Reports

US Civil Rights Enforcement Under the Trump Administration

The 112-page report, “Remedies Abandoned: US Civil Rights Enforcement Under the Trump Administration,” documents the administration’s efforts to unravel the work of four key agencies between January 2025 and the spring of 2026: the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, which lost about 75 percent of its attorneys; the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights, which moved to lay off nearly half its staff in one day and closed 7 of its 12 regional offices; the Housing and Urban Development Department’s Fair Housing Office, which shrank dramatically; and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which reached its lowest staffing levels in over 40 years.

A man in a wheelchair holds a protest sign at a demonstration
A man holds a flower and the message "Humanity for All" in front of a line of soldiers

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  • March 5, 1991

    One Year after Reform is Announced, No Improvements in Civil and Political Rights

    This newsletter examines the promises of reform held out by the Ethiopian government one year ago, and assesses whether these promises have been fulfilled. Africa Watch considers that few promises were made in the way of increased respect for civil and political rights, and that the small improvements promised in freedom of association have not in fact been delivered.
  • March 1, 1991

    The report details a range of human rights violations against the academic community, defined as persons teaching, studying, researching and working at an institution of higher learning.
  • November 15, 1990

    On November 29, Egyptian voters will go to the polls to elect 444 representatives to the People's Assembly, Egypt's national legislative chamber, which passes laws and nominates the President of the Republic every six years.
  • November 1, 1990

    Labor Rights and Freedom of Expression in South Korea

    Despite the South Korean government’s June 1987 promise of reforms, there is a wide disparity between the rhetoric of democracy achieved and the reality of the retreat from reform. The government of President Roh Tae-Woo has failed to deliver on promises of reform in two key areas: worker rights and freedom of expression.

  • October 1, 1990

    Malawi is a land where silence rules. Censorship is pervasive: Orwell, Hemingway, Graham Greene, and Wole Soyinka are among hundreds of authors who have been banned. Dozens of Malawians suspected of critical views are detained without charge or have been unfairly tried.
  • September 1, 1990

    In the 24 years since independence, massive, systematic electoral fraud has denied the Guyanese people their right to freely elect their government.
  • August 1, 1990

    Policies that Contribute to the Killings (A Middle East Watch Report)

    This report examines three aspects of Israeli policy that have contributed to the frequency of unlawful killlings of Palestinians during the intifada. These are the open-fire regulations issued to Israeli troops operating in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip that are more permissive than what the internationally recognized standards of necessity and proportionality allow; the inadequate procedures followed by the Israel Defense Force (IDF) to investigate and punish troop misconduct against Palestinians; and the restrictions imposed by the IDF on independent bodies attempting to monitor its conduct in the occupied territories. 

  • July 2, 1989

    As Cuba approaches the 36th anniversary of its revolution, it is engaged in an extended crackdown on independent peaceful activity and its human rights practices continue to be subject to the whim of the executive. Among the targets of this crackdown are newly-emerged human rights groups, whose establishment in recent years had given the appearance of greater openness in Cuba.
  • October 1, 1988

    A Supplement to the Asia Watch Report on Legal Process and Human Rights

    In this report, Asia Watch calls upon the South Korean government to strengthen its commitment to human rights.

  • October 11, 1984

    The Haitian Reality

    The Committee to Protect Journalists and the the Americas Watch mission to Haiti from August 12-15,1984 to investigate a recent crackdown on the press.
  • January 1, 1983

    A Fund for Free Expression Report by Meron Benvenisti

    In its pre-publication review of Palestinian newspapers and magazines, Israel’s military censor blocks the publication not only of supposed national security secrets or material likely to incite violence. Rather, the censor’s primary concern, as shown through a study of banned materials, is to eradicate expression that could foster Palestinian nationalist feelings; suggests Palestinians are a nation with a national heritage; denies Israel’s legitimacy; or imputes behavior to Israeli officials that suggests illegitimacy. Palestinian editors must submit for review all material meant for publication, including photos, advertisements, and crossword puzzles. The censor’s list of banned books included some 1,600 titles, at the time this report was prepared.