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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. How Chechnya came to Ingushetia By Tanya Lokshina, Researcher, Europe and Central Asia Division Published in Guardian Online Violent counter-terrorism measures in the small Muslim republic are intensifying the anti-government uprising” July 8, 2008 Printer friendly version An illegitimate president By Tiseke Kasambala, Senior Researcher, Africa Division, Human Rights Watch Published in New Statesman Online African leaders must do more to end the repression in Zimbabawe and must place the responsibility for the violence firmly on Robert Mugabe’s doorstep. July 7, 2008 Printer friendly version A long record of torture By Gerry Simpson, Researcher and Advocate, Refugee Policy Published in New Statesman Online Many Zimbabweans fleeing to South Africa since 2005 – possibly numbering tens of thousands – have escaped persecution. They are refugees, although South Africa’s dysfunctional asylum system has yet to recognize them as such. July 4, 2008 Printer friendly version When peace talks undermine justice Published in International Herald Tribune Diplomats, judges, lawyers, human rights activists and members of nongovernmental organizations are currently marking the 10th anniversary of the completion of the treaty that established the International Criminal Court. The court's creation was an extraordinary step in extending the reach of law to those responsible for the mass slaughter of civilians and the use of rape as a weapon of war. July 4, 2008 Printer friendly version War comes to Ingushetia By Tanya Lokshina, Researcher, Europe and Central Asia Division Published in Open Democracy The border of Chechnya and Ingushetia used to mark the line between war and peace. Now the shootings, torture and disappearances have begun. July 2, 2008 Printer friendly version The world needs Pakistan to be a strong defender of human rights An Interview with Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch By Hajrah Mumtaz Published in The Dawn July 2, 2008 Printer friendly version 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 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 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 Printer friendly version Russia after Putin By Allison Gill, Director, Moscow Office Published in Guardian Online This week the EU will hold its first summit with Russia since Dmitri Medvedev replaced Vladimir Putin as president. The meeting presents European leaders with a much-needed opportunity to set a new tone in their relationship with Moscow. June 25, 2008 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 Printer friendly version Rape in War: Will the United Nations Walk Its Talk? By Marianne Mollmann June 25, 2008 Published in Reproductive Health Reality Check On June 19, 2008, the United Nations Security Council made history by declaring that rape in war is such a bad idea they plan to do something about it. June 25, 2008 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 Printer friendly version Assume hard stance on Zim By Jon Elliott Published in Mmegi Online At the end of May 2008, Human Rights Watch calculated the tally of misery and abuse in Zimbabwe since its 29 March elections: at least 36 dead; hundreds tortured; thousands beaten; and tens of thousands deprived of food or displaced. June 24, 2008 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 Printer friendly version Iraq: Between false refuge and the peril of return The UK's Iraqi asylum seekers are now being forced to return not only to the more stable northern region, but to central and southern Iraq. Whatever responsibility UK citizens might feel for them is clearly not shared by those taking these decisions. How then do they decide? June 17, 2008 Printer friendly version Amnesty is a Red Herring By Ben Rawlence and Clive Baldwin Published in The Standard The debate about amnesty in Kenya has become intensely politicized. The Prime Minister and the President are taking apparently opposing positions. The dangers of the debate turning sour are obvious, threatening to undermine the fragile solidarity that gave birth to the National Accord and Reconciliation Act and the coalition government. What should be the way forward? June 16, 2008 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 Printer friendly version Japan Should Become a Champion of Human Rights By Kanae Doi, Japan Consultant for Human Rights Watch Published in English-Speaking Union of Japan Now is the time for Japan to revise its foreign policy and become a nation that advocates for human rights in a more public and vocal manner. As the biggest aid donor to many Asian countries and some African countries, Japan is in a unique position to do so. June 12, 2008 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 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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