• President Hugo Chávez waves to supporters on the day he registered for re-election in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 11, 2012.
    © 2012 Meridith Kohut/The New York Times/Redux
    Venezuela: Concentration and Abuse of Power Under Chávez

    The concentration of power under President Hugo Chávez has taken a heavy toll on human rights in Venezuela.

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Americas

  • Canada: Investigate Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women
    Dec 17, 2012
    Canada’s federal government should establish a national commission of inquiry into the country’s hundreds of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. This recommendation follows today’s release by the British Columbian government of the final report from the provincial Missing Women’s Commission of Inquiry.
  • Brazil: Rousseff Should Condemn Russian Crackdown
    Dec 12, 2012
    President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil should express concern about the crackdown on civil society in Russia when she meets with President Vladimir V. Putin.
  • Mexico: Letter to President Peña Nieto
    Dec 11, 2012

    On behalf of Human Rights Watch, I wish to congratulate you on your inauguration as president. You have assumed leadership of a country whose recent human rights record is appalling. Addressing the abuses committed during the tenure of your predecessor and preventing them in the future will require immediate attention at the highest levels of your administration. I write to urge you to rapidly set out a concrete, detailed plan to address these serious problems.

  • The disabled often are denied information about sex and HIV
    Dec 1, 2012
    Over a billion people — 15 percent of the world’s population — live with a disability. These numbers should confer power and authority in decision making about all aspects of their lives, including to HIV and AIDS. Yet people with disabilities have been largely ignored in the global response to HIV.
  • Brazil: States Should Act on Killings by Police
    Nov 29, 2012
    A resolution by Brazil’s Human Rights Defense Council outlines crucial steps needed to reduce unlawful killings by police, Human Rights Watch said today. The resolution calls on law enforcement officials at the state level to ensure that all killings by their police forces are properly investigated.
  • A year of progress in eliminating violence against women
    Nov 24, 2012
    On November 25 every year, a grim accounting takes place: the world takes stock of violence against women, the toll it takes, and progress toward eliminating it. The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women has been commemorated on November 25 for more than three decades. It’s a day each year when my colleagues and I focus on the courageous women we have met, the injustices they’ve suffered, and the hope they inspire.
  • Colombia: Obstacles to Care for Abused, Displaced Women
    Nov 14, 2012
    Colombia’s laws on violence against women are not adequately protecting victims displaced by the armed conflict. Approximately two million internally displaced women and girls face high rates of rape and domestic violence. Daunting obstacles impede displaced victims’ access to healthcare, justice, and protection services.
  • Letter to President Chavez on Venezuela's Candidacy to the UN Human Rights Council
    Nov 9, 2012
  • Two steps forward, one step back
    Nov 8, 2012
    Two resolutions adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council during the past 16 months represent potential advances and setbacks for the global lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights movement. One is concerned with defending sexual orientation and gender identity; the other with protecting traditional values. Together they represent divergent views on the universality and indivisibility of human rights.
  • Mexico: Letter to Nuevo León Congress on Criminalizing Enforced Disappearances
    Oct 26, 2012

    On behalf of Human Rights Watch, I am writing to offer recommendations regarding the potential reform of Nuevo León’s criminal code to include the crime of enforced disappearance. We understand that the newly inaugurated state congress intends to undertake this reform before the end of the year, and we support efforts to address this serious problem.

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