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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Human Rights Watch Position Paper on “Smart” (Self-Destructing) Landmines
The concept of smart (i.e., self-destructing) mines certainly has humanitarian allure. In theory, a mine that blows itself up in a relatively short period of time is preferable to a mine that lasts for decades, and should pose less danger to civilians.
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Ripe for Reform
Stemming Slovakia's Arms Trade with Human Rights AbusersThe government of Slovakia must do more to bring its arms trade under control. Slovakia adopted some legal reforms in 2001 and 2002, but serious problems remain that allow arms to be exported or illegally trafficked to human rights-abusing countries in Africa and elsewhere.
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Off Target
The Conduct of the War and Civilian Casualties in IraqHundreds of civilian deaths in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq could have been prevented by abandoning two misguided military tactics. The use of cluster munitions in populated areas caused more civilian casualties than any other factor in the coalition´s conduct of major military operations in March and April. U.S. -
Struggling Through Peace
Return and Resettlement in AngolaThe Angolan government and the United Nations are failing to ensure the safe and voluntary return of millions of Angolans to their homes. -
Cluster Munitions a Foreseeable Hazard in Iraq
The use of cluster munitions in Iraq will result in grave dangers to civilians and friendly combatants. Based on experiences in the Persian Gulf War in 1991, Yugoslavia/Kosovo in 1999, and Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002, these dangers are both foreseeable and preventable. -
International Humanitarian Law Issues In A Potential War In Iraq
A potential U.S.-led military action against Iraq would likely have profound humanitarian consequences for the Iraqi civilian population. Consistent with our established policy, Human Rights Watch takes no position on the legality or appropriateness of such a war. -
Fatally Flawed
Cluster Bombs and their use by the United States in AfghanistanBased on a month-long mission to Afghanistan last spring, this report documents the harm cluster bombs caused to civilians during the recent war. -
Arms Trade, Human Rights, and European Union Enlargement: The Record of Candidate Countries
The countries of Central and Eastern Europe, including several that are candidates for European Union (E.U.) membership, have long been a major source of weapons flows to human rights abusers, conflict regions, and clients suspected of diverting weapons to unauthorized destinations. -
Reforming Bulgaria's Arms Trade: An Update
In the next few weeks, the Bulgarian parliament is due to enact important changes to the country's arms trade law. The legislation would amend the Law on the Control of Foreign Trade Activity in Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies, which was adopted in 1995. -
Playing with Fire:
Weapons Proliferation, Political Violence, and Human Rights in KenyaThis 119-page report, entitled Playing with Fire: Weapons Proliferation, Political Violence, and Human Rights in Kenya, documents the dangerous nexus between arms availability and ethnic attacks in Kenya. -
Recent Landmine Use By India And Pakistan
As part of the military buildup resulting from the December 13, 2001, attack on the Indian parliament, both India and Pakistan have emplaced large numbers of antipersonnel and antivehicle mines along their common border. -
Antivehicle Mines with Sensitive Fuzes or Antihandling Devices
The purpose of this backgrounder is to document the practice established by States Parties since entry-into-force of the treaty with respect to AVM with sensitive fuzes or AHD. -
Dangerous Dealings:
Changes to U.S. Military Assistance After September 11Since September 11, the U.S. government has extended new military assistance to governments engaged in serious human rights abuse, including torture, political killings, illegal detention, religious persecution, and attacks on civilians during armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. -
The NATO Summit and Arms Trade Controls in Central and Eastern Europe
Leaders of some forty-six countries are anticipated to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Prague, Czech Republic, on November 21 and 22, 2002. -
No Questions Asked
The Eastern Europe Arms Pipeline to LiberiaIn this briefing paper, Human Rights Watch builds on the U.N. experts’ report to examine the manner in which the Liberia arms embargo has been systematically breached to furnish weapons to gross human rights abusers.
