Reports

War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity in Burkina Faso by All Sides

The 316-page report, “‘None Can Run Away’: War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity in Burkina Faso by All Sides,” documents the devastating impact on civilians of an armed conflict that has received scant global attention. Researchers documented 57 incidents involving Burkinabè military forces and allied militias known as the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDPs), and the Islamist armed group Jama’at Nusrat al‑Islam wa al‑Muslimin (JNIM) since the current military junta seized power in September 2022. Human Rights Watch issued a question and answer document to explain the legal issues involved. 

collage of 4 photos
A man holds a flower and the message "Humanity for All" in front of a line of soldiers

Search

  • April 7, 2006

    How It Was Prepared

    The briefing paper draws on previously unpublished documents to lay out the way the extermination system was planned in the months before the genocide was launched, 12 years ago this week.
  • April 4, 2006

    Street Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo

    This 72-page report documents how security officials and other adults routinely abuse the country’s street children. In the past 10 years, armed conflict, HIV/AIDS, prohibitive education fees, and even accusations of sorcery have led to a doubling of the number of street children. With no secure access to shelter, food or other basic needs, these children live in insecurity and fear.
  • April 1, 2006

    Submission to the Committee of Eminent African Jurists

    This paper examines Senegal’s legal obligations as well as the different options for bringing Mr. Habré to justice. It notes that—whatever the outcome of the A.U. review—Senegal is under an obligation to prosecute or to extradite Hissène Habré.

  • March 31, 2006

    Will It Keep Evidence Obtained through Torture or Cruel Treatment out of Commission Trials?

    On March 24, 2006, the General Counsel of the Department of Defense issued Military Commission Instruction No. 10, “Certain Evidentiary Requirements,” in response to growing public concern that evidence acquired through torture might be admissible in military commission proceedings.
  • March 28, 2006

    A Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper (March 2006)

    Since Maoist forces ended their four-month unilateral ceasefire on January 2, 2006, fighting in Nepal’s civil war has engulfed the entire country. Nearly every one of the country’s 75 districts has been affected by the fighting between the Royal Nepali Army (RNA) and the forces of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (the “Maoists”).
  • March 15, 2006

    War Crime Prosecutions in Bosnia’s Serb Republic

    This 42-page report describes the increased momentum towards war crimes trials at the end of 2005, and the opportunity created by the transfer of cases from the new War Crimes Chamber in Sarajevo. It also documents the obstacles to sustained progress on fair and effective prosecutions, including limited prosecutorial resources and insufficient assistance by Republika Srpska police.
  • March 14, 2006

    LTTE Intimidation and Extortion in the Tamil Diaspora

    This 45-page report details how representatives of the LTTE and pro-LTTE groups use unlawful pressure among Tamil communities in the West to secure financial pledges. People were told that if they did not pay the requested sum, they would not be able to return to Sri Lanka to visit family members.
  • March 6, 2006

    Obstructing Access to Legal Abortion after Rape in Mexico

    This 92-page report details the disrespect, suspicion and apathy that pregnant rape victims encounter from public prosecutors and health workers. The report also exposes continuing and pervasive impunity for rape and other forms of sexual violence in states throughout Mexico.

  • March 1, 2006

    Human Rights Abuses Impeding Ukraine’s Fight Against HIV/AIDS

    This report documents how draconian drug laws and routine police abuse of injection drug users – the population hardest hit by HIV/AIDS in Ukraine – keep them from receiving lifesaving HIV information and services that the government has pledged to provide.

  • February 27, 2006

    Arbitrary Detention of Women and Girls for “Social Rehabilitation”

    This 40-page report documents numerous and serious human rights abuses that women and girls suffer in "social rehabilitation" facilities in Libya. These include violations of their rights to liberty, freedom of movement, personal dignity, privacy and due process. Libyan authorities are holding many women and girls in these facilities who have committed no crime, or who have completed a sentence.
  • February 27, 2006

    This document details recent violations by both the Burundian government and the rebel National Liberation Forces (Forces Nationales de Libération, or FNL), with which the government is still at war. The report calls on both the government and the international community to establish mechanisms to deliver justice for serious past crimes by government and rebel forces.