• Children's Rights
    Millions of children have no access to education, work long hours under hazardous conditions, are forced to serve as soldiers in armed conflict, or languish in institutions or detention centers where they endure inhumane conditions and assaults on their dignity. Young and immature, they are often easily exploited. In many cases, they are abused by the very individuals responsible for their care. We are working to help protect children around the world, so they can grow into adults.
  • A training center in Phnom Penh, owned and managed by a private recruitment agency for domestic workers migrating to Malaysia. Human Rights Watch research found that prospective migrant workers are typically locked inside these training centers, usually for three to six months before their departure. Trainees often do not have access to adequate health care, food, and water inside the center. Some women and girls experience verbal, psychological, and sometimes physical abuse.
    © 2011 Jyotsna Poudyal/Human Rights Watch
    Governments Should Ratify Domestic Workers Treaty
    Governments should mark June 12, 2013, the World Day against Child Labor, by strengthening legal protections for the 15.5 million child domestic workers worldwide. Governments should ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) Domestic Workers Convention, which has specific provisions for children, including on education and protection from violence.
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Children's Rights

  • Letter to Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanović
    Jun 28, 2013
    Croatia’s accession to the EU includes assuming the obligation to respect the principles of human dignity, democracy, and human rights as enshrined in the EU Treaty and further outlined in the legally binding Charter of Fundamental Rights. The government should use the formal accession as an opportunity to further strengthen the protection of human rights in several areas of concern and implement necessary measures to improve legislation and practices.
  • Croatia: No Let Up on Rights Abuses
    Jun 28, 2013
    Croatia’s European Union (EU) accession on July 1 is an opportunity for the government to show its commitment to safeguard human rights and to properly address outstanding abuses in the country, Human Rights Watch said today in an open letter to the Croatian prime minister, Zoran Milanović.
  • Tanzania's Victims of Torture
    Jun 26, 2013
    On June 26, the world commemorates the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. In Tanzania, however, such commemorations are likely to be muted. Tanzania is among a small minority of countries that have not signed or ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, a United Nations treaty.
  • Indonesia: Children Seeking Refuge Find Abuse, Neglect
    Jun 24, 2013
    Indonesia detains and neglects migrant and asylum-seeking children. Each year, hundreds are detained in sordid conditions, without access to lawyers, and sometimes beaten. Others are left to fend for themselves, without any assistance with food or shelter.
  • Way to Stem Tide of Human Misery is Help Indonesia
    Jun 24, 2013
    Arif was only 15 when he fled Afghanistan, without his parents, and paid smugglers to take him to Indonesia. There, he was detained for months in sordid, overcrowded immigration detention facilities where the guards beat him. When he got out, he felt he had no options in Indonesia, so he risked the boat journey to Australia.
  • The Lost Boys—Arif’s Story
    Jun 23, 2013
    I have interviewed many boys who, like Arif, are traveling alone. They are often their family’s last hope – their parents sell off their last piece of land or borrow money to help them flee the violence or poverty of their homelands. They are resilient and brave, undertaking these remarkable journeys alone. They also carry a heavy weight on their shoulders – they know the sacrifices their family made to send them into safety, and they are desperate to make good on their opportunities, no matter how slim.
  • Letter to the Director General of the International Olympic Committee on Discrimination of LGBT People in Russia in Relation to 2014 Winter Olympics
    Jun 20, 2013
    In this letter I would like to raise Human Rights Watch’s concerns about the homophobic draft law that is expected to pass in the Russian parliament’s upper chamber in the coming weeks. This draft law is clearly incompatible with the Olympic Charter’s promotion of “human dignity,” as well as a blatant violation of Russia’s international legal obligations to guarantee non-discrimination and respect for freedom of expression.
  • Governments Should Sign, Ratify Mercury Treaty
    Jun 20, 2013
    (New York)- Governments around the world should sign and ratify the Minamata Convention on Mercury, and take immediate steps to reduce mercury pollution, Human Rights Watch said today in letters to environment ministers around the globe. Human Rights Watch sent its letters to countries with artisanal gold mining and to all others, including donor countries, in advance of a diplomatic conference for countries to sign the international treaty, from October 7 to 11, 2013, in Japan. For the treaty to go into force, at least 50 countries must sign.
  • To Stop the Spread of HIV, Address Rights of Marginalized Groups
    Jun 19, 2013
    In 2012, Mwamini K. a sex worker in Dar es Salaam, was raped at gunpoint by a client who got angry when she asked him to use a condom. She did not report the case to the police nor seek medical assistance because she did not trust that she could get the help that she needed, she told me. (Mwamini’s name, like all others here, has been changed.) Mwamini explained that in 2011, she sought treatment for a sexually transmitted infection at Mwananyamala Hospital. The nurse refused to treat her unless she brought her sexual partner. Mwamini told the nurse that she was a sex worker and did not know who infected her. The hospital turned her away.
  • Tanzania: Police Abuse, Torture, Impede HIV Services
    Jun 18, 2013
    Tanzanians who are most at risk of HIV face widespread police abuse and often can’t get help when they are victims of crime, Human Rights Watch and the Wake Up and Step Forward Coalition (WASO) said in a report released today.
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