Reports

Killings, Sexual Violence, and Abductions by the M23 and Rwandan Forces in Uvira, Democratic Republic of Congo

The 23-page report,“‘We Are Civilians!’: Killings, Sexual Violence, and Abductions by the M23 and Rwandan Forces in Uvira, Democratic Republic of Congo,” documents the M23 and Rwandan forces’ occupation of Uvira, the second largest city in South Kivu province from December 10, 2025, days after the signing of the United States-brokered Washington Accords, until their withdrawal on January 17, 2026. During this time, these forces shot fleeing civilians, summarily executed more than 50 people during door-to-door searches, raped at least 8 women, and forcibly disappeared at least 12 people.

A car of armed soldiers patrols a street
A man holds a flower and the message "Humanity for All" in front of a line of soldiers

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  • July 18, 2002

    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.

  • July 11, 2002

    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.
  • July 9, 2002

    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.
  • July 5, 2002

    The Arbitrary Application of Spanish Immigration Law

    The Human Rights Watch report, "Discretion Without Bounds: The Arbitrary Implementation of Spanish Immigration Law," criticizes the Spanish authorities' uncoordinated and ad hoc application of Spanish Law 8/2000.
  • July 3, 2002

    In the next few weeks, the Bulgarian parliament is due to enact important changes to the country's arms trade law. The legislation would amend the Law on the Control of Foreign Trade Activity in Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies, which was adopted in 1995.
  • July 3, 2002

    Former President Jimmy Carter will travel to Venezuela on July 6, 2002, to mediate talks between the government and the country's political opposition. President Carter has an invaluable opportunity to help overcome the political impasse that has existed since the failed coup of April 12, 2002.
  • July 1, 2002

    Police Harassment of HIV/AIDS Outreach Workers in India

    Women in prostitution in India are treated with disdain and commonly subjected to violations of their fundamental rights by the police, both at the time of their arrest and while in detention. Peer educators providing HIV/AIDS outreach to these women frequently suffer many of the same abuses.
  • July 1, 2002

    Human Rights Watch Backgrounder, July 1, 2002

    Women's rights activists throughout the world - of every political stripe, faith, sexual orientation, nationality, and ethnicity - mobilized at each step of the International Criminal Court (ICC) process. They have worked to create an independent court to afford women greater protection from violations of human rights and humanitarian law.
  • July 1, 2002

    The Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are preparing for negotiations aimed at resolving more than two decades of conflict over political control of the island's Tamil-dominated north and east. Talks are to be held in Thailand, possibly as early as July.
  • June 22, 2002

    Children of Incarcerated Drug Offenders in New York

    Excessively severe drug laws have deprived thousands of children of their parents, Human Rights Watch said today.

  • June 20, 2002

    Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls in Eastern Congo

    Forces on all sides in the Congo conflict have committed war crimes against women and girls, Human Rights Watch said in a new 114-page report.
  • June 15, 2002

    Eight months after the collapse of the Taliban, northern Afghanistan remains on a dangerous precipice. Factional rivalries periodically erupt into open hostilities, jeopardizing civilian security, aid delivery, and the resettlement of displaced communities.
  • June 11, 2002

    In investigations in Egypt, Ecuador, India, and the United States, Human Rights Watch has found that the children working in agriculture are endangered and exploited on a daily basis. Human Rights Watch found that despite the vast differences among these four countries, many of the risks and abuses faced by child agricultural workers were strikingly similar.