The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced that it will legalize unions and collective bargaining to improve labor standards for migrant workers. The announcement of this pending legislation, expected to be in place by the end of the year, immediately followed a Human Rights Watch press release calling on the UAE government to take steps to end widespread abuses against migrant workers, including non-payment of their wages, squalid working conditions, and virtual bonded labor due to their inability to pay back loans from job recruiting agencies. In recent years, the UAE has emerged as a major business and trading hub in the Middle East, attracting substantial foreign investments from governments and corporations. The UAE's economic expansion, however, has come at the expense of those who toil to support its growing infrastructure. Despite increasing international attention and a number of major strikes by the workers themselves, the UAE has continued to turn a blind eye to the problem. While we are encouraged by the UAE's reforms, Human Rights Watch will continue to expose the plight of migrant workers in the UAE and pressure the government to implement additional reforms. Read More.
Netherlands: Persecuted Iranians Granted Asylum
Citing Human Rights Watch's work, Dutch members of parliament successfully pressured Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk not to deport lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) asylum-seekers back to Iran, where they face the threat of torture, ill-treatment, and even execution. In February 2006, Minister Verdonk declared her intention to lift a previously imposed ban on the deportation of LGBT Iranians (as well as religious converts), maintaining that they could avoid persecution by hiding their sexual orientations and religious beliefs. A letter from Human Rights Watch denouncing her position focused widespread media attention on the consequences of the policy. Strengthened opposition in parliament prompted Minister Verdonk to extend the moratorium on expulsions until a new Dutch Foreign Ministry assessment of the situation is completed. Human Rights Watch will release a report on the treatment of LGBT people in Iran in advance of this next decision. We will continue to advocate for the Dutch government to permanently overturn the discriminatory deportation policy.
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Sri Lanka: Tamil Tigers Make Canadian Terrorist List
After Human Rights Watch released a report on the extortion of members of the Tamil diaspora by the militant Sri Lankan rebel group the LTTE (also known as the Tamil Tigers), the Canadian government listed the group as a "terrorist organization," prohibiting private funding for its operations. In Canada (and elsewhere), the Tamil Tigers have used unlawful pressure to secure financial pledges from Tamil communities living abroad. The new measure by the Canadian government will discourage abusive fundraising tactics and will interrupt a significant LTTE revenue stream. Canada is home to the world's largest Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, with an estimated 250,000 people in this community. While Human Rights Watch takes no position on whether specific groups should be listed as "terrorist organizations" under national laws, we welcome government measures to stop the funding of armed groups like the Tamil Tigers. Since 2002, the Tigers have committed numerous politically motivated killings and have, for many years, recruited children as soldiers We will continue to expose the extent of LTTE control and its strangling effect on human rights, both in and outside of Sri Lanka. Read More.
China's Silence Supports Tyrants
In the International Herald Tribune, Executive Director Kenneth Roth condemns China for ignoring human rights around the world by continuing to trade with, invest in, and provide aid to abusive governments.
Torture Doesn't Work
In Prospect magazine, London Director Steve Crawshaw refutes the idea that the use of torture to obtain information from terrorist suspects may make nations safer under certain circumstances.
South Korea Must Oppose Abuses in the North
In the Korea Herald, Asia Division Director Brad Adams denounces the South Korean government's failure to publicly oppose human rights abuses in North Korea, despite taking harsh measures to prevent its own citizens from expressing pro-North Korean sentiments.
Lethal, but not Painless, Injection
In the Los Angeles Times, Jamie Fellner, U.S. Program director, exposes evidence that execution by lethal injection was developed without real scientific input and violates international human rights law that requires executions to cause the least possible pain and suffering for the condemned.
Taylor Must Answer for Atrocities
Liberia Researcher Corinne Dufka, in the New Statesman, insists that former Liberian president Charles Taylor be held responsible for crimes against humanity committed by the rebel group he supported in Sierra Leone's civil war.
