Reports

Malaysia’s Arbitrary Detention of Migrants and Refugees

The 60-page report, “‘We Can’t See the Sun’: Malaysia’s Arbitrary Detention of Migrants and Refugees,” documents Malaysian authorities’ punitive and abusive treatment of migrants and refugees in 20 immigration detention centers across the country. Immigration detainees can spend months or years in overcrowded, unhygienic conditions, subject to harassment and violence by guards, without domestic or international monitoring.

An undocumented migrant holds her daughter while being detained during an immigration raid

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  • April 28, 2014

    Bulgaria’s Pushbacks and Detention of Syrian and Other Asylum Seekers and Migrants

    This 76-page report documents how in recent months Bulgarian border police, often using excessive force, have summarily returned people who appear to be asylum seekers to Turkey. The people have been forced back across the border without proper procedures and with no opportunity to lodge asylum claims.
  • April 1, 2014

    Mistreatment of Tibetans in Nepal

    The 100-page report shows that Tibetan refugee communities in Nepal are now facing a de facto ban on political protests, sharp restrictions on public activities promoting Tibetan culture and religion, and routine abuses by Nepali security forces.
  • February 11, 2014

    Trafficking and Torture of Eritreans in Sudan and Egypt

    This 79-page report documents how, since 2010, Egyptian traffickers have tortured Eritreans for ransom in the Sinai Peninsula, including through rape, burning, and mutilation.

  • February 10, 2014

    Ill-Treatment of Sub-Saharan African Migrants in Morocco

    This 79-page report found that beatings and other abuses occurred as Moroccan security forces took custody of Sub-Saharan migrants who had tried unsuccessfully to reach the Spanish enclave of Melilla, or—prior to September 2013—as they were rounding up migrants without any semblance of due process to expel them to Algeria.

  • November 20, 2013

    Iran’s Violation of Afghan Refugee and Migrant Rights

    This 124-page report documents how Iran’s flawed asylum system results in a detention and deportation process with no due process or opportunity for legal appeal. Iranian officials have in recent years limited legal avenues for Afghans to claim refugee or other immigration status in Iran, even as conditions in Afghanistan have deteriorated.

  • November 12, 2013

    The Denial of Work Authorization and Assistance for Asylum Seekers in the United States

    The 56-page report documents the hardships faced by asylum seekers, many of whom suffered egregious abuses in their home countries, as a consequence of being denied work authorization. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) should be amended to remove the bar to employment for asylum seekers with non-frivolous claims, the groups said.
  • June 23, 2013

    Detention, Abuse, and Neglect of Migrant Children in Indonesia

    This 86-page report details Indonesia’s poor treatment of migrant and asylum-seeking children. They arrive in Indonesia after fleeing persecution, violence, and poverty in Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Burma, and elsewhere. Indonesia detains hundreds of migrant and asylum-seeking children each year without giving them a way to challenge their detention.
  • June 12, 2013

    Greek Police Abuses of Migrants in Athens

    The 52-page report documents frequent stops of people who appear to be foreigners, unjustified searches of their belongings, insults, and, in some cases, physical abuse. Many are detained for hours in police stations pending verification of their legal status.
  • May 29, 2013

    Kenyan Police Abuse of Refugees in Nairobi

    This 68-page report was based on interviews with 101 refugees, asylum seekers, and Kenyans of Somali ethnicity.
  • March 28, 2013

    Abuses against Internally Displaced in Mogadishu, Somalia

    The 80-page report details serious violations, including physical attacks, restrictions on movement and access to food and shelter, and clan-based discrimination against the displaced in Mogadishu from the height of the famine in mid-2011 through 2012.

  • February 6, 2013

    Exploitation of Migrant Workers Ahead of Russia’s 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi

    This 67-page report documents exploitation of migrant workers on key Olympic sites, including the Central Olympic Stadium, the Main Olympic Village, and the Main Media Center.

  • January 21, 2013

    Summary Returns of Unaccompanied Migrant Children and Adult Asylum Seekers from Italy to Greece

    This report documents the failure of Italian border police at the Adriatic ports of Ancona, Bari, Brindisi, and Venice to screen adequately for people in need of protection, in violation of Italy’s legal obligations. Human Rights Watch interviewed 29 children and adults who were summarily returned to Greece from Italian ports, 20 of them in 2012.
  • December 13, 2012

    Stories of Iranian Activists in Exile

    The 60-page report documents the experiences of dozens of rights defenders, journalists and bloggers, and lawyers whom security and intelligence forces targeted because they spoke out against the government.

  • December 11, 2012

    Indiscriminate Bombing and Abuses in Sudan’s Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States

    This 39-page report is based on five research missions to the hard-to-access rebel-held areas in the two states and to refugee camps in South Sudan.

  • November 8, 2012

    Migrant Women’s Access to Protection for Family Violence in Belgium

    This 59-page report found three major protection gaps for migrant women who experience domestic violence in that country. Women who migrate to Belgium to join a husband or partner may face deportation if they report the violence during the period when their status is being confirmed, as do undocumented migrant women.