Angola: Corruption leads to decreased international funding
In a report released earlier this year, Human Rights Watch revealed that more than $4 billion dollars of Angola’s oil revenue has ‘disappeared’ due to government mismanagement. This amount is equivalent to the total amount spent by the government on all social services during the same time period. Both the Angolan Finance Ministry and the Office of the President vehemently denounced our findings, but the revelations helped convince the International Monetary Fund to cease further loans to Angola until the government adopts a more transparent revenue and expenditure system. Other bilateral donors have since followed suit. The report, “Some Transparency, No Accountability: The Use of Oil Revenue in Angola and Its Impact on Human Rights,” can be found at http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/angola0104/.

Sudan: HRW helps push U.N. resolutions against abuses in Darfur
Human Rights Watch played a central role in pressing the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution that threatens the government of Sudan with prosecution and sanctions if it does not allow the deployment of an international protective force to protect civilians in Darfur. Another resolution, adopted in July, pressured the government to permit international relief efforts to enter Darfur. Our research in the country has shown that the government is recruiting, arming and directing a militia group, known as the Janjaweed, to carry out a murderous campaign against ethnic African tribes in the region. Human Rights Watch’s work on Darfur can be found at http://hrw.org/doc?t=africa&c=sudan.

ASIA

Afghanistan: Abusive warlord removed from power
In late September, Afghan President Hamid Karzai dismissed Ismail Khan, the abusive governor of the western Afghan province of Herat. Human Rights Watch was one of the first organizations after the fall of the Taliban to expose the U.S. government's support of local warlords like Ismail Khan who have engaged in politically motivated arrests, intimidation, extortion, and torture, and impose severe restrictions on expression, association, and the rights of women. Human Rights Watch wrote two major reports in 2002 about abuses in Herat by Ismail Khan's forces. It's too early to know whether Ismail Khan will remain on the sidelines, but his removal demonstrates that sustained pressure on the government can ultimately force effective international action. A series of Human Rights Watch reports and advocacy have played a significant role in building pressure on the United States and its NATO allies in Afghanistan to help President Karzai rein in warlords. These can be found at http://hrw.org/doc?t=asia&c=afghan.

India: HIV/AIDS report encourages action
The Chief Justice of India’s National Human Rights Commission wrote to national and state government officials asking them to consider key recommendations from Human Rights Watch’s report on children affected by HIV/AIDS. The letter used language from our report, “Future Forsaken: Abuses Against Children Affected by HIV/AIDS in India.” This report criticized the government’s lack of protection for children living with HIV/AIDS and found that many doctors refuse to treat or even touch HIV-positive children; that schools expel or segregate children because they or their parents are HIV-positive; and that orphanages and other residential institutions reject HIV-positive children or deny that they house them. This report can be found at http://hrw.org/reports/2004/india0704/.

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA

Uzbekistan: Journalist released from prison
Ruslan Sharipov, an independent Uzbek journalist and human rights defender, joined his family in the United States in October after months in prison and a long legal battle against charges of homosexual conduct. Human Rights Watch played a pivotal role in his release from prison and helped him leave Uzbekistan. We continue to press the government to promote freedom of expression and to halt discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation. Read more about our work in Uzbekistan at http://hrw.org/doc?t=europe&c=uzbeki.

UNITED STATES

United States: Bill addresses housing restrictions for people with criminal records
After over a year of working with a prisoner reentry coalition in Washington, DC, Human Rights Watch’s U.S. program succeeded in pushing the Senate to include language in a bill, introduced this month, which addresses the exclusion of people with criminal records from public housing. The Enhanced Second Chance Act of 2004 incorporates the primary recommendation from our forthcoming report on housing restrictions. As a result, congressional staff are now helping to mobilize support for the provisions by scheduling meetings for Human Rights Watch with leading public housing groups and the federal department of Housing and Urban Development. More information about this report can be found at http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/25/usdom8960.htm.

United States: California permits access to clean needles for preventing spread of HIV
On Sept. 20, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation to help curb the spread of HIV by providing greater access to clean syringes. The bill will allow pharmacists to sell up to ten sterile hypodermic needles without a prescription. The legislation marks the culmination of efforts that Human Rights Watch has supported since the publication of our 2003 report on syringe access in California. Contaminated syringes account for twenty percent of HIV infections in California and nearly thirty percent nationwide. Yet many states place restrictions on sterile syringes, which provide an effective method of HIV prevention for people who inject drugs. Previously, California was one of only a handful of U.S. states to impose a total ban on sales of syringes in pharmacies without a prescription. Human Rights Watch’s work on this issue can be found at http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/usa0903/.

United States: Congress addresses plight of mentally ill offenders
Based in large part on our advocacy, the U.S. Congress recently enacted legislation to address the growing number of people with mental illnesses who are swept into the criminal justice system. In early October, Congress passed new federal legislation authorizing $50 million in federal grants to keep people with mental illness out of the criminal justice system, to improve training for police in dealing with the mentally ill, and to improve the quality of mental health treatment in jails and prisons. The Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004 now awaits signature by the president. Our report, “Ill Equipped: U.S. Prisons and Offenders with Mental Illness,” documented the staggering proportion of prisoners who have serious mental illnesses, and the mistreatment, neglect, and abuses they face in prison. The report and recommendations can be found at http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/usa1003/.