Reports

“Die Here or Go to Poland”

Belarus’ and Poland’s Shared Responsibility for Border Abuses

The 26-page report, “‘Die Here or Go to Poland’: Belarus’ and Poland’s Shared Responsibility for Border Abuses,” documents serious abuses on both sides of the border. People trapped on the Belarus border with Poland said that they had been pushed back, sometimes violently, by Polish border guards to Belarus despite pleading for asylum. On the Belarusian side, accounts of violence, inhuman and degrading treatment and coercion by Belarusian border guards were commonplace.

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  • In the Name of Counter-Terrorism: Human Rights Abuses Worldwide

    A Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper for the 59th Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights

    This paper first surveys initiatives taken by U.N., regional, and other intergovernmental bodies in the context of the international campaign against terrorism.

  • Negotiating the News:

    Informal State Censorship of Ukrainian Television

    The Presidential Administration of Ukraine blatantly violates freedom of expression through explicit instructions on how television stations may cover the news, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today that included examples of these directives.

  • Balkans Justice Bulletin: The First Phase of the Sjeverin Trial

    On January 20, 2003, the Belgrade district court began an important war crimes trial against four Serbs accused of kidnapping, torturing, and killing seventeen Muslims from Serbia in 1992. The crime occurred in an area of Bosnia and Herzegovina controlled by Bosnian Serbs, near the border with Serbia.

  • On the Situation of Ethnic Chechens in Moscow

    The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which reviews compliance with the United Nations’ anti-discrimination convention, recently adopted its concluding observations and recommendations for Russia.

  • Iraqi Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Displaced Persons:

    This briefing paper describes the current humanitarian and security conditions faced by hundreds of thousands of Iraqi residents, refugees, and displaced persons, and examines priority concerns and potential humanitarian consequences in the event of war.

  • Into Harm’s Way:

    Forced Return of Displaced People to Chechnya

    Russia’s ongoing record of serious human rights abuse in Chechnya impugns its claim that the war there contributes to the international campaign against terrorism, Human Rights Watch said in a new report published today The

  • Belgium: Questions And Answers on the "Anti-Atrocity" Law

    The Belgian Parliament is currently considering amendments to Belgium's 1993 war-crimes legislation, known as the "anti-atrocity" or "universal jurisdiction" law. The Belgian law, which permits prosecutions in Belgium for atrocities committed abroad, has been severely curtailed by restrictive judicial decisions.

  • Hopes Betrayed

    Trafficking of Women and Girls To Post-Conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina for Forced Prostitution

    Traffickers who have forced thousands of women and girls into prostitution in Bosnia and Herzegovina are not being apprehended for their crimes.

  • Displaced and Disregarded

    Turkey's Failing Village Return Program

    The Turkish government, security forces and paramilitaries are obstructing the return of hundreds of thousands of displaced villagers to their homes in the formerly war-torn southeast.

  • Turkey: Close Scrutiny of Elections Warranted

    Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper

    Turkey's parliamentary elections scheduled for November 3 will present an important test for the country, just one month before the European Union's Copenhagen summit, at which the E.U. is expected to give Turkey a signal about its prospects for membership in the Union.

  • Hits and Misses on Turkey's E.U. Accession Targets

    Backgrounder on the European Union Regular Report on Turkey

    The European Union's (E.U.) Regular Report on Turkey, scheduled for release October 9, will provide the E.U.'s assessment of recent reforms in Turkey and an early indication of whether the E.U. intends to move forward on Turkey's membership application at its December summit.

  • A Look At President Askar Akaev's Career And Election

    Akaev won the presidency of independent Kyrgyzstan in 1991 and consolidated power through a presidential referendum in 1994. Akaev was re-elected to his second term of office in 1995. Despite a constitutional provision limiting the head of state to two terms in office, Akaev ran for president again in 2000.

  • Kyrgyzstan: Human Rights Fact Sheet

    For much of the 1990's Kyrgyzstan was described as an "island of democracy" in a region with corrupt and repressive political leaders.