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The following articles / commentaries / letters to the editors /testimony were written by the staff of Human Rights Watch. They express our concerns regarding a few of the many pressing human rights issues addressed by the organization on a regular basis. South Ossetia: Tskhinvali’s Apocalypse By Tanya Lokshina, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Moscow office. Published in opendemocracy.net With the fighting over, Tanya Lokshina hitches lifts between checkpoints around South Ossetia's wrecked capital Tskhinvali chronicling the grieving and burying, looting and burning, the unexploded bombs, disenchanted militias and Russian troops struggling to protect what remains of abandoned Georgian villages. August 29, 2008 Printer friendly version A UK Window into CIA Abuses By Joanne Mariner, terrorism and counterterrorism director Published in FindLaw This Wednesday, unless the UK foreign secretary takes rapid action, Britain’s High Court will hold a hearing to assess whether the UK government should be ordered to hand over secret documents to lawyers for a Guantanamo detainee. The detainee in question, Binyam Mohamed, faces possible charges of conspiracy and material support for terrorism before a military commission at Guantanamo. August 25, 2008 Printer friendly version Georgia: a challenge for Europe By Tom Porteous, London director Published in Guardian online As Russia withdraws its troops, the EU could help the ceasefire stick by deploying a vital civilian protection mission. August 24, 2008 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 Printer friendly version 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 Printer friendly version Russian Attacks in Georgia Show Need for Convention on Cluster Munitions By Bonnie Docherty, Researcher Published in JURIST Russia has not only caused civilian casualties with its use of cluster munitions in Georgia, but it has also blatantly disregarded the international decision to ban the weapons. In the process, Russia has demonstrated that states around the world cannot become complacent about the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which 107 of them adopted in May. They must sign and ratify the treaty as soon as possible so that its obligations enter into force and its stigmatization power grows. August 19, 2008 Printer friendly version The Kashmir tinderbox By Meenakshi Ganguly, senior researcher on South Asia for Human Rights Watch Published in New Statesman Recent unrest in Kashmir has undermined peace prospects between nuclear powers. Meenakshi Ganguly looks at the suffering of Kashmiris caught in a cycle of violence August 19, 2008 Printer friendly version Eight Days in Guantanamo A Buffalonian observes the trial of Salim Hamdan and the degradation of American justice By Julia Hall, senior counsel, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Program Published in Artvoice (Buffalo, NY) Osama bin Laden’s driver, Salim Hamdan, had been detained at Guantánamo Bay for six and a half years when his trial by military commission commenced on July 21, 2008. It would be the first military commission convened by the US government since the Nuremberg trials of 1945-1949 – and, as such, a historic event. Along with a handful of other organizations, Human Rights Watch, was granted permission by the Department of Defense to monitor the trial. August 18, 2008 Printer friendly version The costs of marital rape in Southern Africa By guest author Nada Ali Published in The Independent August 18, 2008 - For years now, women’s groups in Southern Africa have campaigned tirelessly to ensure that the Southern African Development Community adopt the Protocol on Gender and Development. Yesterday, the SADC finally took that historic step. Member states will be obliged to amend their laws to ensure equal rights for women across a wide range of issues, from provisions that require member states to enshrine equality in their constitutions, to firm commitments to reduce maternal mortality by 75 per cent. But while that’s a cause for celebration, the Protocol still does not refer explicitly to domestic violence, and it still doesn’t oblige states to introduce legal provisions that criminalise marital rape. August 18, 2008 Printer friendly version Before any resolution, Zimbabwe first needs justice By Georgette Gagnon, Africa director Published in The Independent Talks in Zimbabwe aimed at breaking the political deadlock in that country cannot succeed unless the human rights violations that are the root cause of the crisis are addressed. August 13, 2008 Printer friendly version The Big Guantánamo Embarassment Why the conviction of Osama bin Laden's driver did nothing to undo the damage caused by Bush's policies in the war on terror. By Carol Chodroff, advocacy director, US Program Published in Salon The US military prison in Cuba has long been perceived as undermining America's image as a champion of human rights and the rule of law, and Salim Hamdan's trial did nothing to undo the damage. Regardless of the jury's determinations, the US may well seek to continue detaining Hamdan indefinitely, beyond the termination of his sentence. The Bush administration asserts that it can hold Hamdan as an "enemy combatant" until the end of the "war on terror" even if he were cleared of all charges. August 12, 2008 Printer friendly version A failed 'experiment' Commissions’ unfair rules deliver a shaky verdict rather than justice. By Kenneth Roth, executive director Published in USA Today Salim Ahmed Hamdan's prosecution highlights yet again the foolishness of the Bush administration's experiment with military commissions. Rather than pursue terrorist suspects through the regular civilian or military courts, the administration stubbornly insisted on building a system from scratch. Predictably, the commissions attract more attention to their unfairness than to the alleged crimes of the suspects before them. August 11, 2008 Printer friendly version America's Iraqi prisoners By Joseph Logan, Researcher, Middle East & North Africa Division Published in New Statesman Online Detainees – all Iraqis, save for a small number of foreigners – are denied their basic right not to be held indefinitely without charge or trial. Many are young men rounded up in mass, arbitrary arrests August 8, 2008 Printer friendly version Ending Lapse into Lawlessness By Kenneth Roth, executive director Published in The World Today What must the next United States president do to reclaim Washington's standing to promote human rights around the globe? Many aspects of President George Bush's administration's human rights policy have caused American moral authority to plummet, including its penchant for cosying-up to favoured dictators, equating democracy promotion with regime change, and undermining international standards such as the new treaty banning cluster munitions. But probably nothing has done more to tarnish Washington's reputation in this area than the administration's decision to combat terrorism without regard to US obligations under international human rights law. August 7, 2008 Printer friendly version Sponsoring the Olympics Is Bad for Business By Sophie Richardson Published in The Huffington Post Olympic sponsors have not only an opportunity but a duty to speak out about human rights abuses in China, since these abuses violate the Olympic Charter, the human rights pledges made by Beijing when bidding for the Games, and, most important, the principles upon which their own corporate social responsibility policies are built. August 7, 2008 Printer friendly version Guilty in Guantánamo Osama bin Laden's driver has been tried and convicted. But what's the verdict for the Bush administration's tactics in the war on terror? By Stacy Sullivan, counterterrorism advisor Published in Salon When the verdict in the first US military commission trial since World War II came down Wednesday, no one who had been following the proceedings was surprised to hear that Osama bin Laden's former driver and bodyguard was found guilty. The six-person jury of military officers from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines convicted Salim Ahmed Hamdan of providing material support for terrorism, but acquitted him of charges of conspiracy to support terrorism. They will determine his sentence in separate proceedings later this week. August 7, 2008 Printer friendly version An auspicious, bloodstained day By Ko Bo Kyi Published in International Herald Tribune Twenty years after our rulers crushed the rebellion, their prisons and labor camps hold more than 2,000 political activists. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest, having spent much of the past two decades locked in her decaying house. Others, such as Burma's oldest political prisoner, the 78-year-old U Win Tin, remain incarcerated for their political writings and steadfast refusal to bow to the regime. August 6, 2008 Printer friendly version The bizarre trial of bin Laden's bodyguard The "capture videos" the Pentagon aims to bury, late-night brutality pointing to the CIA – and even a surreal viewing of "The Dark Knight" here in Guantánamo. By Julia Hall, senior counsel Published in Salon Given all the information about abusive interrogations that has made its way out of Guantánamo, the "surprises" over the past week in Salim Hamdan's war-crimes trial – the first military commission convened by the US government since Nuremberg – weren't exactly earth-shattering. But that didn't stop the defense, dubbed Team Hamdan, from doing what it could here to surprise the six-member jury of military officers (plus one sub) tasked with determining Hamdan's guilt or innocence. August 1, 2008 Printer friendly version Standing Firm against Impunity By Sara Darehshori Published in El Mundo Many people in Bosnia and beyond thought they would never see Radovan Karadzic standing before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). It seemed almost beyond the dreams of the rape victims that I interviewed in Bosnia in 1993, or those held in concentration camps But even then, in the midst of the conflict and in very difficult circumstances, local civilians had painstakingly gathered detailed testimonies from survivors in the hope that one day, there would be justice for these crimes. Even after the Yugoslav tribunal was established and had issued indictments against Karadzic for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, it seemed unlikely that he would ever be arrested. And yet this week he faced a panel of judges for his role in the massacre of men and boys after the fall of Srebrenica in July 1995, as well ascrimes in various cities across Bosnia, including the shelling of Sarajevo during the city’s siege. August 1, 2008 Also available in 
Printer friendly version Karadzic’s trial won’t end Bosnia’s human rights problems It’s the day many in Bosnia believed would never come – the delivery of Radovan Karadzic to the Hague face genocide and war crimes charges. But Karadzic’s trial, a milestone for justice, will not be enough to solve Bosnia’s complex human rights problems, many linked to the bloody legacy of the war directed by Karadzic and his military partner General Ratko Mladic, who remains at large. It won’t even be enough to settle wartime accounts, especially with those who pulled the trigger, rather than those who gave the orders. July 30, 2008 Printer friendly version |
Commentaire Current Events Human Rights Watch at the AIDS International Conferenece 2006 Swept Under the Rug - Abuses Against Domestic Workers Around the World Democratic Republic of Congo - Triangle of Death: A Place of Horror in Katanga Province |
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