• Mexican Army and municipal police officers conduct a joint raid in Ciudad Juárez searching street vendors for drugs and weapons, March 2009.
    © 2009 Eros Hoagland/Redux
    Mexico: Widespread Rights Abuses in ‘War on Drugs’

    Mexico’s military and police have committed widespread human rights violations in efforts to combat organized crime, virtually none of which are being adequately investigated. The 212-page report “Neither Rights Nor Security: Killings, Torture, and Disappearances in Mexico’s ‘War on Drugs,’” examines the human rights consequences of President Felipe Calderón’s approach to confronting Mexico’s powerful drug cartels.

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Americas

  • Honduras: Investigate Killing of Four Civilians
    May 17, 2012
    (Washington, DC) – Honduran and US authorities should ensure a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation of the alleged killing of four civilians and wounding of four others during a joint counternarcotics operation in the Mosquitia region of Honduras.
  • Brazil: Letter to President Rousseff on Truth Commission
    May 16, 2012

    I am writing to express our support for the establishment of a truth commission to clarify the facts surrounding human rights violations committed from 1946 to 1988 in Brazil. We are very encouraged by the leadership that you have shown in making this possible, including your recent appointment of a group of distinguished and knowledgeable individuals to serve as commissioners. We believe that it is very important now that your administration do everything possible to ensure that the truth commission has the resources and support it needs to succeed in its historic mission. 

  • Peru: Disability Rights in the Voting Booth
    May 15, 2012

    Peru should remove significant barriers preventing people with disabilities from exercising their right to vote and other civil rights. The failure to dismantle the obstacles is undermining Peru’s leadership as one of the first countries to ratify, in 2008, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

  • US: Obama Statement for LGBT Rights
    May 9, 2012
    US President Barack Obama and Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller should be commended for their statements during their election campaigns on behalf of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) people.
  • Colombia: Response to Government Regarding Transitional Justice Bill
    May 8, 2012
    I am writing in response to your May 3 letter regarding our criticisms of the proposed constitutional amendment known as the “Legal Framework for Peace.” I would like to take this opportunity to address the main points in your letter and explain, once again, why it is so crucially important that President Juan Manuel Santos and his coalition in Congress correct the bill’s fundamental flaws.
  • Uruguay: First to Ratify Domestic Workers Convention
    May 1, 2012
    Uruguay’s move to be the first country to ratify the international Domestic Workers Convention brings long overdue protections closer to reality for millions of women and girls worldwide, Human Rights Watch said today. The treaty, which extends core labor rights to an estimated 50 to 100 million domestic workers, will come into legal force when it is ratified by two countries.
  • Colombia: Correct Serious Flaws in Transitional Justice Bill
    May 1, 2012
    I am writing to express my serious concerns with the proposed constitutional amendment known as the “Legal Framework for Peace.” The apparent aim of the bill, which has passed five of eight required Congressional debates, is to facilitate peace agreements with irregular armed groups such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). However, as currently drafted, it would open the door to impunity for egregious human rights abuses by guerrillas, paramilitaries, and the military.
  • Testimony of Bill Frelick before the Canadian Parliement on Bill C31 Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act
    May 1, 2012

    Human Rights Watch has serious concerns that certain provisions of proposed Bill C-31, Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act, are harmful to refugees and asylum seekers and incompatible with international refugee and human rights law. Although the detention provisions of Bill C-31 are ostensibly proposed to deter human smugglers, Human Rights Watch believes that these provisions in fact, target refugee claimants fleeing persecution, who will suffer their consequences.

     

  • Brazil: Major Step for Military-Rule-Era Justice
    Apr 24, 2012
    The criminal case filed on April 24, 2012, against a retired army colonel and a civil police precinct chief for grave abuses committed in the 1970s in São Paulo state is an important step for accountability in Brazil.
  • Brazil: Supreme Court Abortion Ruling a Positive Step
    Apr 19, 2012

    The ruling by Brazil’s highest court on April 12, 2012, expanding exceptions from criminal penalties for abortion is a positive step toward protecting women’s human rights.

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