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US: California Marriage Ruling a Victory for Human Rights Historic Decision Confers Equal Right to Marriage to Same-Sex Couples The California Supreme Court’s ruling today striking down state law that limits marriage to opposite-sex couples is a victory for equality that should set a national and international example, Human Rights Watch said today. May 15, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version UN Security Council Resolution 1325: Recognizing Women’s Vital Roles in Achieving Peace and Security Joint Written Submission with Amnesty International USA to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight In its Resolution 1325 from October 2000, the United Nations Security Council outlined what the United Nations and its member states need to do to incorporate a gender perspective into peacekeeping operations and to promote women’s full involvement in all efforts to maintain and promote peace and security. The resolution is historic not only in that it constituted the first time the Council systematically addressed the manner in which conflict affects women and girls differently from men and boys, but also because it acknowledges the crucial link between peace, women’s participation in decision-making, and the recognition of women’s life experiences throughout the conflict cycle. May 15, 2008 Written Statement Printer friendly version Executive Summary: The Rest of Their Lives Life without Parole for Youth Offenders in the United States in 2008 In this update to Human Rights Watch’s work on eliminating the sentence of life without parole for juvenile offenders, a number of findings are presented that illustrate the troublesome nature of the sentence and how it is applied to youthful offenders. Among those findings are that the United States is alone in the world in applying this harsh sentence to juveniles, that an estimated 59 percent of youth who receive the sentence had no prior adjudications or convictions, and that there are currently nearly 2,500 offenders who are serving life without parole for crimes committed while they were a juvenile. Additionally, data reveal that there are stark racial disparities in the imposition of the sentence, with black youth serving life without parole at a per capita rate that is 10 times the rate of white youth. May 13, 2008 Background Briefing Guantanamo's Future  Counterterrorism advisor Stacy Sullivan discusses how the US government can close down the detention facilities at Guantanamo, on KALW's “Your Call” in San Francisco (Tuesday, May 13, 2008). May 13, 2008 Audio Radio Osama bin Laden's Media Director Puts on a Show at Guantanamo By Stacy Sullivan, counterterrorism advisor Published in The Huffington Post Human Rights Watch reports on the hearings for Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al-Bahlul before the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay. Bahlul, who is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and terrorism, is alleged to have been Osama bin Laden's media director and reportedly prepared the videotaped will of 9/11 ringleader Mohammed Atta. May 12, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version US: ‘Drug War’ Unjust to African Americans Two National Reports Detail Racial Disparity in Arrests and Imprisonment Ostensibly color-blind, the US “war on drugs” disproportionately targets urban minority neighborhoods, Human Rights Watch and The Sentencing Project said in two reports released today. Although whites commit more drug offenses, African Americans are arrested and imprisoned on drug charges at much higher rates, the reports find. May 5, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Targeting Blacks Drug Law Enforcement and Race in the United States
HRW Index No.: 1-56432-315-3 May 5, 2008 Report Download PDF, 445 KB, 69 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release After Guantánamo By Kenneth Roth, executive director Published in The Huffington Post The US detention facility at Guantánamo Bay has become a stain on the United States' reputation. Shutting it down will cause new problems. Rather than hold terrorism suspects in preventive detention, the United States should turn them over to its criminal justice system. May 5, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version The Guantanamo Hearings In November 2001, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Bush administration announced that it planned to try foreign terrorism suspects by special military commissions. Now, more than six years after the commissions were first announced, no case has gone to trial, and only one person -- Australian David Hicks -- has been convicted. Despite widespread concerns about the commissions raised in the United States and abroad, commission hearings are proceeding. To date, the US government has announced charges against 15 men, including six cases in which the US is seeking the death penalty. May 4, 2008 Special Focus Printer friendly version Lawless in Guantanamo Even an Air Force colonel who once prosecuted detainees here is condemning military commissions at the prison as politicized and unjust. By Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel Published in salon.com "Everyone tells me the law. But where is the law?" asked Salim Hamdan, at his latest appearance this week in front of a military commission in Guantanamo Bay, nearly two years after he was first heard by a military commission there. In this commentary, Jennifer Daskal discusses the history of Hamdan's case, the military commissions system, and this week's events in Guantanamo's courtroom. May 2, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Written Testimony to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on the Human Rights Concerns of Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs Accurate and objective sexual education is critical to advancing public health and promoting human rights. This fact is widely accepted within the international community and is supported by the provisions of fundamental human rights instruments. Indeed, the current federal policy of funding abstinence-only programs while failing to fund comprehensive sexuality education raises serious human rights concerns. Federal abstinence-only programs threaten a number of basic human rights, including the rights to health, information, and nondiscrimination. April 30, 2008 Written Statement Printer friendly version DR Congo: Suspected War Criminal Wanted International Court Unseals Arrest Warrant Against Bosco Ntaganda Congolese officials and UN peacekeepers should take swift action to enforce the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant against a rebel leader accused of forcibly conscripting child soldiers and of other abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. April 29, 2008 Press Release Also available in 
Printer friendly version UN: Tell US to End Illegal Detention Practices in Iraq US-Led Force Holds Thousands Without Due Process The United Nations Security Council should address serious concerns about the detention practices of the US-led Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF) in its debate on Iraq, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to council members. The United States invokes Security Council resolutions to justify holding thousands of Iraqis for indefinite periods, without judicial review, and under military processes that do not meet international standards. April 28, 2008 Press Release Also available in 
Printer friendly version Letter to the Security Council on MNF Detention Practices in Iraq Human Rights Watch is writing in advance of your debate on Iraq and briefing on the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) and the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF). We urge you to take this occasion to address serious concerns regarding MNF detention practices, particularly respect for the rights of persons deprived of their liberty under international human rights law. As the MNF has invoked Security Council resolutions as the basis for its detention practices, we believe the Security Council must scrutinize those practices and do its utmost to assure that they conform to internationally recognized norms. April 25, 2008 Letter Printer friendly version Colombia Trade Accord Published in The New York Times It is not yet time for Congress to ratify the United States-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. April 24, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version US Department of Homeland Security: Release Report on Maher Arar Previous Information Released on the Canadian Transferred to Syria Fails to Address Concerns about Legality of Procedures Human Rights Watch joins partner organizations in writing to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and the Office of the Inspector General regarding the case of Maher Arar, the Canadian transferred from New York to Syria where he was reportedly tortured. The letter urges the immediate and entire release of the Inspector General's report on Arar, OIG-08-18, “The Removal of a Canadian Citizen to Syria.” April 24, 2008 Letter Printer friendly version Calling the Kettle Black By Joanne Mariner, terrorism and counterterrorism director Published in FindLaw In this commentary, Joanne Mariner discusses Malaysia's Internal Security Act (ISA), a law under which more than 70 men are currently held in preventive detention. Back in the pre-"war on terror" days, the United States would occasionally criticize Malaysia's reliance on the ISA. Now, Malaysian authorities have a ready response to US criticism: Guantanamo. But detainees in both places face secret evidence, an overall lack of due process, and, as a result, arbitrary detention. April 23, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version In Support of the "Prison Abuse Remedies Act of 2007"; Hearing in the House Judiciary Subcommittee Statement submitted by David Fathi, US Program director H.R. 4109, the Prison Abuse Remedies Act of 2007, would amend various provisions of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), in particular what is known as the "physical injury requirement." In this written statement, Human Rights Watch supports the repeal of this provision, asserting that it is inconsistent with US obligations under international human rights treaties including the Convention against Torture, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. April 22, 2008 Written Statement Printer friendly version US: Confront Sudan's Defiance on Darfur Letter to Condoleezza Rice ahead of US Security Council Presidency in June We are writing you in advance of the US assumption of the UN Security Council presidency this June to call your attention to the Sudanese government’s deliberate and ongoing defiance of Security Council resolutions aimed at protecting civilians and at providing accountability in Darfur. Given the gravity and magnitude of the Darfur crisis, we hope that your office will give this very serious matter your full consideration in the weeks ahead. Come June, we look to the US government to use its full power and authority as the Security Council president to send a strong signal to Khartoum that its persistent obstructionism will no longer be tolerated. We believe that this is fully consistent with the aspirations of the administration’s Darfur policy. April 22, 2008 Letter Printer friendly version Armenia after the Election Testimony by Giorgi Gogia, Caucasus Researcher, to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (US Helsinki Commission) The way the Armenian government responds to the crisis following last month's events will test the integrity of its democratic institutions and its commitment to international human rights standards. The United States Government should set clear benchmarks for Armenia, including: investigate alleged excessive use of force by police, stop arbitrary detentions, lift extensive restrictions on freedom of assembly, and stop harassment of the press and opposition supporters. April 17, 2008 Written Statement Printer friendly version |
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