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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  • Cluster Bombs in Afghanistan

    The United States-led alliance began its air campaign in Afghanistan on October 7, 2001. While the Pentagon has been reluctant to talk of specific weapons used in the bombing, U.S. military sources have told Human Rights Watch that the Air Force began dropping cluster bombs within a matter of days.

  • Landmine Use in Afghanistan

    Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. Landmines pose an ever-present danger to civilians now attempting to flee the country or areas of conflict.

  • The Pastrana-Bush Summit

    When Colombian President Andrés Pastrana meets with President George W. Bush next Tuesday (February 27), the two leaders will discuss U.S. military aid to Colombia, including the issue of Colombia's progress on improving human rights.

  • Clinton's Landmine Legacy

    Human Rights Watch urged President Clinton to keep the promise he made in 1994 to ban antipersonnel landmines by joining the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. "Clinton's Landmine Legacy," the 42-page report from Human Rights Watch, details U.S.

  • Neglected Arms Embargo on Sierra Leone Rebels

    Briefing Paper

    The current crisis in Sierra Leone, in which rebels with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) have clashed with U.N. peacekeepers and pro-government forces, suggests that the fragile peace agreed to in July 1999 is rapidly unraveling.

  • U.S. Programs to Develop Alternatives to Antipersonnel Mines

    Nearly four years ago, in May 1996, the United States began a search for alternatives to antipersonnel landmines so that the U.S. military could completely eliminate their use "as soon as possible." A little more than a year later, a target date of 2006 was established for fielding alternatives, thus permitting the U.S.

  • Backgrounder on Russian Fuel Air Explosives ("Vacuum Bombs")

    On December 27, 1999, Interfax reported Russian forces were using fuel-air explosive bombs in the fighting in Chechnya.(1) The use of fuel-air explosives (FAEs), popularly known in Russia as "vacuum bombs," represents a dangerous escalation in the Chechnya conflict--one with important humanitarian implications.

  • The Ties That Bind:

    Colombia and Military-Paramilitary Links

    This report shows that military support for paramilitary activity remains national in scope, and includes areas where units receiving or scheduled to receive U.S. military aid operate.

  • Civilian Deaths in the NATO Air Campaign

    This report has the limited goal of assessing the number of civilian deaths from NATO attacks, as a step toward assessing NATO forces' compliance with their obligation to make protection of civilians an integral part of any use of military force.

  • Reforming Bulgaria's Arms Trade

    A Human Rights Watch Backgrounder

    For the last two years, the government of Bulgaria has pledged to control the country's notorious arms trade as part of its strategy to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (E.U.).

  • Ticking Time Bombs

    NATO's Use of Cluster Munitions in Yugoslavia

    The announcement by the U.S.

  • NATO's Use of Cluster Munitions in Yugoslavia

    The U.S. Defense Department at the end of April announced a move toward the use of more "area weapons" in Operation Allied Force. At the same time, there are reports of NATO's growing shortage of precision-guided weapons.

  • Arsenals on the Cheap

    Nato Expansion and the Arms Cascade

    As the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) celebrates its 50th anniversary and welcomes its three new members—the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland—one of the likely consequences of the Alliance’s enlargement eastwards remains largely unexplored: a firesale of stocks of old weapons.

  • Money Talks

    Arms Dealing with Human Rights Abusers

    Bulgaria has earned a reputation as an anything-goes weapons bazaar where Kalashnikov assault rifles, mortars, antitank mines, ammunition,explosives and other items are available for a price — no matter who the buyers are or how they might use the deadly wares.