significant on-the-ground investigation in Gaza. The purpose here is to provide analytic guidance for those who are examining the fighting, as well as for the parties to the conflict and those with the capacity to influence them.