The 56-page report, “‘I Could Have Been Next’: Stymied Reforms in the Maldives,” finds that the Solih administration, more than halfway into its five-year term, has not fulfilled election promises to reform the criminal justice system to address threats to free expression. The government has reduced its repression of free speech and the media, so reporters say they no longer fear state censorship or worry about facing criminal cases or fines for doing their jobs. Yet, the government has often relented to pressure from politicians and powerful religious groups, instead of upholding free speech and association
Human Rights Abuses Of Post-September 11 Detainees
On September 11, 2001, hijackers turned four airplanes into instruments of terror. Their horrific crime left some 3,000 dead, devastated the lives of many thousands more, destroyed the World Trade Center, and created a sense of urgency about protecting the United States from future terrorists attacks. September 11 was not just an assault, however, on lives and buildings.
This background paper highlights the international law issues surrounding the status and treatment of Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters from Afghanistan in U.S. custody. It cites the need for a formal and individualized determination of prisoner of war status where that status is in doubt.
In recent weeks Northern Alliance and other anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan have captured hundreds of foreign fighters with the Taliban or al-Qaeda. The United States has announced that it would detain upwards of 500 captured fighters and has been screening persons taken into custody by Afghan forces.
While we understand the need to enhance internal security in the aftermath of the 11 September attacks in the United States and in the context of on-going armed conflict in Afghanistan, we are dismayed by U.K.
The horrific attacks of September 11, 2001 on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon that claimed the lives of thousands of civilians constituted criminal acts under both United States and international law.
The Commission's April 20 resolution on Chechnya rejected the notion, now espoused by some, that fighting terrorism could ever justify sacrificing human rights protections. Resolution 2001/24 condemned terrorist attacks related to the Chechnya conflict and breaches of humanitarian law perpetrated by Chechen forces, as well as certain methods often used by Russian federal forces in Chechnya.
Immigration Detainees in Jails in the United States
Human Rights Watch charges that the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is now holding more than half of its detainees in jails where they are subjected to punitive treatment and may be mixed with criminal inmates.
Immigration Detainees in Jails in the United States
The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is currently housing more than 60 percent of its 15,000 detainees in local jails throughout the country.
In the past few years, the human rights panorama in Peru has brightened considerably because of the decline in the massive "disappearances" and extrajudicial executions that has accompanied reduced political violence. Despite this positive trend, however, serious human rights violations continue, chief among them the use of torture.
Human Rights Violations and the Faceless Courts in Peru
The incarceration of hundreds of innocent prisoners charged or convicted of terrorist crimes they did not commit is now an open secret in Peru. While there may be disagreement about the numbers unjustly prosecuted by Peru's "faceless courts," no one in Peru, including the architect of the court system, President Alberto Fujimori, denies that the problem exists.
Human Rights Abuses Along the U.S. Border with Mexico Persist Amid Climate of Impunity
U.S. Border Patrol agents are committing serious human rights violations, including unjustified shootings, rapes and beatings, while enjoying virtual impunity for their actions.
Human Rights Abuses Along the U.S. Border with Mexico
Examining human rights abuses committed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and its agents during the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws in the four U.S. states that border Mexico, Human Rights Watch finds that beatings, rough physical treatment, and racially motivated verbal abuse are routine during arrests. Unjustified shootings, torture, and sexual abuse, also occur.
Administration's `Alien Terrorist Removal' Plan Puts U. S. in Company of Repressive Regimes
The Bush Administration has proposed legislation in Congress that would authorize secret proceedings for the deportation of foreign nationals accused of terrorism. If enacted, this proposal would depart from two centuries of history and law in the U.S.
