Search Results

Sort by
News

The high cost of Guantanamo’s ‘forever prisoners’

The U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, may seem a world away from Florida, but it’s only 700 miles from Orlando. Growing up here myself, I never thought twice about what Guantanamo’s high financial and moral cost meant for me as a Floridian…
In this photo reviewed by US military officials, flags fly in front of the tents of Camp Justice, April 18, 2019, in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba.
News

US: Public Housing Cutbacks Jeopardize Low-Income People

Video Highlights Impact on New York City Residents

(New York) –The United States federal government’s cuts to public housing funding have jeopardized the living conditions of up to 2 million low-income people throughout the country, Human Rights Watch said today, releasing a video about the situation…
Work permits displayed in front of an apartment complex
Report

“If I’m Out of Insulin, I’m Going to Die”

Summary In the United States, access to lifesaving medication is a privilege that many cannot afford. Soaring medicine prices and inadequate health insurance coverage can result in unaffordable out-of-pocket costs that undermine the right to health,…
News

US: Unaffordable Insulin Endangers Lives

Congress Should Address Exorbitant Prices Many Pay for Essential Medicine

(Washington, DC) – The US government’s failure to ensure equal and affordable access to insulin violates the right to health for people with diabetes and regularly leads to tragic consequences for many of them, Human Rights Watch said in a report…
A person holding a vial of insulin
News

Turning Covid’s Economic Crisis into Opportunity

Pandemic-Related Support Addresses Longstanding Gaps

This piece is the first in a series marking the two year anniversary of the Covid-19 pandemic. Find more of our work documenting the global response to the coronavirus here. The Covid-19 pandemic cast a bright light on the reality for billions of…
A man picks up food for his family at the Los Angeles Unified School District's Liechty Middle School in Los Angeles, California, July 16, 2021.
News

Reinvigorating Public Housing by ‘Reimagining’ Eviction in NYC

City Resolves Thousands of Arrears While Keeping Residents Home

The economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic has hit public housing residents in the United States especially hard. Most public housing residents have low incomes, and nearly half of the households residing in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA…
Aerial view of a housing complex with a city skyline behind it
Video

US: Risky Fix for New York Public Housing Woes

A New York City program that privatized control and management of some public housing lacks adequate oversight and protections for residents’ rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
Report

“The Tenant Never Wins”

Summary [331] is like, “no, you’re NYCHA,” but then when you call NYCHA, they’re like, “No, you’re that Reliant [the property management company].” So you’re falling in between and you’re in this grey area where it’s like, “where am I?” –…
News

US: Risky Fix for New York Public Housing Woes

Private Involvement Reduced Rights Protections, Increased Evictions in Two Developments

(New York) ­– A New York City program that privatized control and management of some public housing lacks adequate oversight and protections for residents’ rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 98-page report, “The Tenant…
Work permits displayed in front of an apartment complex
News

US: Cervical Cancer Disproportionally Kills Black Women

Rural Women in Georgia Need Better Access to Care, Information to Reduce Risks

(Atlanta) – The United States federal and many state and local governments are not doing enough to end cervical cancer deaths, the Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative for Economic and Social Justice (SRBWI) and Human Rights Watch said in a report…
Illustration of three Black women reading a poster titled "HPV Vaccine: Cancer Prevention"
News

The Symbol of US Abuse in the Global War on Terror

Why President Biden should fulfill his pledge to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay

Two decades ago, on Jan. 11, 2002, the US military began detaining Global War on Terror (GWOT) prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, opening one of the longest and darkest chapters of its abusive responses to the 9/11 attacks. The US has unlawfully…
The first foreign Muslim men imprisoned by the US military at the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in the so-called “global war on terror.” Since January 2002, the US has held nearly 800 men and boys at Guantánamo. Of the 39 who currently remain, 27 have never been charged. © 2002 Shane McCoy/Greg Mathieson/Mai/Getty Images
News

US: Failure to Pass Build Back Better Act Imperils Rights

Can Advance Economic Justice, Fix Broken Safety Net, But More Needed

(Washington, DC) – The Build Back Better Act would bring the United States closer to meeting international human rights standards and begin to repair a badly broken social safety net, Human Rights Watch said today. The Senate should strengthen…
Children and teachers complete a mural in celebration of the launch of the Child Tax Credit on July 14, 2021 at the KU Kids Deanwood Childcare Center in Washington, DC.
Report

Dismantling Detention

Summary As the harmful effects of immigration detention become more widely known and the appropriateness of detaining migrants is increasingly questioned, governments are looking at alternatives to detention as more humane and rights-respecting…
News

Guantanamo Military Jury Condemns US Treatment of Detainee

Majid Khan Publicly Describes Torture at Sentencing Hearing

For the first time, a United States military commission jury urged clemency for a Guantanamo Bay detainee, Majid Khan, at a sentencing hearing. The jury’s recommendation, noting the severe abuse Khan endured while in detention, highlights the profound…
Photo of a man with black hair and a bear
News

A Step Toward Justice for Guantanamo Detainee

Despite US Federal Court Ruling, Continued Detention Likely

In a small step toward justice, a United States federal judge ruled this week that because Haroon Gul, an Afghan held at Guantanamo Bay, was not a member of Al-Qaeda or an associated force, the US had no legal basis for detaining him. The US…
Afghan refugee Roman Khan at a refugee camp near Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar in September 2020, displays a photograph of his brother Asadullah Haroon, who is detained at the Guantanamo Bay detention center.
News

US Should Keep Millions of Children Out of Poverty

Expand the Child Tax Credit

The United States Congress is debating the content and price tag of the Build Back Better Act, President Joe Biden’s proposal to invest $3.5 trillion over 10 years in education, fighting climate change, and strengthening the US social safety net.…
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, center, and US Congressman Jimmy Gomez, hold a press conference about the new Child Tax Credit, in Los Angeles, July 15, 2021. 
News

Biden’s Best Chance to Tackle US Inequality

Spending Package Would be Groundbreaking Expansion of Social Safety Net

Critics in the United States who argue about the cost of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package pending in the US Congress, which would expand government investment in the country’s broken social safety net and protections for workers, are missing…
US President Joe Biden speaks on how his Build Back Better agenda will lower prescription drug prices, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 12, 2021.
News

US: Advance Human Right to Safe, Affordable Water

New Video Urges Congress to Include Equitable Access in Infrastructure Bill

(Washington, DC) – The United States Congress should support programs that ensure everyone in the US has access to safe and affordable water, Human Rights Watch said in a video released today. To advance this crucial goal, the US government should…
Leaky garden tap

Refine Search

Filter by Country
Filter by Topic
Filter by Type
Filter by News Category