Reports

“They Burn Through Everything”

The Human Cost of Incendiary Weapons and the Limits of International Law

The 45-page report, “‘They Burn Through Everything’: The Human Cost of Incendiary Weapons and the Limits of International Law,” details the immediate injuries and lasting physical, psychological, and socioeconomic harm of incendiary weapons, including white phosphorus, used by parties to recent conflicts. Countries should revisit and strengthen the international treaty governing these weapons, which burn people and set civilian structures and property on fire, Human Rights Watch concluded.

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  • "Between a Drone and Al-Qaeda"

    The Civilian Cost of US Targeted Killings in Yemen

    The 97-page report examines six US targeted killings in Yemen, one from 2009 and the rest from 2012-2013.

  • Attacks on Ghouta

    Analysis of Alleged Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria

    This 22-page report documents two alleged chemical weapons attacks on the opposition-controlled suburbs of Eastern and Western Ghouta, located 16 kilometers apart, in the early hours of August 21, 2013.

  • Death from the Skies

    Deliberate and Indiscriminate Air Strikes on Civilians

    This 80-page report is based on visits to 50 sites of government air strikes in opposition-controlled areas in Aleppo, Idlib, and Latakia governorates, and more than 140 interviews with witnesses and victims. The air strikes Human Rights Watch documented killed at least 152 civilians.

  • Losing Humanity

    The Case against Killer Robots

    This 50-page report outlines concerns about these fully autonomous weapons, which would inherently lack human qualities that provide legal and non-legal checks on the killing of civilians.

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  • "A Long Way from Reconciliation"

    Abusive Military Crackdown in Response to Security Threats in Côte d’Ivoire

    This 73-page report details the brutal crackdown that followed a series of violent attacks on military installations around the country in August. The attacks were allegedly committed by militants loyal to former President Laurent Gbagbo.

  • “Between Two Sets of Guns”

    Attacks on Civil Society Activists in India’s Maoist Conflict

    The 60-page report documents human rights abuses against activists in India’s Orissa, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh states.

  • Unacknowledged Deaths

    Civilian Casualties in NATO’s Air Campaign in Libya

    <p>This report examines in detail eight NATO air strikes in Libya that resulted in 72 civilian deaths, including 20 women and 24 children.

  • Meeting the Challenge

    Protecting Civilians through the Convention on Cluster Munitions

    This book is the culmination of a decade of research by Human Rights Watch.

  • Rockets from Gaza

    Harm to Civilians from Palestinian Armed Groups’ Rocket Attacks

    This 31-page report documents attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups since November 2008 that killed three Israeli civilians and seriously injured dozens of others, damaged property and forced residents to leave their homes.

  • Precisely Wrong

    Gaza Civilians Killed by Israeli Drone-Launched Missiles

    This 39-page report details six incidents resulting in 29 civilian deaths, among them eight children.

  • A Dying Practice

    Use of Cluster Munitions by Russia and Georgia in August 2008

    This 80-page report is the first comprehensive report on cluster munition use by Russia and Georgia in their week-long conflict over the separatist enclave of South Ossetia.

  • Rain of Fire

    Israel’s Unlawful Use of White Phosphorus in Gaza

    This 71-page report provides witness accounts of the devastating effects that white phosphorus munitions had on civilians and civilian property in Gaza.

  • “Troops in Contact”

    Airstrikes and Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan

    Civilian deaths in Afghanistan from US and NATO airstrikes nearly tripled from 2006 to 2007, with recent deadly airstrikes exacerbating the problem and fuelling a public backlash. The report also condemns the Taliban’s use of “human shields” in violation of the laws of war.