Reports

“I Thought I’d Never See My Mom Again”

Recruitment and Use of Children by Colombian Armed Groups

The 102-page report, “‘I Thought I’d Never See My Mom Again’: Recruitment and Use of Children by Colombian Armed Groups,” examines the dynamics of child recruitment, the factors that place children at risk, and the strategies and tools used by armed groups, including through social media platforms, to recruit them. Researchers also analyzed the government’s response and its shortcomings in preventing child recruitment, protecting and rescuing children, assisting the reintegration of those who have been released, and prosecuting the individuals responsible.

An unidentifiable child soldier holding a gun
A man holds a flower and the message "Humanity for All" in front of a line of soldiers

World Report 2026

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  • July 24, 2007

    Application No. 2947/06: Ismoilov and Others v. Russia

    Intervention Submitted by Human Rights Watch and AIRE Centre

    The third party intervention by Human Rights Watch and the AIRE Centre in the case of Ismoilov and Others v. Russia analyzes states’ reliance upon diplomatic assurances against torture and ill-treatment in extradition context. The intervention includes relevant international, regional, and national jurisprudence regarding the use of assurances against torture.
  • July 19, 2007

    Turkey: Human Rights Concerns in the Lead up to July Parliamentary Elections

    This briefing paper examines the implications of military interference for human rights, as well as a number of other current human rights concerns, including restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, the harassment and prosecution of Kurdish political parties, ongoing problems of impunity for state officials, and police ill-treatment.
  • July 16, 2007

    Forced Apart

    Families Separated and Immigrants Harmed by United States Deportation Policy

    <table cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><img src="http://hrw.org/images/home/2007/100/usdom16402.jpg&quot; align="left" border="0" /></td> <td valign="top">This 88-page report is the first comprehensive assessment of the deportation of non-citizens with criminal convictions and the impact on families and communities in the US.</td></tr></table>

  • July 16, 2007

    Early to War

    Child Soldiers in the Chad Conflict

    This 46-page report documents how the Chadian army, its allied paramilitary militias and rebel forces have used and recruited child soldiers in both northern Chad and along the eastern border with Sudan’s Darfur region.
  • July 4, 2007

    Out of Sight

    Endemic Abuse and Impunity in Papua’s Central Highlands

    This 81-page report is the product of more than a year of research. The report documents daily abuses by police officers and other security forces in the mountainous and isolated Central Highlands area of the Indonesian province of Papua, located on the western half of the island of New Guinea.
  • July 2, 2007

    Caught in the Whirlwind

    Torture and Denial of Due Process by the Kurdistan Security Forces

    This 58-page report documents widespread and systematic mistreatment and violations of due process rights of detainees at detention facilities by Kurdistan security forces. The report is based on research conducted in Iraq’s Kurdistan region from April to October 2006, including interviews with more than 150 detainees.
  • June 30, 2007

    Indiscriminate Fire

    Palestinian Rocket Attacks on Israel and Israeli Artillery Shelling in the Gaza Strip

    This 146-page report finds that both Palestinian armed groups and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have shown insufficient regard for civilian life.
  • June 28, 2007

    Unfinished Business

    Serbia’s War Crimes Chamber

    This 32-page briefing paper evaluates the progress of the War Crimes Chamber since it was established in 2003 as a complement to the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The Hague-based ICTY will only try a limited number of top-level accused before its mandate ends in 2010.
  • June 27, 2007

    Scared Silent

    Impunity for Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines

    This 84-page report, based on more than 100 interviews, details the involvement of government security forces in the murder or “disappearance” of members of leftist political parties and nongovernmental organizations, journalists, outspoken clergy, anti-mining activists, and agricultural reform activists.
  • June 22, 2007

    The Poisoned Chalice

    A Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper on the Decision of the Iraqi High Tribunal in the Dujail Case

    The Dujail trial, which concluded on July 27, 2006, concerned crimes that occurred in the aftermath of an assassination attempt against then-President Saddam Hussein in Dujail in July 1982. Saddam Hussein and three others were found guilty of crimes against humanity and executed after the trial chamber’s judgment was affirmed on appeal in December 2006.
  • June 15, 2007

    Bottom of the Ladder

    Exploitation and Abuse of Girl Domestic Workers in Guinea

    This 110-page report documents how girls as young as 8 years old work up to 18 hours a day as domestic workers, frequently without pay, and are often insulted, beaten and raped by their employers.
  • June 14, 2007

    Better Late Than Never

    Enhancing the Accountability of International Institutions in Kosovo

    This 44-page briefing paper assesses the lack of effective remedies for human rights violations by the current UN-led international administration (UNMIK) and the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo (KFOR). The paper analyzes the accountability arrangements in the proposed status settlement, including the role of the Ombudsperson Institution and the future Constitutional Court.
  • June 13, 2007

    “We Have the Upper Hand”

    Freedom of assembly in Russia and the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people

    For the second year in a row, on Sunday, May 27, 2007, a small group of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activists and their supporters tried to stage a peaceful public demonstration in Moscow to claim their rights. For the second year in a row, anti-gay nationalist groups assaulted them, beating some severely, pelting others with rocks and eggs.
  • June 10, 2007

    “No One Has the Liberty to Refuse”

    Tibetan Herders Forcibly Relocated in Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, and the Tibet Autonomous Region

    This 79-page report documents how the government’s policy of forced resettlement has violated the economic and social rights of Tibetan herders. It draws on interviews conducted between July 2004 and December 2006 with some 150 Tibetans from the areas directly affected.