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The Children's Rights Division monitors human rights abuses against children around the world and works to end them. We investigate all kinds of human rights abuses against children: the use of children as soldiers; the worst forms of child labor; torture of children by police; police violence against street children; conditions in correctional institutions and orphanages; corporal punishment in schools; mistreatment of refugee and migrant children; trafficking of children for labor and prostitution; discrimination in education because of race, gender, sexual orientation, or HIV/AIDS; and physical and sexual violence against girls and boys. Children's physical and intellectual immaturity makes them particularly vulnerable to human rights violations. Their ill-treatment calls for special attention because, for the most part, children cannot speak for themselves, their opinions are seldom taken into account and they can only rarely form their own organizations to work for change. India: All Sides Using Children in Chhattisgarh ConflictRehabilitate Children in Armed Groups Indian security forces and Naxalite rebels should immediately end the use of children in the conflict in Chhattisgarh state in central India, Human Rights Watch said today. Using children under age 18 in armed operations places them at risk of injury and death and violates international law. September 5, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Dangerous Duty Children and the Chhattisgarh Conflict The 58-page Human Rights Watch report, “Dangerous Duty: Children and the
HRW Index No.: 1-56432-374-9 September 5, 2008 Report Download PDF, 423 KB, 62 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release International Criminal Court’s Trial of Thomas Lubanga Questions and Answers In its decision of September 3, 2008, Trial Chamber I rejected the prosecution’s application to lift the stay of proceedings in the trial of Thomas Lubanga, which the trial chamber imposed on June 13, 2008. In that earlier decision, the trial chamber unanimously decided to “stay” the proceedings against Lubanga—therefore suspending the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) first-ever trial— because the prosecution was unable to release more than 200 documents containing potentially “exculpatory” information that it gathered during its investigation. The court defines “exculpatory” material as documentation that shows or tends to show the innocence of the accused, that mitigates the guilt of the accused, or information which may affect the credibility of the prosecution evidence. According to the judges, “the right to a fair trial—which is without doubt a fundamental right—includes an entitlement to disclosure of exculpatory material.” September 5, 2008 Questions and Answers Printer friendly version UN: Urge Chad to Free Child Soldiers Recruitment and Use of Children Persists Despite Government Commitments The Security Council working group on children and armed conflict should urge Chad to take measurable, concrete steps to demobilize children from its armed forces and stop continued recruitment, Human Rights Watch said in a letter today. On September 5, 2008, the working group will discuss violations of children’s rights in Chad. The working group asked Chad to take steps to bring an end to the recruitment and use of child soldiers a year earlier, in September 2007, but government efforts to comply have been largely ineffective. September 3, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Afghanistan: Free Aafia Siddiqui’s 11-Year-Old Son Child Is Too Young to Be Treated as Criminal Suspect The Afghan government should immediately relinquish 11-year-old Ahmed Siddiqui to the custody of his family, Human Rights Watch said today. Siddiqui, a US citizen, is believed to be the son of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman held on US federal charges in New York. August 27, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Iran: Executions of Juvenile Offenders Rising Iran Executes Sixth Juvenile Offender This Year, 26th Since 2005 Calling Iran’s execution on August 26, 2008 of juvenile offender Behnam Zare abhorrent, Human Rights Watch urged the Iranian judiciary to immediately commute the sentences of more than 130 other prisoners facing death for crimes committed while children. August 26, 2008 Press Release Also available in 
Printer friendly version Corporal punishment proves to be discriminatory, ineffective By Alice Farmer and Nsombi Lambright Published in The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Mississippi) All parents want their children to attend safe schools where the focus is on learning and students of all races are treated fairly. Unfortunately, after months of investigation into the use of corporal punishment in Mississippi, including interviews with dozens of parents, children and educators, we have discovered that neither is true in many of Mississippi's public schools. August 23, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child for the Period Review of the DRC In this submission to the committee, Human Rights Watch presents information on child soldiers, children in detention, sexual violence against girls, and abuses against street children in the Democratic Republic of Congo. August 22, 2008 Written Statement Also available in 
Printer friendly version US: End Beating of Children in Public Schools Abusive, Discriminatory Punishment Undermines Education More than 200,000 US public school students were punished by beatings during the 2006-2007 school year, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union said in a joint report released today. In the 13 states that corporally punished more than 1,000 students per year, African-American girls were twice as likely to be beaten as their white counterparts. August 20, 2008 Press Release Also available in 
Printer friendly version CNN - School swats and human rights
August 20, 2008 Media American credibility on trial Was one of the youngest prisoners at Guantánamo rushed to court by the Bush administration for political reasons? By Jo Becker, children's rights advocacy director Published in Salon.com One of the youngest detainees at Guantánamo Bay, a 23-year-old Afghan named Mohammed Jawad, spent two days in a courtroom here last week as his defense lawyer argued that his case should never go to trial. The attorney, Maj. David Frakt, claimed that his client was repeatedly tortured and abused in U.S. custody, charges that were supported by the testimony of a senior U.S. Army criminal investigator. August 20, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version A Violent Education Corporal Punishment of Children in US Public Schools
HRW Index No.: 1-56432-369-2 August 20, 2008 Report Download PDF, 940 KB, 132 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release Letter to the Prime Minister of Guinea As leader of Guinea’s newly formed government, we are writing this open letter in order to express our deep concern about your government’s continuing inaction in the face of severe and ongoing human rights abuses in Guinea. August 14, 2008 Letter Also available in
Printer friendly version Guinea: New Leader Should Address Rights Abuses Urgent Need to End Impunity Guinea’s new leader should put the country’s chronic human rights problems at the top of his agenda, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souaré made public today. August 14, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version In Opposition to Senator Kyl's Proposed Amendment to US Juvenile Justice Legislation Letter to Senators Leahy and Specter of the US Senate Judiciary Committee Human Rights Watch writes in strong opposition to Senator Kyl’s proposed amendment to S. 3155, which would give prosecutors unfettered and unreviewable discretion to prosecute juveniles aged 16 or 17 as adults for certain listed offenses. July 30, 2008 Letter Printer friendly version Iran: End Executions of Juvenile Offenders 29 Adults and Two Juvenile Offenders Hanged The Iranian judiciary should immediately halt all executions of juvenile offenders and Iran’s parliament should move swiftly to ban such executions, a group of human rights organizations said today. July 29, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version Kids pay the price for Judiciary Committee's inaction By Carol Chodroff, advocacy director, US Program Published in The Salt Lake Tribune Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and his colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee, should show up for kids. The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2008, the most important juvenile justice legislation Congress has addressed in years, is up for consideration in the Senate next week. This critical bill, which has strong bipartisan support, would improve public safety by reforming the juvenile justice system. It would increase mental health and drug treatment services for youth, improve confinement conditions and reduce disproportionate sanctions for minor adolescent misbehavior. July 26, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Letter to the Minister of Education regarding concern over continued use of corporal punishment against children We are writing to urge you to take decisive action on the problem of violence against children, and specifically corporal punishment in schools and in other settings. We believe that in your new role as Minister of Education, you will have a crucial function in improving the future of young Kenyans and protecting their rights. July 23, 2008 Letter Printer friendly version Letter to Minister for Gender and Children Affairs regarding concern over continued use of corporal punishment against children We are writing to urge you to take decisive action on the problem of violence against children, and specifically corporal punishment in schools and in other settings. We believe that in your new role as Minister of Gender and Children Affairs, you will have a crucial function in improving the future of young Kenyans and protecting their rights. July 23, 2008 Letter Printer friendly version Letter to Minister for Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affair regarding concern over continued use of corporal punishment against children We are writing to urge you to take decisive action on the problem of violence against children, and specifically corporal punishment in schools and in other settings. We believe that in your new role as Minister of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs, you will have a crucial function in improving the future of young Kenyans and protecting their rights. July 23, 2008 Letter Printer friendly version |
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