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.
This 52-page report documents war crimes committed by a militia group, the Sabaot Land Defence Force (SLDF) and by Kenyan security forces responding to the crisis in Mt. Elgon, western Kenya. The investigation found that since 2006 the SLDF has terrorized thousands, killing and torturing hundreds of people. The government deployed forces in March 2008 to quell the SLDF, and Kenyan police, paramilitary and military tortured hundreds of men detained in mass round-ups. At least 37 people remain “disappeared” after being taken into custody by the security forces.
This 60-page report documents numerous violations of human rights by the Nepali authorities, particularly the police, against Tibetans involved in peaceful demonstrations in Kathmandu, including: unnecessary and excessive use of force; arbitrary arrest; sexual assault of women during arrest; arbitrary and preventive detention; beatings in detention; unlawful threats to deport Tibetans to China; restrictions on freedom of movement in the Kathmandu Valley; harassment of Tibetan and foreign journalists; and harassment of Nepali, Tibetan, and foreign human rights defenders.
Government, Vigilante, and Naxalite Abuses in India’s Chhattisgarh State
This 182-page report documents human rights abuses against civilians, particularly indigenous tribal communities, caught in a deadly tug-of-war between government security forces and the vigilante Salwa Judum and Naxalites.
Civilian Casualties in Lebanon during the 2006 War
In this report, Human Rights Watch examines military operations by Israeli and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon during the armed conflict that lasted from July 12 until August 14, 2006. Human Rights Watch issued an earlier report on the conflict, researched and published while the war was ongoing. Because of our concerns about the conduct of that conflict by both sides and the difficulty of doing research in the midst of the fighting, Human Rights Watch conducted substantial additional research in the less difficult post-war environment.
The Landmark International Criminal Court’s First Years
This 244-page report examines the ICC’s accomplishments and shortcomings since it began operations in 2003. The court was created to bring justice to the victims of gross human rights violations; so far the court has issued arrest warrants against suspects in four countries, though none have yet been tried.
Bringing Justice for War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity, and Genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Cantonal and District Courts
This 47-page report calls for the government to investigate and prosecute those responsible for crimes committed during Nepal's armed conflict. A lack of political will and consensus, prevailing political instability, and a lack of progress in the peace process has meant the government has not delivered on its promises to prosecute these crimes, as set out in the 2006 peace agreement, Human Rights Watch and Advocacy Forum said.
This 52-page report documents the difficulties women face in accessing therapeutic abortion – those needed to save the life of the woman or avoid serious health risks – in Peru’s public health system. While no reliable statistics are available on how many women have been turned away from a legal abortion, in interviews with women, healthcare providers, rights activists and government officials, Human Rights Watch found that women in general lack accurate information about their right to a legal abortion, and public health care professionals are often unclear about the intent of laws guaranteeing women access to legal abortions.
Abuses against Asian Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia
This 133-page report concludes two years of research and is based on 142 interviews with domestic workers, senior government officials, and labor recruiters in Saudi Arabia and labor-sending countries. Saudi households employ an estimated 1.5 million domestic workers, primarily from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Nepal. Smaller numbers come from other countries in Africa and Asia. While no reliable statistics exist on the exact number of abuse cases, the Saudi Ministry of Social Affairs and the embassies of labor-sending countries shelter thousands of domestic workers with complaints against their employers or recruiters each year.
Shutting the Media out of Tibet and Other “Sensitive” Stories
This 71-page report draws on more than 60 interviews with correspondents in China between December 2007 and June 2008. It documents how foreign correspondents and their sources continue to face intimidation and obstruction by government officials or their proxies when they pursue stories that can embarrass the authorities, expose official wrongdoing, or document social unrest.
This 84-page report looks at how France uses a vaguely defined ‘terrorism association offense’ to arrest large numbers of people based on minimal evidence. Human Rights Watch documented credible allegations that terrorism suspects are subjected to oppressive questioning in police custody, linked to a policy that delays a suspect’s access to a lawyer. Many suspects go on to spend long periods in pre-trial detention. Human Rights Watch talked to two dozen people caught up in terrorism investigations and trials, and conducted interviews with counterterrorism officials and judicial authorities.
Counterinsurgency, Rights Violations, and Rampant Impunity in Ingushetia
This 120-page report documents human rights abuses committed by law enforcement and security forces involved in counterinsurgency, including dozens of summary and arbitrary detentions, acts of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial executions. The report covers action taken during 2007 and early 2008, and describes the legal and political contexts in which they have occurred.
