The Latest News Last updated Saturday December 22, 2001 News Archive   |   Latest Reports from Human Rights Watch Contribute to HRW   |   Join the HRW Mailing List Current Events Focus on Human Rights September 11 Attacks: Crimes Against Humanity The Aftermath (December 14, 2001) Afghanistan: Human Rights Watch Key Documents (December 13, 2001) Iran: Journalist at Risk (New York, December 22, 2001) Human Rights Watch today said it was gravely concerned about the detention of Siamak Pourzand, a 73-year-old journalist who was arrested on November 29 and whose whereabouts remain unknown. Russia: Rights Defender Reported Killed in Chechnya New York, December 22, 2001) -- The reported killing of a human rights defender in Chechnya should be investigated, Human Rights Watch said today. U.S.-Kazakhstan Summit (New York, December 20, 2001) - President Bush should reaffirm respect for human rights and the rule of law as the centerpiece of U.S. relations with Kazakhstan when he meets with President Nursultan Nazarbaev on Friday, Human Rights Watch said today. Armenia: Investigation Derailed By Witnesses' Fear (New York, December 20, 2001) - Human Rights Watch today condemned the failure by Armenian authorities to level credible charges against the bodyguards of President Robert Kocharian, who were implicated in a September murder. Rwanda: Rules Can Restrict Abuses (New York, December 20, 2001) Both Rwandan government troops and adversary rebel forces of the Army for the Liberation of Rwanda (ALIR) have given civilians greater protection in the conflict in Rwanda’s northwest in 2001, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Argentina: Commitment on Prosecutions Welcomed (New York, December 19, 2001) Human Rights Watch today welcomed an Argentine government decree ensuring courts consider for prosecution all future cases involving former military and police officers. Saudi Arabia: Allies Must End Human Rights Silence (New York, December 19, 2001) -- Decades of disrespect for human rights have distorted political and civic life in Saudi Arabia and dangerously narrowed possibilities for peaceful political reform, Human Rights Watch said in a new backgrounder released today. Haiti: Political Violence Condemned (New York, December 18, 2001) -- The failure of the Haitian police to curb widespread political violence in the wake of yesterday's attack on the presidential palace raises serious concerns, Human Rights Watch said today. Nigeria: Government Inaction Costs Hundreds of Lives in Jos (New York, December 18, 2001) The Nigerian government could and should have prevented mass killings in Jos in September, Human Rights Watch said in a detailed report released today. As many as one thousand people are believed to have been killed in just six days as Jos, capital of Plateau State, was rocked by unprecedented violence between Christians and Muslims. U.S.: Use Courts-Martial Rules for Military Commissions (New York, December 18, 2001) -- In a letter released today, Human Rights Watch urged Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to draw on basic standards of U.S. military justice to address serious flaws in the President's order establishing military commissions. Egypt: Activists' Trial Travesty of Justice (New York, December 18, 2001) -- Egyptian authorities should release activist scholar Saadeddin Ibrahim and three colleagues immediately and unconditionally, Human Rights Watch said today. U.K.: New Anti-Terror Law Rolls Back Rights (New York, December 14, 2001) -- New anti-terrorism legislation adopted yesterday in the U.K. marks another step in the U.K.'s retreat from human rights and refugee protection obligations, Human Rights Watch said today. U.S.: Rights Group Denied Jail Access (Washington, December 14, 2001) -- The Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) have denied Human Rights Watch access to detention centers that hold people arrested in relation to the September 11 terrorist investigation. Turkey: Violations Block Road to the E.U. (New York, December 14, 2001) -- Human Rights Watch today cast a dim view on Turkey's progress toward accession to the European Union. In an analysis of the E.U.'s annual progress report on accession countries, Human Rights Watch said Turkey had done little more than "tinsel and varnish" its poor human rights record. Burundi: Paramilitaries Commit Killings, Rapes (New York, December 14, 2001) -- Government-sponsored paramilitary forces known as “Guardians of the Peace” have committed many killings, rapes, and other crimes over the last four years in Burundi, Human Rights Watch charged today. Israel/PA: Bus Attack Condemned (New York, December 14, 2001) -- Human Rights Watch condemned the December 12 attack by armed Palestinians on a bus near the Israeli settlement of Emmanuel, in which ten Israeli civilians were killed and twenty-nine injured, and called for those responsible to be brought to justice. Afghanistan: Situation of Foreign Fighters Must be Addressed (New York, December 14, 2001) -- The international community must find solutions for dealing with captured foreign fighters and their families in Afghanistan, Human Rights Watch said today. Argentina: Support Human Rights Trials (Buenos Aires, December 12, 2001) -- The Argentine Government must support court efforts to bring justice for the massive human rights abuses committed under military rule, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Refugee Summit: States Must Reaffirm Commitments (New York, December 11, 2001) -- The governments now meeting in Geneva to affirm their commitment to refugees have actually adopted laws and policies that undermine the letter and the spirit of the Refugee Convention, Human Rights Watch said today. Milosevic to Face Bosnian Genocide Charges (The Hague, December 11, 2001) -- Slobodan Milosevic will be confronted with charges of genocide before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague today. Genocide, crimes committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, or religious group, is the most serious offense under international law. U.S.: Waiver Needed for War Crimes Court (New York, December 10, 2001) - European Union governments should quickly express their opposition to the new American Servicemembers Protection Act (ASPA), passed by the U.S. Senate on December 7, Human Rights Watch urged in a letter to E.U. foreign ministers today. Europe Should Oppose U.S. Law on War Crimes Court (New York, December 10, 2001) - European Union governments should quickly express their opposition to the new American Servicemembers Protection Act (ASPA), passed by the U.S. Senate on December 7, Human Rights Watch urged in a letter to E.U. foreign ministers today. U.N.: Kabul Security Forces Should Be Expandable (New York, December 7, 2001) - The proposed international security force for Kabul should be expandable to meet security needs throughout the country, Human Rights Watch urged today. Mexico: Military Investigations Shield Army Abuses (Mexico City, December 5, 2001) In a new report released today, Human Rights Watch called on Mexico to end military jurisdiction over all cases involving human rights violations. Pakistan: Refugees Not Moving Voluntarily (New York, December 5, 2001) Refugees being moved to camps nearer to the Afghanistan border are not necessarily going voluntarily, as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the government of Pakistan have claimed, Human Rights Watch charged today. More than three thousand refugees have been moved so far. Israeli Schools Separate, Not Equal (Jerusalem, December 5, 2001) Israel systematically discriminates against Palestinian Arab citizens in its public school system, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. U.S.: Military Commissions Can't Compare to International Courts (New York, December 4, 2001) Judicial standards permitted by a new presidential order on military commissions would be significantly lower than those at war-crimes courts established by the United Nations, although the U.S. administration has claimed they are similar, Human Rights Watch said today. Afghanistan: Families of Foreign Fighters At Risk (New York, December 4, 2001) - Hundreds of women and children, who are relatives of foreign Taliban fighters, have been left stranded by the fighting in Afghanistan and are at grave risk, Human Rights Watch said today. Landmines: Almost Half of Korea Mines in U.S. (Washington, December 3, 2001) -- Nearly half of the antipersonnel mines retained by the United States for use in Korea are actually stored in the United States, Human Rights Watch revealed today. The need to keep these antipersonnel mines to defend South Korea is regularly cited by U.S. officials as a key reason for the U.S. not joining the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. Afghanistan: Three Afghan Commanders Should Be Prosecuted (New York, December 3, 2001) -- Human Rights Watch today urged the United States and Britain to take immediate measures to ensure that three Afghan Taliban commanders alleged to have committed international crimes be held by an outside independent authority until they can be prosecuted before an impartial tribunal. Vietnam: Rights Protections Should Be on Donors' Agenda (New York, December 3, 2001) -- Human Rights Watch today urged Vietnam's international donors to press for significant progress in human rights and rule of law when they meet in Hanoi on December 7 and 8. The annual meeting, convened by the World Bank, is attended by forty-five countries and financial institutions making up the Consultative Group on Vietnam. Afghanistan: U.S. and U.K. Should Provide Logistic Support for Detention of Captured Fighters (New York, December 1, 2001) With fighting in Kandahar intensifying , Human Rights Watch today issued an urgent appeal to all anti-Taliban forces to ensure the humane treatment of prisoners in their custody. More...