January 2005
Iran: Scrutiny of Detainee Treatment "making a difference"
In recent months, Human Rights Watch has
reported on a fresh crackdown by the government of Iran on
journalists and internet writers, including high-profile "bloggers." We documented an extensive
pattern of arrests, torture, detention, and forced confessions. As a result of our close scrutiny,
a member of the Civil Society Organizations Training and Research Center based in Tehran told us that
the torture and mistreatment of detainees
has significantly eased. This month, we reported that the Iranian government
had ordered the arrest of
Shirin Abadi, the Nobel Peace Prize winning lawyer and founder of the Center
for Defense of Human Rights.
See more on Iran.
Burundi/Congo: HRW Report Praised by Congo Minister for Aiding Peace
In rare praise from government officials in Africa, the human rights minister from the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) commended Human Rights Watch's September report on the
August 2004 slaughter of more than 150 civilians (including many Congolese) at Gatumba refugee
camp in Burundi. The report called on the United Nations and the Burundian government to protect
civilians and bring those responsible for these crimes to justice. The minister praised our report's
neutral stance, saying that it "saved the peace process in the DRC," and that it "had a huge impact
in decreasing tensions amongst government ministers."
Endangered Congolese lawyer, HRW honoree, Granted Asylum
After more than a year in exile, Maître Honoré Musoko, who spotlighted civilian massacres and torture committed by armed rebel groups in the Ituri province of northeastern Congo, has been granted temporary asylum in the Netherlands. Mr. Musoko fled the DRC in 2003 when the armed groups he was exposing threatened him. Human Rights Watch supported Mr. Musoko's claim for asylum and granted him our highest honor in 2004 for his work as a lawyer and director of Justice Plus, one of the few human rights organizations still active in Ituri. Human Rights Watch played a key role in providing the necessary legal defense to support his asylum claim. Learn about our work in Congo.
South Africa: Advocacy Opens Door to Treatment for HIV+ Children
Human Rights Watch's March 2004 HIV/AIDS report, Deadly Delay, highlighted laws in South Africa preventing children's access to life-saving medicine and antiretroviral treatment. We testified to the South African parliament that laws requiring parental or legal guardian consent for treatment were ineffective because children are frequently orphaned, abandoned or otherwise without parental care. This month, the government expanded the definition of a caregiver or institutional representative, thereby allowing children to receive enhanced medical treatment and antiretroviral drugs. Read about this issue.
China: HRW Invited to Speak Publicly on AIDS at Conference
In a first for an international human rights group, Human Rights Watch was invited to Shanghai in December to participate in a conference on AIDS, law and human rights, organized by the Shanghai University School of Law and Aizhixing Health Education Institute. The conference featured some 50 AIDS activists, senior academics, reporters from official Chinese media, and four international experts, including a Human Rights Watch researcher. HIV/AIDS has been a sensitive topic in China, with officials often downplaying the size of the epidemic. See our work on AIDS in China.
Chilean "insult laws" Removed from Criminal Code
On January 13, the Chilean Senate approved a law removing the crime of desacato, or insult, from the criminal code. The decision followed numerous Human Rights Watch reports calling for reform of these laws, which violate freedom of expression by punishing vocal criticism of the government. Chile joins Argentina, Peru, and Costa Rica as setting an example in repealing such laws. While Human Rights Watch applauds this move toward freedom of expression in Chile, we have reservations about the bill's implementation and will continue to press for the removal of desacato from military law. See our work on Chile.
IN THE NEWS:
World Report 2005
In January, at press conferences in Washington DC and New York, Human Rights Watch released our 15th annual 2005 World Report, which argued that global systems for protecting human rights have been significantly weakened by the crisis in Darfur and by U.S. torture policy at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and elsewhere. The report also details human rights abuses in more than 60 countries around the world.
Justice for Abu Ghraib
Reed Brody writes in the International Herald Tribune about how the conviction of Specialist Charles Graner for atrocities committed at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq is a first step toward accountability, but it is not the end of the process.
Beyond Ukraine, A Grim Picture
In the International Herald Tribune, Rachel Denber argues that, despite the victory for civil society in Ukraine, the prospect for basic freedoms is grim in much of the former Soviet Union.
No Justice For Sudan
In an article for London's The Guardian, Leslie Lefkow writes about how the signing of the Naivasha Protocols to end 20 years of war in southern Sudan will not bring the guilty to account for war crimes.
Canada's Tamils Must Rethink LTTE Support
Jo Becker in the Toronto Star urges Tamils who live in the safety of Canada to rethink the support they give to Tamil rebel groups that abduct children and force them into military service.
