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Counterterrorism and Human Rights: Striking the Right Balance

Testimony of Anietie Ewang at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission

  I am here today to provide an overview of the impact on human rights of measures adopted by the Nigerian authorities in the fight against terrorism. These actions have harmed many of Nigeria’s most vulnerable citizens, who are already…
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Nigeria: Military Holding Children as Boko Haram Suspects

Thousands Have Been Held in Deplorable Conditions

(Abuja) – The Nigerian military has arbitrarily detained thousands of children in degrading and inhuman conditions for suspected involvement with the armed Islamist group Boko Haram, Human Rights Watch said in a report…
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Nigeria: Flawed Trials of Boko Haram Suspects

Ensure Due Process, Victim Participation

(Abuja) – Nigeria’s prosecution of suspected Boko Haram members has been characterized by serious legal shortcomings, and the authorities are failing to prioritize prosecution of those most responsible for the group’s atrocities…
Police officers outline handcuffed suspected Boko Haram militants in Maiduguri, northest Nigeria, on July 18, 2018.
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Nigeria: Why Boko Haram Suspects Deserve Fair Trials

Lagos — As I waited at Nigeria's Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos, watching bags of various colors and shapes tumble onto the carousel, I cast a glance around the airport. It always feels good to be back in the city that was my home for over 20 years.…
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Indonesia’s Death Penalty Debacle Exposed

Maladministration in Nigerian’s July 2016 Execution

The official Ombudsman of Indonesia has accused both the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and the Supreme Court of “maladministration” in denying a Nigerian citizen, executed for drug trafficking in July 2016, his legal rights. …
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Barack Obama’s Shaky Legacy on Human Rights

For all his promises — and a Nobel Peace Prize — the Obama presidency delivered more hope than change

As Donald Trump prepares to take office, many fear a new hostility to human rights on the part of the United States. From his divisive rhetoric about minorities to his embrace of autocrats abroad, there is plenty to worry about.  Trump…
U.S. President Barack Obama waves at the conclusion of his final State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in Washington January 12, 2016.
News

Dispatches: Zika Warnings Versus Realities Women Face

The rapid spread of the Zika virus has raised concern among public health officials across the Americas. The World Health Organization warned Sunday that the virus is likely to spread further across the region. At first glance,…
A woman walks away from her apartment as health workers fumigates the Altos del Cerro neighborhood as part of preventive measures against the Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases in Soyapango, El Salvador January 21, 2016.
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Dispatches: Ensure Basic Rights for Boko Haram’s Victims

Last week, three consecutive suicide bombs bearing the hallmarks of the extremist Islamist group Boko Haram killed 55 people in Yola, Kano, and Maiduguri in Nigeria. The brutal killings brought few condemnations or statements of solidarity with the…
Chiroma Maina holds a picture of her abducted daughter Comfort Amos, next to her husband Jonah and her daughter Helen, at their home in Maiduguri, Nigeria on May 21, 2014.
News

Dispatches: What Next For Nigeria After the Party’s Over?

Nigeria has made good news this week. The new president, Muhammadu Buhari, has just been sworn into office in a peaceful transition of power. A former agriculture minister, Akinwumi Adesina, has been elected president of the African Development Bank. At…
News

Nigeria: At Least 1,000 Civilians Dead Since January

Urgent Need for Aid, Protection for Fleeing Civilians

(Abuja) – Attacks by the Islamist armed group Boko Haram killed more than 1,000 civilians in 2015, based on witness accounts and an analysis of media reports. Boko Haram fighters have deliberately attacked villages and committed mass killings and…
News

What is the NSA sharing with other countries?

Obama says the U.S. won't spy on foreign leaders — but what about spying for them?

President Barack Obama appeared to have good news on Jan. 17 for foreign citizens appalled by months of revelations of U.S. surveillance overseas. The United States, he assured them in his much-awaited speech on new controls on snooping by the…
News

A year of progress in eliminating violence against women

“If I looked nice, he hit me,” Ana L., a mother of five in Colombia, told me. Ana (not her real name) detailed years of abuse by her partner. He beat her when she was pregnant, and hit her head so hard that she suffered permanent vision damage. She sought…
News

Colombia: Obstacles to Care for Abused, Displaced Women

Ensure Perpetrators Prosecuted, Health Services for Victims of Rape, Domestic Violence

(Washington, DC) – Colombia’s laws on violence against women are not adequately protecting victims displaced by the armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Approximately two million internally displaced women and girls face…
News

Putting Women on the Agenda in Cartagena

It’s the Americas’ largest reunion. Happening every three years, the Summit of the Americas brings together the heads-of-state of the region to talk about pressing concerns. Over the weekend in Cartagena, Colombia, the theme will be “Connecting the…
News

Colombia: Investigate Bomb Attacks in Southwest

(Washington, DC) – The Colombian government should ensure prompt, thorough, and impartial investigations into two bomb attacks against police stations in southwestern Colombia, which are reported to have killed at least 10 civilians and wounded more than…
News

2008 Report: Democracy Charade Undermines Rights

Human Rights Watch Highlights Abuses in Pakistan, Kenya, China, Somalia

The established democracies are accepting flawed and unfair elections for political expediency, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its World Report 2008. By allowing autocrats to pose as democrats, without demanding they uphold the civil and…
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Fact Sheet: Past U.S. Criticism of Military Tribunals

(Washington, DC) - Under President Bush's November 13th Military Order on military commissions, any foreign national designated by the President as a suspected terrorist or as aiding terrorists could potentially be detained, tried, convicted and even…

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