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Americas Colombia: Human Rights Watch Testifies Before Senate (April 24, 2002) -- The United States plays an important role in Colombia and can contribute to the defense of human rights and international humanitarian law. We support U.S. engagement when it furthers these goals. Colombia and the United States both benefit when human rights are fully respected. They are the foundation of the rule of law. They strengthen democracy against its foes, including those who use terror to achieve their goals. Peru: Human Rights After Fujimori Since the collapse of the corrupt Fujimori government in November 2000 the human rights situation in Peru has improved significantly. During Fujimori's last term in office (1995-2000), Vladimiro Montesinos, the de facto head of the National Intelligence Service (SIN) and a close Fujimori advisor, used a combination of bribes and extortion to control state institutions such as the armed forces, the police, the tax office, the electoral authorities, and the judiciary. Questions and Answers on Human Rights in Colombia (New York, November 6, 2001) This week President Andrés Pastrana will visit the United States on a trip that includes a scheduled meeting on November 11 with President George W. Bush. His agenda will include discussions about the new war on terrorism as well as continued U.S. funding for counternarcotics efforts in Colombia. Colombia: Current Human Rights Conditions (Washington, September 10, 2001) The human rights situation in Colombia has deteriorated markedly over the past year. Underlying the worsening conditions is the Colombian government's continued failure to break ties between its security forces and the country's abusive paramilitary groups. Colombia: Human Rights Watch Testifies Before Senate Testimony of José Miguel Vivanco (July 11, 2001) Human Rights Watch believes that it is important for this Subcommittee to continue to support human rights in Colombia by including strong and workable human rights conditions in the legislation under consideration. Conditions create an effective and measurable mechanism to promote positive change for human rights in Colombia. More.. Venezuela's Implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Human Rights Watch welcomes this opportunity to submit information to the Human Rights Committee regarding Venezuela's implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We wish to draw the Committee's attention to certain deficiencies in Venezuela's application of the Covenant, based on our monitoring of human rights conditions in that country over the past several years, including through a research visit to the country in January 2001. More.. The Pastrana-Bush Summit (New York, February 2001) -- When Colombian President Andrés Pastrana meets with President George W. Bush next Tuesday [February 27], the two leaders will discuss U.S. military aid to Colombia, including the issue of Colombia's progress on improving human rights. This background briefing outlines the key human rights problems in Colombia and includes sample questions to be put to the two presidents at their joint press conference. More.. Bush-Fox Summit February 13, 2001 When George W. Bush visits President Vicente Fox in Mexico this Friday, the two leaders will discuss issues that have important implications for human rights in the region-including migration, trade and the war on drugs. This briefing outlines some of the human rights problems that should be addressed in their meeting and includes questions to be put to the two presidents at their joint press conference. More.. Aristide's Return to Power in Haiti February 2001 When Jean-Bertrand Aristide is sworn in for a second term as Haitian president on Wednesday, February 7, he will face a number of pressing challenges in the areas of human rights and democracy. The country's democratic institutions, fragile to begin with, were seriously weakened over the course of 2000. More.. Human Rights Situation in Colombia and the Implications of U.S. Security Assistance September 21, 2000 Statement of José Miguel Vivanco, Executive Director Given before the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere House Committee on International Relations Thursday, "Human Rights Watch remains convinced that the most important way that the United States can contribute to improving human rights protections in Colombia is to enforce strict conditions on all military aid." More.. Mexico: Winning the Electoral Battle, Losing the Human Rights War June 2000 As Mexicans head to the polls on July 2, they will be participating in a process as closely watched for its procedure as for its outcome. In a political system widely denounced as blatantly fraudulent only a few years ago, recent reforms have provided a much cleaner electoral environment. Law of Protection from Family Violence March 31, 2000 Domestic violence is a widespread problem in Peru, and women, overwhelmingly, are its victims. In 1998, the National Police received nearly 28,000 reports of domestic abuse. Yet with many victims reluctant to report domestic violence, the real number of women who live in violent interpersonal relationships almost certainly is much higher. For example, a 1999 survey undertaken by the National Institute of Statistics in metropolitan Lima found that no less than 82 percent of the 2,460 women who were interviewed said that they knew someone who had suffered some kind of domestic abuse within the previous twelve months. Human Rights and Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean November 1999 Prepared for the Ibero-American Summit: Havana, 15-16 November 1999 Multi-party democracies remain stable throughout most of Latin America and the Caribbean, with the notable exception of Cuba, where the government of Fidel Castro celebrated its fortieth anniversary in power with no sign of a significant political opening on the horizon. But while elected government may be a precondition for human rights to be respected, the region's dismal record shows that it is by no means sufficient. Indeed, serious human rights violations plague the region, effecting countries as diverse as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. In far too many places, massacres, extrajudicial executions, disappearances, torture, police brutality, and inhumane prison conditions endure. Human Rights and Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean (June 1999)  HRW Backgrounder prepared for the Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean: Rio de Janeiro, 28-29 June 1999. Human rights defenders are under intense and violent attack. The new administration of President Andrés Pastrana has done little to sever continuing ties between Colombia's military and the paramilitary groups responsible for most of the nation's egregious human rights violations, including numerous violent attacks on human rights defenders. Attorney General Reno In Colombia March 3-4, 1999 Human Rights Watch Backgrounder Clinton Attends the Second Summit of the Americas, April 18-19, 1998 Background Briefings: | |  | |
WORLD REPORT 2001 2000 1999 Backgrounders By Region Africa Americas Arms Asia Children’s Rights Europe and Central Asia Middle East and Northern Africa United States Women's Rights CURRENT EVENTS |