Reports

Since September 11, 2001, Britain has introduced a series of counterterrorism measures that violate human rights. The policies have weakened the global ban on torture and ill-treatment, restricted the right to liberty without appropriate safeguards, and unduly interfered with the right to freedom of expression.

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.

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.

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.

This 21-page briefing paper, published by six leading human rights organizations, includes the names and details of 39 people who are believed to have been held in secret US custody abroad and whose current whereabouts remain unknown. The briefing paper also names relatives of suspects who were themselves arrested and detained, including children as young as seven.

This 92-page report examines administrative expulsions of imams and others deemed to foment extremism. It also documents the criminal deportation of persons convicted of terrorism-related offenses. Based on 19 case studies, the report concludes that the procedures lack the necessary guarantees to prevent serious violations of France’s obligations under international human rights law.

On May 10, 2007, congressional leaders and the US Trade Representative (USTR) reached an historic agreement on a “new trade policy template” (template) that has the potential to be an important step towards ensuring that workers’ rights are better protected in US trade accords.

In this backgrounder, Human Rights Watch said that although Khadr was just 15 when he was arrested, the United States has completely ignored his juvenile status throughout his detention. The US government incarcerated him with adults, reportedly subjected him to abusive interrogations, failed to provide him any educational opportunities, and denied him any direct contact with his family.

In this 13-page briefing paper, Human Rights Watch and the EIPR said that Egypt’s terrible human rights record made that country a poor choice for membership. They nevertheless welcomed the Egyptian government’s public pledges to improve its practices domestically and to strengthen the capacity of the council.

This 86-page report discusses the possible solutions to this protracted refugee situation and the choices the refugees now face.

This 103-page report documents 18 mass evictions in Luanda that the Angolan government carried out between 2002 and 2006. In these evictions, which affected some 20,000 people in total, security forces destroyed more than 3,000 houses, and the government seized many small-scale cultivated land plots.

General Assembly resolution 60/251 requires that states “take into account the contribution of candidates to the promotion and protection of human rights and their voluntary pledges and commitments made thereto” in voting to elect members of the Human Rights Council (HRC).

This 39-page report documents the Zimbabwean government’s crackdown on peaceful protest and dissent since March.

In this 210-page report, Human Rights Watch found that while many American companies use weak US laws to stop workers from organizing, the retail giant stands out for the sheer magnitude and aggressiveness of its anti-union apparatus. Many of its anti-union tactics are lawful in the United States, though they combine to undermine workers’ rights. Others run afoul of soft US laws.