| | |
|
| |
|
|
Documents on Refugees, Internally Displaced Persons and Asylum Seekers in Letter to Minister of Justice Tarso Genro I am writing to express our concern regarding the recent repatriation of Guillermo Rigondeaux and Erislandy Lara from Brazil back to their native Cuba. We are very concerned that Brazil did not take sufficient steps to ensure that Rigondeaux and Lara were afforded the legal protections they may have been entitled to as potential refugees. We urge you to investigate whether their rights were adequately protected while they were in Brazil, and to take steps to help ensure that their rights are not violated now that they are back in Cuba. August 10, 2007 Letter Also available in 
Printer friendly version Cases Involving Diplomatic Assurances against Torture Developments since May 2005 This briefing paper shows how EU states have relied upon empty promises of humane treatment, known as “diplomatic assurances,” in efforts to justify the return of terrorism suspects to countries where they risk being tortured. In the report adopted today, the European Parliament’s Temporary Committee on illegal CIA activity in Europe focuses on CIA flights and US-sponsored transfers of terrorism suspects. It also calls on EU member states to oppose the use of “diplomatic assurances” on torture in returning terrorism suspects. Europe pioneered the use of these “no torture” promises in the 1990s, well before the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. January 23, 2007 Background Briefing Also available in 
International Organization for Migration (IOM): Establish Policies to Ensure Adequate Account of the Rights of Migrants Statement to the IOM and its Member States at the 2005 Governing Council Meeting (90th Session) Human Rights Watch urges the Governing Council to take a much more active and critical role in evaluating IOM activities in countries where the asylum system and/or immigration policy and practice routinely deny the right to seek asylum and violate refugees’ and migrants’ rights. IOM cannot be guided disproportionately by the dictates of individual Member States that are willing to fund projects that promote their particular state interests, but which do not necessarily take fully into account the rights of migrant and refugee populations. November 29, 2005 Press Release Printer friendly version Colombia: Millions Displaced by Conflict Denied Basic Rights The Colombian government has failed to protect the basic human rights of millions displaced by the country’s armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Displaced families are often denied access to education, emergency healthcare and humanitarian aid. October 14, 2005 Press Release Also available in 
Printer friendly version Colombia: Displaced and Discarded The Plight of Internally Displaced Persons in Bogotá and Cartagena The families interviewed for this 60-page report described fleeing their homes after receiving threats, being subjected to torture, or seeing relatives or neighbors killed. When they flee their communities and seek shelter elsewhere, they may wait weeks or even months for emergency aid, are often denied medical care, and may be unable to enroll their children in schools. HRW Index No.: B1704 October 14, 2005 Report Also available in
Download PDF, 573 KB, 62 pgs Purchase online 'Diplomatic Assurances' Allowing Torture Growing Trend Defies International Law Governments in Europe and North America are increasingly sending suspects to abusive states on the basis of flimsy “diplomatic assurances” that expose the detainees to serious risk of torture and ill-treatment, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. April 15, 2005 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version Still at Risk Diplomatic Assurances No Safeguard Against Torture This 91-page report documents the growing practice among Western governments—including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands—of seeking assurances of humane treatment in order to transfer terrorism suspects to states with well-established records of torture. The report details a dozen cases involving actual or attempted transfers to countries where torture is commonplace. HRW Index No.: D1703 April 15, 2005 Report Download PDF, 563 KB, 94 pgs Purchase online Haiti: U.S. Return of Asylum Seekers Is Illegal Fleeing Haitians Must Be Given at Least Temporary Protection The U.S. government’s return of hundreds of fleeing Haitians to the capital Port-au-Prince violates their right not to be sent back to a place where their lives or freedom are endangered, Human Rights Watch said today. March 1, 2004 Press Release Printer friendly version U.S. should grant special status to undocumented Colombians Letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft should refrain from deporting undocumented Colombians and grant them Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Human Rights Watch said in a letter released today. December 23, 2002 Letter "Illegal People" Haitians And Dominico-Haitians In The Dominican Republic Over the past decade, the Dominican government has deported hundreds of thousands of Haitians to Haiti, as well as an unknown number of Dominicans of Haitian descent. On several occasions, most recently in November 1999, the Dominican authorities have conducted mass expulsions of Haitians and Dominico-Haitians, rounding up thousands of people in a period of weeks or months and forcibly expelling them from the country. HRW Index No.: B1401 April 4, 2002 Report Also available in
Download PDF Purchase online "Illegal People" Haitians and Dominico-Haitians in the Dominican Republic Over the past decade, the Dominican government has deported hundreds of thousands of Haitians to Haiti, as well as an unknown number of Dominicans of Haitian descent. On several occasions, most recently in November 1999, the Dominican authorities have conducted mass expulsions of Haitians and Dominico-Haitians, rounding up thousands of people in a period of weeks or months and forcibly expelling them from the country. Snatched off the street, dragged from their homes, or picked up from their workplaces, “Haitian-looking” people are rarely given a fair opportunity to challe nge their expulsion during these wholesale sweeps. The arbitrary nature of such actions, which myriad international human rights bodies have condemned, is glaringly obvious.The country’s daily flow of deportations follows a similar pattern. Suspected Haitians are targeted for deportation based on the color of their skin, and are given little opportunity to prove their legal status or their claim to citizenship. As a rule, people facing deportation from the Dominican Republic have no chance to contact their families, to collect their belongings, or to prepare for departure in any way. They are frequently dropped off at the Haitian border within a matter of hours after their initial detention, sometimes with nothing more than the clothes on their back.The summary procedures in use during these deportations fall far short of the due process requirements of international law, specifically those outlined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the American Convention on Human Rights. The race-based selection of deportees violates international prohibitions on racial discrimination. April 1, 2002 Report Download PDF, 139 KB, 32 pgs Purchase online Printer friendly version Colombia: Rupture in Peace Negotiations Endangers Civilians Urgent Protection Measures Required Colombian authorities should take immediate steps to protect the civilian population in the area of southern Colombia ceded to rebels for peace talks, Human Rights Watch said today. January 10, 2002 Press Release Printer friendly version CRISIS IN COLOMBIA THE INTERNALLY DISPLACED Living in a shanty town perched on the side of a hill in San Vicente del Caguan, M.R., age fifty-three, is one of Colombia's many forcibly displaced persons. August 1, 2001 Graphic Bush-Fox Summit Human Rights Watch Backgrounder on US-Mexico Ties When George W. Bush visits President Vicente Fox in Mexico this Friday, the two leaders will discuss issues that have important implications for human rights in the region-including migration, trade and the war on drugs. This briefing outlines some of the human rights problems that should be addressed in their meeting and includes questions to be put to the two presidents at their joint press conference. February 12, 2001 Background Briefing 50 Years On: What Future for Refugee Protection? How countries treat those who have been forced to flee persecution and human rights abuse elsewhere is a litmus test of their commitment to defending human rights and upholding humanitarian values. Yet, fifty years after its inception, the states that first established a formal refugee protection system are abandoning this principle, and the future of the international refugee regime is under serious threat. December 12, 2000 Background Briefing Printer friendly version Letter to Attorney General Janet Reno and Secretary Madeleine Albright Re: Emmanuel Our organizations are writing to request that the United States government execute the outstanding final deportation order obtained by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) against Emmanuel "Toto" Constant in December 1995. Constant is wanted by Haitian prosecutors for serious human rights crimes in Haiti. December 1, 2000 Letter Printer friendly version Mexico's Expulsion of Cuban Condemned Human Rights Watch strongly condemned the Mexican government's expulsion on October 4 of a Cuban who had sought political asylum in Mexico. The man, Pedro Riera Escalante, may well be detained, summarily tried, and face severe punishment in Cuba--including the possible application of the death penalty--the group said. Under such conditions, his return to the island violated the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, which Mexico ratified just this year. October 6, 2000 Press Release Printer friendly version Peru: Montesinos Asylum Claim Panama Should Prosecute Former Peruvian Spymaster for Torture Human Rights Watch wrote to Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso, urging her to deny political asylum to Vladimiro Montesinos, the former Peruvian spy chief. September 26, 2000 Press Release Printer friendly version Colombian Refugees in Venezuela Intimidated to Return Paramilitary Offensive Endangers Lives Authorities in Venezuela and Colombia recently intimidated refugees into returning to areas where they may face death. June 28, 1999 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version War Without Quarter Colombia and International Humanitarian Law Violations of international humanitarian law -- the laws of war -- are not abstract concepts in Colombia, but the grim material of everyday life. War bursts into the daily activities of a farm, a village, a public bus, or a school with the speed of armed fighters arriving down a path or in four-wheel drive vehicles. Sometimes, armed men carefully choose their victims from lists. Other times, they simply kill those nearby, to spread fear. Indeed, a willingness to commit atrocities is among the most striking features of Colombia's war. The inauguration of a new president and the growth of a broad-based civic movement that has called for a just and fair peace have given Colombians new hope for an end to political violence. Some communities thrust into the conflict have attempted to negotiate local accords with combatants as a way of protecting their civilian populations. Nevertheless, none of the parties to the conflict have fully respected these decisions. Indeed, negotiations have been doomed in large part by the failure to address fundamental issues, including impunity for violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. HRW Index No.: 187-7 October 1, 1998 Report Purchase online |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Contribute to Human Rights Watch
Home | About Us | News Releases | Publications | About HRW | Info by Country | Global Issues | Campaigns | Free Mailing Lists | Community | Store | Film Festival | Search | Site Map | Contact Us | Press Contacts | Privacy Policy © Copyright 2006, Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA |
