Reports

US Civil Rights Enforcement Under the Trump Administration

The 112-page report, “Remedies Abandoned: US Civil Rights Enforcement Under the Trump Administration,” documents the administration’s efforts to unravel the work of four key agencies between January 2025 and the spring of 2026: the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, which lost about 75 percent of its attorneys; the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights, which moved to lay off nearly half its staff in one day and closed 7 of its 12 regional offices; the Housing and Urban Development Department’s Fair Housing Office, which shrank dramatically; and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which reached its lowest staffing levels in over 40 years.

A man in a wheelchair holds a protest sign at a demonstration
A man holds a flower and the message "Humanity for All" in front of a line of soldiers

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  • March 28, 2013

    Abuses against Internally Displaced in Mogadishu, Somalia

    The 80-page report details serious violations, including physical attacks, restrictions on movement and access to food and shelter, and clan-based discrimination against the displaced in Mogadishu from the height of the famine in mid-2011 through 2012.

  • March 21, 2013

    Human Rights Violations in the Enforcement of Cameroon’s Anti-Homosexuality Law

    The 55-page report presents 10 case studies of arrests and prosecutions under article 347 bis of Cameroon’s penal code, which punishes “sexual relations between persons of the same sex” with up to five years in prison. The report found that most people charged with homosexuality are convicted based on little or no evidence.
  • March 7, 2013

    Child and Forced Marriage in South Sudan

    The 95-page report documents the consequences of child marriage, the near total lack of protection for victims who try to resist marriage or leave abusive marriages, and the many obstacles they face in accessing mechanisms of redress.
  • March 4, 2013

    Juvenile Offenders Awaiting Execution in Yemen

    The 30-page report found that at least 22 individuals have been sentenced to death despite evidence that they were under age 18 at the time of their alleged crimes. In the last five years, Yemen has executed at least 15 young men and women who said they were under 18 at the time of their offense.

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  • February 28, 2013

    Abuses against Religious Minorities in Indonesia

    The 107-page report documents the government’s failure to confront militant groups whose thuggish harassment and assaults on houses of worship and members of religious minorities has become increasingly aggressive. Those targeted include Ahmadiyahs, Christians, and Shia Muslims.

  • February 26, 2013

    Sexual Violence against Tamils by Sri Lankan Security Forces

    The 140-page report provides detailed accounts of 75 cases of alleged rape and sexual abuse that occurred from 2006-2012 in both official and secret detention centers throughout Sri Lanka.
  • February 20, 2013

    The Enduring Cost of a Crisis Ignored

    This 176-page report documents nearly 250 “disappearances” during the administration of former President Felipe Calderón, from December 2006 to December 2012. In 149 of those cases, Human Rights Watch found compelling evidence of enforced disappearances, involving the participation of state agents.

  • February 13, 2013

    Abusive Policing and Failures in Protection of Indigenous Women and Girls in Northern British Columbia, Canada

    The 89-page report documents both ongoing police failures to protect indigenous women and girls in the north from violence and violent behavior by police officers against women and girls. Police failures and abuses add to longstanding tensions between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and indigenous communities in the region, Human Rights Watch said.

  • February 12, 2013

    Yemen’s Failed Response to the “Friday of Dignity” Killings

    This 69-page report found that Yemen's previous government’s criminal investigation government, into the shooting of demonstrators during the so-called Friday of Dignity Massacre on March 18, 2011, was fraught with political interference and ignored evidence implicating government officials.
  • February 7, 2013

    Political Violence and the 2013 Elections in Kenya

    This 58-page report presents the dangers of violence due to government failures to carry out needed reforms. Already in 2012 and early 2013, inter-communal clashes in parts of Kenya have claimed more than 477 lives and displaced about 118,000 people. Many of these incidents have been linked to pre-election maneuvering as local politicians mobilize support.

  • February 7, 2013

    Child Sexual Abuse in India

    This 82-page report examines how current government responses are falling short, both in protecting children from sexual abuse and treating victims. Many children are effectively mistreated a second time by traumatic medical examinations and by police and other authorities who do not want to hear or believe their accounts.

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  • February 6, 2013

    Exploitation of Migrant Workers Ahead of Russia’s 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi

    This 67-page report documents exploitation of migrant workers on key Olympic sites, including the Central Olympic Stadium, the Main Olympic Village, and the Main Media Center.

  • February 4, 2013

    Abusive Impacts of Arkansas's Draconian Evictions Law

    This 44-page report tells the stories of Arkansas tenants who were dragged into criminal court for transgressions that would not be a crime in any other US state. Other tenants who did not violate the law have faced charges because prosecutors acted on specious claims by landlords.

  • January 24, 2013

    Police Mishandling of Sexual Assault Cases in the District of Columbia

    This 196-page report concludes that in many sexual assault cases, the police did not file incident reports, which are required to proceed with an investigation, or misclassified serious sexual assaults as lesser or other crimes.
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