The 72-page report, “Start with the Youngest Children: China Uses Preschools to ‘Integrate’ Tibetans,” documents that a 2021 Ministry of Education directive—the Children’s Speech Harmonization plan—mandates the use of standard Mandarin Chinese for all preschool instruction in ethnic minority areas. While the kindergartens in theory can still offer supplementary sessions for minority children in their own language, minorities no longer have the legal authority to do so. By severely limiting Tibetan-language education in early childhood, a stage critical for language acquisition and identity formation, the Chinese government is speeding up its erasure of Tibetan language and culture.
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.
For much of the 1990's Kyrgyzstan was described as an "island of democracy" in a region with corrupt and repressive political leaders. But after the country's first decade of independence following the breakup of the Soviet Union, its government, under President Askar Akaev, appeared to tighten its grip on power at the expense of fundamental rights.
HIV/AIDS, Human Rights And Federally Funded Abstinence-Only Programs In The United States
Programs teaching teenagers to "just say no" to sex before marriage are threatening adolescent health by censoring basic information about how to prevent HIV/AIDS, Human Rights Watch charged in a new report released today.
Human Rights Watch recently returned from a research and advocacy mission to Guatemala. During the mission, Human Rights Watch representatives met with President Alfonso Portillo, government ministers, and human rights defenders, among others.
The Response of Rwandan-backed Rebels to the May 2002 Mutiny
In mid-May of 2002, soldiers and police officers in Kisangani, the third largest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), mutinied against their commanding officers and the local authorities of the Congolese Rally for Democracy, Goma faction (RCD).1 The RCD depends on the military and political support of neighboring Rwanda to exercise control over some thirty to forty percent of eastern Co
For years the government of Uzbekistan has violated the right to freedom of conscience by imprisoning and persecuting independent Muslims—Muslims whose peaceful practice of their faith falls beyond government controls.
Commentary regarding the European Commission Green Paper on a Community Return Policy on Illegal Residents
This briefing paper constitutes Human Rights Watch’s commentary on the Commission Green Paper. Drawing on research on the current treatment of migrants in several E.U. member states, the commentary identifies some of the key human rights standards that should be at the core of any Community return policy.
Human Rights Abuses Of Post-September 11 Detainees
On September 11, 2001, hijackers turned four airplanes into instruments of terror. Their horrific crime left some 3,000 dead, devastated the lives of many thousands more, destroyed the World Trade Center, and created a sense of urgency about protecting the United States from future terrorists attacks. September 11 was not just an assault, however, on lives and buildings.
Political Psychiatry in China Today and its Origins in the Mao Era
The Chinese government should immediately release anyone held in institutions for the mentally ill based on a politically motivated diagnosis, Human Rights Watch and the Geneva Initiative on Psychiatry said in this report. The government should also end the longstanding practice of using psychiatric incarceration for political ends.
The Chinese government's refusal to allow independent trade unions is fueling worker protests, Human Rights Watch said in this new report.The 50-page report, "Paying the Price: Worker Unrest in Northeast China," analyzes in detail the demonstrations that took place from March through May 2002 in three cities in northeastern China, and the government response to them.
After one year in office, President Megawati's administration has restored a degree of political stability in Indonesia. But her efforts to secure support and stability have led to a retrenchment of many of the old interests of the Soeharto regime that ruled for three decades, most notably the military.
During much of 2001, there was increased tension between Buddhist and Muslim communities in Burma, at times erupting into violence. News of the violence was quickly suppressed, however, and little detailed information about what took place reached the outside world.
A Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper on Sierra Leone
After ten years of brutal civil war, the people of Sierra Leone went to the polls on May 14 and re-elected President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah and his Sierra Leone People’s Party for a further five-year term.
Police Harassment Of HIV/AIDS Outreach Workers In India
Widespread police abuse of front-line AIDS prevention workers in India is undermining efforts to contain one of the worst epidemics in the world, Human Rights Watch said today.Several organizations in India have succeeded in empowering women in prostitution to demand condom use of their clients.
