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Reforming Juvenile Injustice By Carol Chodroff, advocacy director, US Program Published in The Huffington Post Juvenile justice policies in the United States are replete with contradictions between practices proven to prevent crime, and punitive laws politicians promote to get elected. Juvenile and criminal justice principles, scientific research on prevention, intervention, and adolescent brain development, and US treaty obligations argue against the "lock 'em up and throw away the key" policies that harm children, increase recidivism and exacerbate crime. Next week, the US Senate should act on reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act (JJDPA) and amendments to improve juvenile justice in this country. Improvement is long overdue. July 2, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Lost promise for rape victims A backlog in the testing of rape kits in Los Angeles means that many crime victims still wait for answers. By Sarah Tofte, US Program researcher Published in The Los Angeles Times At the Rape Treatment Center at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, where women (and men and children) get emergency medical care and counseling immediately after they have been raped, Human Rights Watch was researching how the center's nurse practitioners collect evidence for a "rape kit." The process – which can last more than four hours – is careful and meticulous. But the truth is, the police may never open the rape kit, much less send it in for testing. June 30, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Uighurs at Guantanamo By Joanne Mariner, terrorism and counterterrorism director Published in FindLaw In a ruling that is years late, but is nonetheless brave and important, a federal appellate court held last week that a prisoner at Guantanamo has been wrongly deemed an “enemy combatant.” Huzaifa Parhat – one of 16 Uighurs who remain in military detention at Guantanamo – was reportedly determined eligible for release more than four years ago, though the risk of persecution in his native China and the lack of alternatives has prevented his release. June 30, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Speaking Up for Vietnam By Sara Colm Published in The New York Sun When America's political and financial leaders sit down with Prime Minister Dung, they should not forget these courageous individuals and should address directly the systemic pattern of rights violations in Vietnam that they represent: the Vietnamese government's lack of tolerance for dissent and denial of fundamental rights to freedom of expression, assembly, association, and religious belief. June 25, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version The war on teen terror The Bush administration's treatment of juvenile prisoners shipped to Guantánamo Bay defies logic as well as international law. By Jo Becker, children's rights advocacy director Published in salon.com Although most of the 20 juvenile detainees have now been released, three remain, having spent more than a quarter of their lives at Guantánamo. The US continues to turn a blind eye to their juvenile status at the time of capture, has not provided opportunities for their rehabilitation, and has subjected them to prolonged isolation and ill-treatment such as a sleep deprivation regime known as the "frequent flyer" program. June 24, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version “From Nuremberg to Darfur: Accountability for Crimes Against Humanity” Hearing before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law Human Rights Watch appreciates the invitation to submit a statement for the record on this important subject. Justice for serious crimes under international law – which include genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture – is crucial. Accountability brings redress to the victims and signals that heinous abuses will not be tolerated. June 24, 2008 Testimony Printer friendly version Onward and Ever Upward – But Not in a Good Way By Jamie Fellner, senior counsel in the US Program Published in The Huffington Post The United States incarcerates the greatest number of people in the world (2.3 million), and at the highest rate (762 out of every 100,000 people). So why the never-ending prison growth? Three ill-considered policies drive it: the war on drugs, draconian sentencing laws, and punitive parole practices. The extraordinary rate of incarceration in the US is not necessary to protect the public – community-based sanctions and treatment for addiction would be even more effective at reducing most kinds of nonviolent crime and at far less cost. Meanwhile, the unnecessary incarceration of Americans damages individuals, families and communities. June 20, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Supreme Court to Bush: You're not above the law The court's latest rebuke of Guantanamo Bay won't close the prison down. But it's a step toward curbing Bush's unilateral tactics. By James Ross, legal and policy director Published in salon.com For the third time in four years, the US Supreme Court has slammed the Bush administration's detention policies at Guantanamo Bay – locking up terrorist suspects indefinitely and beyond the law. And this time, some real progress might even come out of it. In a 5-4 decision drafted by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court ruled in Boumediene v. Bush that Guantanamo detainees have a constitutional right to habeas corpus – that is, to challenge the legal basis for their detention in a federal court. June 13, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version US: Landmark Supreme Court Ruling on Detainees Guantanamo Inmates Have Right to Challenge Detention The US Supreme Court ruling recognizing the right of Guantanamo detainees to challenge their detention in civilian courts deals a stunning blow to the Bush administration’s detention policies. The lead plaintiffs in the case are Bosnian Lakhdar Boumediene and Kuwaiti Fawzi al-Odah, who are both being held at Guantanamo without charge. June 12, 2008 Press Release Also available in 
Printer friendly version Locked Up Alone Detention Conditions and Mental Health at Guantanamo
HRW Index No.: 1-56432-340-4 June 10, 2008 Report Download PDF, 886 KB, 57 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release US: Improve Prison Conditions at Guantanamo New Report Finds Treatment of Detainees Unnecessarily Harsh More than two-thirds of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, including many cleared for release or transfer, are being housed in inhumane conditions that are reportedly having a damaging effect on their mental health, Human Rights Watch said in a new report. June 10, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version The insanity inside Guantánamo A new report reveals that a number of prisoners – even some long ago cleared to leave – are spiraling into hallucinations, despair and suicide. By Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel, and Stacy Sullivan, counterterrorism advisor Published in salon.com Approximately 185 of the roughly 270 men still being held at Guantanamo – including many who have been cleared for release or transfer – are being housed in facilities akin to US “supermax” prisons. Such detainees spend 22 hours a day alone in small cells with little or no natural light or fresh air, extremely limited contact with other human beings, and little more than a book and the Koran to occupy their time. Several are reportedly suffering from depression and anxiety disorder, and some have reported having visions and hearing voices. June 10, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Arraigning the 9/11 suspects, Guantánamo-style Hearings for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others here were marred by intimidation, partial censorship and a ruling that left justice in doubt. By Joanne Mariner, terrorism and counterterrorism director Published in salon.com It should have been a great day for justice. The alleged perpetrators of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were finally appearing in court. This was their arraignment, at which they were to be formally charged of conspiring to cause the death of 2,973 people in the United States. But this was no ordinary court at all: It was a military commission, taking place more than six years after the terrorist attacks. And the quality of justice that the defendants were due to receive was in serious doubt. June 7, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version US: Prison Numbers Hit New High Blacks Hardest Hit by Incarceration Policy New figures showing that US incarceration rates are climbing even higher, with racial minorities greatly overrepresented in prisons and jails, highlight the need to adopt alternative criminal justice policies, Human Rights Watch said today. June 6, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Additional Submission on US Compliance with the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict This submission by Human Rights Watch supplements the November 2007 submission by the US Campaign to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. It reflects new information and developments related to the United States and children involved in armed conflict between November 2007 and April 2008. June 6, 2008 Legal Submissions Printer friendly version Submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child on US Compliance with the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict This submission by US Campaign to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers addresses US deployment of 17-year-olds to combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, recruitment practices, the detention of child soldiers in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the treatment of asylum seeking former child soldiers. June 6, 2008 Legal Submissions Printer friendly version Committee on the Rights of the Child Concluding Observations on US Compliance with the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict In this first review of US compliance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, the Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern at US recruitment practices, the treatment of refugee and asylum-seeking children previously recruited or used in hostilities, and the detainment and prosecution of former child soldiers held in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. June 6, 2008 Legal Submissions Printer friendly version US: Improve Treatment of Children in Armed Conflict UN Experts Criticize US Detention of Children in Iraq and Guantanamo The United States should immediately implement the recommendations of a new UN report calling on Washington to improve its treatment of children involved in armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said today. June 6, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version US: Leaving UN Rights Council Fails Victims of Abuse US Failure to Engage Added to Council’s Shortcomings A decision by the United States to disengage from the UN Human Rights Council amounts to an abandonment of human rights defenders and victims, Human Rights Watch said today. June 6, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version 9/11 Victims Deserve Better than Guantanamo By Stacy Sullivan, counterterrorism advisor Published in The Huffington Post The alleged masterminds of 9/11 will be arraigned before a military commission at Guantanamo Bay on Thursday. Prosecuting those charged with the 9/11 terrorist attacks is too important, however, to be left to a process as overtly flawed and politically motivated as the Guantanamo military commissions. The detainees should be transferred to federal courts that would show the families of the 9/11 victims and the world that justice has finally been done. June 5, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version |
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