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.
The Death Penalty and Offenders with Mental Retardation
Twenty-five U.S. states still permit the execution of offenders with mental retardation and should pass laws to ban the practice without delay. The United States appears to be the only democracy whose laws expressly permit the execution of persons with this severe mental disability.
This fifty-page report documents how Ugandan authorities meddled in rivalries among factions of the rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD). Some of these quarrels degenerated into military skirmishes in which civilians have been killed and injured.
Sexual Violence Against Girls in South African Schools
In schools across South Africa, thousands of girls of every race and economic group are encountering sexual violence and harassment that impede their access to education, Human Rights Watch charged in a report released today.
Forced Disappearances, Torture and Summary Executions
European Union governments must press the issue of the "disappeared" in Chechnya when Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Stockholm this week, Human Rights Watch urged in releasing a new report on Chechnya today.
Chile's record on freedom of expression has improved little since the end of military rule, Human Rights Watch charged in this report. Although the country has made great progress in prosecuting the abuses of the Pinochet dictatorship, the same repressive defamation laws that the military regime regularly employed against its critics are still in use.
On April 3, 2000, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Angolan government announced the beginning of a Staff Monitored Program (SMP). This program is an ambitious agreement to implement a wide range of economic and institutional reforms in Angola that could lead to further lending and cooperation with the IMF and World Bank, but it is unclear whether the government will be able to comply with its requirements.
The violence in Sampit, Central Kalimantan, started on the night of February 17-18 when a Dayak house was burned down. Rumor spread that an ethnic Madurese was responsible, and immediately, a band of Dayaks went into a Madurese neighborhood and began burning houses.
On March 27, 2000, Kheda Kungaeva, an eighteen-year-old woman, was taken from her home in Chechnya, beaten, raped, and murdered. On February 28, 2001, the Rostov District Military Court will try Col. Yuri Budanov for Kungaeva's murder.
When Colombian President Andrés Pastrana meets with President George W. Bush next Tuesday (February 27), the two leaders will discuss U.S. military aid to Colombia, including the issue of Colombia's progress on improving human rights.
Russian authorities have concealed and obstructed the prosecution of Russian forces for violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in the Chechnya conflict.
When George W. Bush visits President Vicente Fox in Mexico this Friday, the two leaders will discuss issues that have important implications for human rights in the region-including migration, trade and the war on drugs.
On February 14-15, Bahraini citizens will cast "yes" or "no" votes for a National Charter drafted late last year on the instructions of the country's ruler, or amir (prince), Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
This report documents two massacres committed by Taliban forces in the central highlands of Afghanistan, in January 2001and May 2000. In both cases the victims were primarily Hazaras, a Shia Muslim ethnic group that has been the target of previous massacres and other serious human rights violations by Taliban forces.
If Yemeni voters cast a "yes" vote in the constitutional referendum on February 20, Field Marshall Ali Abdallah Saleh's term as president will be extended for two years and enable him to be re-elected in 2006 for another seven years.
Government Violations in the Lead-Up to the Election in Uganda
There are serious human rights concerns in the lead-up to Uganda's March 12, 2001 presidential elections that shed doubt on whether the election will be free and fair. Not only is President Yoweri Museveni relying on a biased legal framework, but he is also using the state machinery to obstruct a transparent and fair electoral process.
