• Jan 26, 2012
    When I tell people in Athens, my hometown, that I am doing research on racist violence in Greece, I am met with disbelief. There’s no problem, they say, and even if things sometimes happen it’s a temporary blip linked to the economic crisis.
  • Jan 26, 2012
    To many friends of human rights in Europe, the Arab Spring has been the most thrilling period since the fall of the Berlin wall. Judging from their soaring rhetoric, European leaders share that enthusiasm. Europe has much to offer its friends in North Africa, the logic goes, when it comes to upholding rights for all.
  • Jan 26, 2012
    French police are using overly broad powers to conduct unwarranted and abusive identity checks on black and Arab young men and boys.
  • Jan 22, 2012
    The European Union and member governments proved unwilling to tackle human rights abuse at home during 2011, even as they proclaimed the issue’s importance in inspiring the Arab Spring, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2012.
  • Jan 18, 2012
    The European Court of Human Rights ruling on January 17, 2012, against the deportation of a Jordanian national from the United Kingdom could have serious consequences for human rights protection in Europe, said three nongovernmental organizations that intervened in the case.
  • Jan 13, 2012
    A 50-year-old man with links to the extreme right opens fire on Senegalese street vendors in Florence, killing two and seriously wounding three others. He then kills himself. An angry mob attacks a Roma camp in Turin after a teen-aged girl falsely claims she had been raped by two Roma men.
  • Jan 6, 2012
    The Hungarian government’s interference with judicial independence and media freedom violates its international obligations and puts human rights at risk.
  • Dec 9, 2011
    German law enforcement authorities need better training to effectively identify, investigate, and prosecute racist, homophobic, and other hate violence.
  • Dec 9, 2011
    Racist and other hate violence is a problem in Germany—as it is in many European Union countries— with hundreds of violent attacks recorded by authorities and civil society groups each year.
  • Oct 17, 2011
    This memorandum, submitted to the United Nations Committee Against Torture (“the Committee”) ahead of its upcoming review of Greece, highlights areas of concern Human Rights Watch hopes will inform the Committee’s consideration of the Greek government’s (“the government”) compliance with the International Convention against Torture and Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment ("the Convention").
  • Sep 28, 2011
    French authorities are carrying out mass evictions and expulsions of Eastern European Roma in France.
  • Sep 28, 2011
    Human Rights Watch respectfully submits its observations to the European Commission in the context of its analysis of compliance with EU law of laws and measures undertaken in France with respect to Roma with EU citizenship.
  • Sep 21, 2011
    Human Rights Watch welcomes the UPR report on Greece, which includes important recommendations concerning implementing the National Action Plan on Migration Management and the asylum reform by ensuring that all migrants are treated according to Greece’s human hights obligations; improving state response to racist and xenophobic violence; mitigating measures to protect its most vulnerable population, including persons with disabilities and unaccompanied migrant children.
  • Sep 21, 2011
    Frontex, the European Union’s external border enforcement agency, is exposing migrants to inhuman and degrading conditions, Human Rights Watch said in a report issued today. Migrants apprehended along Greece’s land border with Turkey are sent to overcrowded detention centers in Greece.
  • Sep 11, 2011
    Confronted with fresh evidence unearthed by Human Rights Watch that the UK security services were complicit in the rendition and possible torture of opponents of the Gaddafi regime, Prime Minister David Cameron gave a confident performance in the House of Commons. He told MPs that the “significant accusations” would be looked at “very carefully” by the existing Detainee Inquiry.
  • Sep 10, 2011
    Only those who have stood close to the devastating impact of terror will know how deep the immediate shock and fear runs. I saw the horrendous effects in Norway this July — just as Americans saw them in New York and Washington 10 years ago. Traveling the world for the United Nations and the Red Cross I witnessed the way massive ongoing terror affects society, from Iraq to Afghanistan and from Colombia to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. In the aftermath of a deadly terror attack, a shocked and confused public will always turn to its leaders for answers.
  • Aug 11, 2011
    We write in advance of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (“the Committee”) upcoming sessional review of Greece to highlight areas of concern we hope will inform your consideration of the Greek government’s (“the government”) compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (“the Convention”).
  • Jul 27, 2011

    The tragic attacks in Norway highlight growing intolerance against Muslims, Roma and migrants in Europe. Populist, anti-Muslim, anti-Roma and anti-immigrant parties have enjoyed recent electoral success across Europe. Opinion surveys and political debate manifest rising xenophobia.

  • Jul 14, 2011
    The challenges faced by the government should not be used to justify abuses on the streets – but that is the accusation facing the police
  • Jul 6, 2011
    The Athens public prosecutor’s decision to investigate allegations of excessive use of force by the police during recent public protests in Athens is a positive step.
  • Jun 24, 2011
    The European Council summit that concluded on June 24, 2011, made no significant progress in addressing serious deficiencies in EU asylum and migration policies.
  • Jun 23, 2011
    Hungary should address the human rights concerns linked to its new constitution that the Venice Commission raised in its June 20, 2011 report.
  • Jun 20, 2011
    European Union (EU) heads of state meeting in Brussels later this week should put human rights at the heart of EU migration and asylum policy.
  • Jun 16, 2011
    Italy should take concrete steps to improve its human rights record and carry out the pledges it made as a new member of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
  • Jun 15, 2011
  • Jun 14, 2011
    The European Disability Forum (EDF) and Human Rights Watch are writing to you to express our deep concern about reports of inhumane and degrading conditions at the Children’s Care Center of Lechaina (“the care center”) in Ilias Prefecture. EDF’s national member in Greece, the National Confederation of Disabled People, has intervened a number of times to the government, to the Ombudsman for the Rights of the Child, Mr. Giorgios Moschos, and in the media. Human Rights Watch raised concerns about the center during a meeting with the Secretary General of the Ministry of Health, Mr. Giorgos Katrivanos, in February 2011.
  • May 9, 2011
    NATO and its member countries should conduct a full investigation into allegations of failure to rescue a disabled boat filled with migrants fleeing Libya.
  • May 4, 2011
    A man named Mohammed posted this plea on the Migrants at Sea website three days after a rickety boat capsized on 6 April in rough seas just 39 miles from Lampedusa: "i wont to know if my brother is there with the eritreans died in the sea his name is sebah tahir nuru." The long-expected exodus by sea from war-torn Libya has begun, and with it the tragic and avoidable loss of life.
  • Apr 19, 2011
    The new Hungarian constitution approved by parliament contains provisions that could lead to discrimination. President Pál Schmitt should send the constitution back to Parliament to address these and other human rights issues.
  • Apr 15, 2011
  • Mar 21, 2011
    The Italian government is failing to take effective action to prevent and prosecute racist and xenophobic violence.
  • Feb 14, 2011
    We are writing on behalf of Human Rights Watch to share with you our serious concerns about a number of provisions in the bill to reform police custody currently under examination in the Senate Law Committee. We previously submitted a briefing paper to the National Assembly Law Committee, in November 2010, detailing these concerns.
  • Feb 11, 2011
    The United Kingdom coalition government’s proposals to reform controversial counterterrorism measures contain improvements, especially on pre-charge detention, but fall short of bringing counterterrorism law and policy in line with international human rights standards.
  • Feb 7, 2011
    French senators should remove provisions in the draft immigration law that are incompatible with human rights norms, Human Rights Watch said in an open letter to senators today. On February 8, 2011, the Senate is scheduled to resume examination of the government-sponsored immigration bill article by article. The National Assembly approved the bill in October 2010.
  • Feb 7, 2011
    We are writing to express our serious concerns about a variety of provisions in the immigration bill currently under examination in the Senate. The memorandum annexed to this letter sets out our analysis and detailed recommendations.
  • Jan 28, 2011
    Friday’s (January 21) powerful ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that Greece is not a safe country of asylum should come as no surprise to immigration ministers in the EU.
  • Jan 21, 2011
    No repressive government enjoys facing public pressure to respect human rights. These days, their favorite avoidance strategy is to state a preference for private "dialogue" and "cooperation" - an attractive option because it takes place behind closed doors. Sadly, the major Western powers have fallen for this ploy. Reluctant to ruffle feathers while eager to be seen as "doing something," they increasingly embrace the same subterfuge.
  • Jan 15, 2011
    In recent years we have all discovered that law-based, civilized societies have used torture against terrorism suspects. Still, when I went to Ukraine in June to investigate the treatment of migrants, I did not expect to find torture.
  • Jan 7, 2011
    European Union member states and the European Commission should press Hungary as it assumes the EU presidency to address its own serious human rights shortcomings, beginning with a problematic media law.
  • Dec 30, 2010
    The European Union’s ratification of the major international treaty on disability rights is a significant milestone in the global effort to promote the rights of people with disabilities.
  • Dec 21, 2010
    A growing number of European countries have passed or are contemplating restrictions on religious dress in public places. The impetus for these restrictions is the debate in Europe about the wearing of Muslim veils. The debate reflects tensions in increasingly pluralist societies struggling with integration, national identity and security.
  • Dec 16, 2010
  • Dec 16, 2010
    Migrants and asylum seekers, including children, risk abusive treatment and arbitrary detention at the hands of Ukrainian border guards and police, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Some migrants recounted how officials tortured them, including with electric shocks, after they were apprehended trying to cross into the European Union or following their deportation from Slovakia and Hungary.
  • Dec 16, 2010
    The European Court of Human Rights judgment on December 16, 2010, on Ireland’s abortion restrictions is a wake-up call to the Irish government.
  • Dec 6, 2010
    The agreement by European Union member states to remove the last legal barrier to EU accession to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an important step forward.
  • Dec 2, 2010
    I am writing to you in your capacity as chairman of the Inquiry into UK involvement with detainees in overseas counter-terrorism operations.
  • Nov 29, 2010
    We welcome this opportunity to submit for your consideration our recommendations as you undertake your examination of the bill to reform police custody. Our recommendations are grounded in international human rights law and informed by our in-depth research on France’s criminal justice approach to countering terrorism, published in our July 2008 report Preempting Justice: Counterterrorism laws and procedures in France (Annex I).
  • Oct 25, 2010
    The European Union’s commitment to international justice will be measured by its willingness to pressure Serbia in the months to come to arrest the two remaining war crimes suspects.
  • Oct 5, 2010
    Recent reports indicate that Serbia’s European Union (EU) membership application may be accelerated without addressing the question of Serbia’s cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Prior to taking such a significant step, the EU should maintain a firm and consistent approach towards Serbia in relation to its cooperation with the ICTY.
  • Sep 27, 2010
    The French parliament should reject measures in an omnibus immigration bill that appear to target Roma and weaken migrants rights.
  • Sep 20, 2010
    (Brussels) - The Greek government's failure to follow through on its promise to reform the country's broken asylum system creates an urgent need for  the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the European Commission to intervene, Human Rights Watch said today.

    A presidential decree that would introduce emergency reforms, which had already been postponed until September 1, 2010, has been pushed back again for several months following the recent government reshuffle.  Full-scale reform of the system is now unlikely before the end of 2011, at the earliest.
  • Sep 14, 2010
    The strong condemnation by the European commissioner for fundamental rights, Viviane Reding, of France’s expulsion of Roma to Romania and Bulgaria sends a powerful message against discrimination.
  • Sep 12, 2010
    The Law Commission should amend the text of the proposed immigration bill to protect all asylum seekers from the risk of being deported before their asylum claims have been fully examined, Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture-France (ACAT-France).
  • Sep 12, 2010
    Human Rights Watch will open a new office in Amsterdam on September 14, 2010, in a move to intensify its advocacy on key human rights issues both in the Netherlands and around the world.
  • Sep 10, 2010
    In a letter on September 10 to Tjeenk Willink, who is organizing and overseeing the talks to form a new Dutch government, Human Rights Watch called on the next government to give the highest possible priority to human rights in its international relations while leading by example and addressing flaws in its own asylum system and integration policy.
  • Aug 1, 2010
    Human Rights Watch welcomes the Home Office's July 2010 decision to conduct a review of six key areas of UK counterterrorism powers, and we are grateful for the invitation to provide input into the review.
  • Jul 28, 2010
    In an April letter to the government of Greece, Human Rights Watch highlighted the appalling conditions in two migrant detention facilities at the old airport outside Athens. Human Rights Watch urged the Greek government to take immediate steps to close these facilities down, and release migrants held there or transfer them to other detention facilities, after considering less restrictive alternatives to their detention. Having not received a response from the government, this open letter repeats that call and asks the Greek government to ensure that people are not subject to detention when their deportation is not feasible and to end the practice of detaining unaccompanied migrant children.
  • Jul 21, 2010
    The Dutch government should immediately halt all plans to return Somalis to war-torn Somalia.
  • Jul 4, 2010
    The new UK coalition government should repeal an abusive counterterrorism power that has led to hundreds of thousands of people being stopped and searched without reasonable suspicion of criminal wrongdoing.
  • Jun 29, 2010
    Last week, the European court of human rights ruled unanimously that there was no obligation on states to recognise same-sex marriage. At least, not yet. Because hidden within the ruling are two significant findings that make it almost certain that one day the court will rule in favour of a right to have same-sex relationships - including marriages - recognised in law. The case is also notable for a bizarre intervention by the UK government, arguing against a right - to recognition of civil partnerships - that it had itself introduced at home.
  • Jun 29, 2010
    Torture is prohibited under international law, at anytime and anywhere. No exceptions are allowed. Yet the UK, France and Germany are engaged in ongoing counterterrorism cooperation with foreign intelligence services in countries that routinely use torture.
  • Jun 14, 2010
    When I interview Afghan children who make their journey alone to Europe I'm almost always drawn into a family history that intersects with the myriad conflicts that have made life in Afghanistan so difficult and dangerous. Ten days ago, two sisters, ages 16 and 17, burst into tears and told me they didn't know where to begin when I asked them why they left their country. They were reacting to the ruthlessness of the person who helped smuggle them across borders, their separation from their mother on the way to Europe, and being dumped in the middle of the night in an unknown city.

     

  • Jun 11, 2010
    The European Union (EU) should demonstrate its commitment to justice by requiring Serbia to arrest the Bosnian Serb’s wartime military leader, Ratko Mladic, before allowing Serbia to establish closer ties with the EU.
  • Jun 11, 2010
    On Monday June 14, the Foreign Affairs Council will once again consider establishing closer ties with Serbia during discussion of the ratification status of Serbia’s Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA). Human Rights Watch urges The Netherlands to continue to play a pivotal role in ensuring that the European Union (EU) maintains a principled and consistent stance requiring full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) before accelerating Serbia’s progress towards the EU.
  • Jun 11, 2010
    On Monday, June 14, the Foreign Affairs Council will discuss the ratification status of Serbia’s Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA). Full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia should remain a necessary pre-condition for ratification, as well as the start of any membership negotiations.
  • Jun 4, 2010
    The European Union Justice and Home Affairs Council conclusions on unaccompanied migrant children focus too much on how to send them back to their countries of origin and too little on how to guarantee their safety. The conclusions were adopted on June 3, 2010.
  • May 21, 2010
    The British government's planned inquiry into the complicity of UK intelligence agencies in torture should be comprehensive, independent, and public, Human Rights Watch said today. UK Foreign Secretary William Hague announced the inquiry in comments to the BBC last night, but did not provide details regarding its scope, time-scale or composition.
  • May 18, 2010

    Those hoping for a major change of direction on human rights by the new government will have answers soon. As we discovered with Labour, the strongest measures a government takes on the protection of human rights are likely to be those it takes in its first few weeks, so what is in the first Queen's Speech is very important. Five areas may be critical.

  • May 14, 2010

    The new Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government should re-establish Britain's reputation as a champion of human rights by opening a judicial inquiry into allegations of complicity in torture and by affirming support for the Human Rights Act.

  • Apr 24, 2010
    Muslim veiling is once again at the top of the news in Europe. Bans on full-face veils being considered or already in place, whether nationwide, at the municipal level, or applied in public buildings and transportation, undermine Muslim women's autonomy and religious freedom. Arguments put forward to support these bans fall into four categories, none of which stand up to serious scrutiny.
  • Apr 21, 2010
    The Belgian Parliament should vote down a bill that would criminalize wearing the full Muslim veil in all public places in Belgium.
  • Mar 18, 2010
    The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) should immediately clarify statements in its annual human rights report that appear to give a green light to complicity by UK security agencies in the mistreatment of terrorism suspects in other countries, Human Rights Watch said today. The report states that ministers will decide whether British officials should still assist in the detention and interrogation of suspects even in cases where there is a risk of ill-treatment. This clearly leaves the door open to UK complicity in torture.
  • Mar 18, 2010
    The Canary Islands' treatment of its boat children is a disgrace. It is now almost four years since 30,000 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands, the first EU landfall for boats from West Africa. Since then Spain has repatriated most of them or transferred them to the mainland, and the number of new immigrants has fallen. However, some 500 unaccompanied children remain – children who, under Spanish and international law, are entitled to special protection from the state.
  • Mar 11, 2010
    This memorandum provides an overview of Human Rights Watch’s concerns and recommendations on France, submitted to the United Nations Committee Against Torture (“the Committee”) in advance of its upcoming review of France.
  • Mar 7, 2010
    The Irish government should implement the will of the Irish population by liberalizing the country’s restrictive abortions laws. In a survey published today by YouGov, a polling organization, more than 60 percent of those who responded said they support access to abortion in Ireland in cases of rape, incest, fatal fetal abnormalities, or danger to the pregnant woman’s life or health.
  • Mar 2, 2010
    The French government’s proposals to overhaul the criminal justice system should be revised to strengthen protections for people in police custody, especially for people accused of the most serious crimes.
  • Feb 26, 2010

    By the end of 2011 UKBA aims to conclude 90% of new asylum cases within six months of application. But it is neither reasonable nor in accordance with the UK's obligations under international refugee law to seek to achieve this target by dint of using an inherently unfair procedure. The correct test of an asylum system is that those in need of protection receive it, not the speed with which they are rejected.

  • Feb 4, 2010
    Human Rights Watch visited the Rosarno region from January 20 through 22, interviewing nine African migrants, as well local authorities, the police, and civil society representatives.
  • Feb 4, 2010
    Prosecutions of suspects in the racist attacks early this month against migrants in Rosarno, Italy are lagging but But migrants accused of participating in the unrest have already been arrested, tried, and convicted.
  • Nov 20, 2009
    A working group created by France’s National Assembly in June 2009 to study the issue of face-covering Muslim veils in the country is considering a law to prohibit the wearing of such veils in all public places. Endorsing the creation of the group, President Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that what he terms “the burqa” is not welcome on French territory. A Human Rights Watch paper submitted to the working group in November 2009 argues that a ban on full veils in public places would violate the fundamental rights to freedom from discrimination, freedom of religion and the right to autonomy and would be deeply counterproductive.
  • Nov 20, 2009
    The French Immigration Minister’s proposals to address the needs of unaccompanied migrant children held at transit zones, especially airports, falls short of bringing France into compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
  • Oct 29, 2009
    France's system of detaining and deporting unaccompanied migrant children who arrive in Paris by air puts them at serious risk.
  • Oct 12, 2009
    The European Union should press the newly elected Greek government to end the abusive detention and summary expulsions of migrants, including unaccompanied children, and to reform the country's broken asylum system.
  • Oct 12, 2009
    Human Rights Watch calls on the new government in Greece to take urgent steps to end abuses against refugees and migrants, including children.
  • Sep 28, 2009
    The return of one man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing to Libya, where he got a hero's welcome, has caused an international outcry while the return of hundreds of boat migrants to Libya, where they face certain detention and probable brutal mistreatment, causes nary a peep.
  • Sep 25, 2009
    Many of the hundreds of migrants arrested by French authorities following the destruction of their makeshift camp in Calais are at risk of being sent back to Greece.
  • Sep 23, 2009
    African immigrants who attempt the dangerous boat journey across the Mediterranean to Italy face a double dose of hardship. Since May, if their vessels are intercepted by the Italian authorities, they have been summarily returned to Libya, where migrants typically suffer widespread mistreatment.
  • Sep 21, 2009
    Italy intercepts African boat migrants and asylum seekers, fails to screen them for refugee status or other vulnerabilities, and forcibly returns them to Libya, where many are detained in inhuman and degrading conditions and abused.
  • Sep 4, 2009
    The Léger Committee, tasked with drawing the outlines of a broad reform to criminal procedure and which issued its final report on September 1, has recommended narrow adjustments to the rights of those held in police custody that neither go far enough nor apply to everyone.
  • Sep 3, 2009
  • Sep 1, 2009
    This submission highlights a number of key areas of concern regarding Italy’s compliance with its international human rights obligations. They concern counter-terrorism policies that violate the absolute prohibition on returns to risk of torture and ill-treatment; abusive interceptions of boat migrants and their summary expulsion to Libya in violation of the right to seek asylum and non-refoulement; and racism and violence against migrants and Roma.
  • Sep 1, 2009
    This submission outlines Human Rights Watch’s concerns with the laws enacted by eight German states (Länder) restricting teachers and other civil servants from wearing visible religious symbols or clothing. The preliminary findings of our ongoing research in this area indicate that these laws and policies contravene Germany’s international obligations to guarantee individuals the right to freedom of religion and equality before the law.
  • Aug 23, 2009
    An estimated 150 unaccompanied migrant children being held in a detention center on Lesvos Island were on a hunger strike for four days to protest their living conditions.
  • Aug 5, 2009
    Italy’s expulsion of a Tunisian terrorism suspect to a country where he is at real risk of torture is the latest example of how it flouts the absolute ban on such returns. Italy returned Ali Ben Sassi Toumi to Tunisia on August 2, 2009, despite repeated rulings from the European Court of Human Rights to suspend the planned expulsion until the court fully investigates the claim that he would face torture or other mistreatment upon his return.
  • Aug 5, 2009
    Human Rights Watch received reports from a credible source that, in mid-July 2009, police transferred a group of Arabic-speaking people from Chios Island to the Evros border region, where some were secretly forced to cross the border into Turkey.
  • Jul 27, 2009
    Greek authorities are arresting large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers in the country's cities and islands and moving many of them to the north, raising fears of illegal expulsions to Turkey.
  • Jul 21, 2009
    I am writing to express Human Rights Watch's profound concern at the German government's intention to endorse formally the use of diplomatic assurances in the regulations governing the Residence Act.
  • Jun 22, 2009
    The Italian Senate should reject legislative proposals that would impose criminal penalties on undocumented migrants and provide a national framework for vigilante groups.
  • Jun 14, 2009
    With the visit of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to Rome this week, Italy and Libya are celebrating their recently ratified Friendship Treaty. But this pact, which has already resulted in joint naval patrols that run roughshod over refugee and migrant rights - as Tana de Zulueta commented - is hardly cause for celebration.
  • Apr 24, 2009
    This submission sets out Human Rights Watch’s concerns with provisions in the Coroners and Justice Bill 2009 giving the Secretary of State broad scope to declare an inquest closed to public scrutiny.