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

Search

  • June 18, 2012

    Abuses against the Indigenous Peoples of Ethiopia’s Lower Omo Valley

    This report documents how government security forces are forcing communities to relocate from their traditional lands through violence and intimidation, threatening their entire way of life with no compensation or choice of alternative livelihoods.

    video content
  • June 14, 2012

    Mining, Regulatory Failure, and Human Rights in India

    This 70-page report finds that deep-rooted shortcomings in the design and implementation of key policies have effectively left mine operators to supervise themselves. This has fueled pervasive lawlessness in India’s scandal-ridden mining industry and threatens serious harm to mining-affected communities.

  • June 12, 2012

    Protecting Migrant Workers in Qatar Ahead of FIFA 2022

    This report examines a recruitment and employment system that effectively traps many migrant workers in their jobs. The problems they face include exorbitant recruitment fees, which can take years to pay off, employers’ routine confiscation of worker passports, and Qatar’s restrictive sponsorship system that gives employers inordinate control over their employees.

  • May 23, 2012

    Abuses by China’s Chengguan Para-Police

    This 76-page report documents abuses by the chengguan Urban Management Law Enforcement (城管执法) forces, including assaults on suspected administrative law violators, some of which lead to serious injury or death, illegal detention, and unlawful forceful confiscation of property.

  • May 20, 2012

    Sexual Violence and other Abuses against Congolese Migrants during Expulsions from Angola

    This report describes an alarming pattern of human rights violations by members of Angolan security forces against Congolese migrants. Women and girls, who are often detained with their children, have been victims of sexual abuse including gang rape, sexual exploitation, and being forced to witness sexual abuse of other women and girls.

  • May 15, 2012

    The Vulnerability of Immigrant Farmworkers in the US to Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment

    This 95-page report describes rape, stalking, unwanted touching, exhibitionism, or vulgar and obscene language by supervisors, employers, and others in positions of power. Most farmworkers interviewed said they had experienced such treatment or knew others who had. And most said they had not reported these or other workplace abuses, fearing reprisals.

  • May 15, 2012

    Barriers to Political Participation for People with Disabilities in Peru

    This 89-page report documents the legacy of a policy, changed only in October 2011, that arbitrarily denied people with sensory, intellectual, and psychosocial disabilities their right to vote, considering them legally incompetent to exercise such a decision.

  • May 13, 2012

    Civilian Casualties in NATO’s Air Campaign in Libya

    <p>This report examines in detail eight NATO air strikes in Libya that resulted in 72 civilian deaths, including 20 women and 24 children. It is based on one or more field investigations to each of the bombing sites during and after the conflict, including interviews with witnesses and local residents.</p>

  • May 4, 2012

    Kenyan Police and Military Abuses against Ethnic Somalis

    This report provides detailed documentation of human rights abuses by the Kenya Defence Forces and the Kenyan police in apparent response to a series of grenade and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks that targeted both the security forces and civilians in North Eastern province.

  • May 2, 2012

    War Crimes in Northern Idlib during Peace Plan Negotiations

    This report documents dozens of extrajudicial executions, killings of civilians, and destruction of civilian property that qualify as war crimes, as well as arbitrary detention and torture.

  • April 9, 2012

    Summary Executions by Syrian Security Forces and Pro-Government Militias

    This 23-page report documents more than a dozen incidents involving at least 101 victims since late 2011, many of them in March 2012. Human Rights Watch documented the involvement of Syrian forces and pro-government shabeeha militias in summary and extrajudicial executions in the governorates of Idlib and Homs.
  • April 4, 2012

    Discrimination against Roma, Jews, and Other National Minorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina

    This 62-page report highlights discrimination against Roma, Jews, and other national minorities in politics and government. Much of this discrimination stems from Bosnia’s 1995 Constitution, which mandates a system of government based on ethnicity and excludes these groups from high political office.

  • March 28, 2012

    The Imprisonment of Women and Girls for “Moral Crimes” in Afghanistan

    <p>This 120-page report is based on 58 interviews conducted in three prisons and three juvenile detention facilities with women and girls accused of “moral crimes.” Almost all girls in juvenile detention in Afghanistan had been arrested for “moral crimes,” while about half of women in Afghan prisons were arrested on these charges.</p>

  • March 21, 2012

    A Progress Report on Institutional Commitments to Address Abuses of Migrant Workers on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island

    The United Arab Emirates is converting Saadiyat Island into an international tourist destination, and will house a campus of New York University and museums, including branches of the Guggenheim and the Louvre.