On September 19, a Belgian judge issued an international arrest warrant charging Chad's former dictator Hissène Habré with human rights crimes. From 1982-1990, Habré's regime was marked by massive atrocities; a Chadian truth commission in 1992 accused Habré's regime of some 40,000 killings and systematic torture, and of stealing more than 11 million dollars from Chad's treasury. Belgium has asked for Habré's extradition from Senegal, where he now lives in exile.
The warrant marks a triumphant turning point in Human Rights Watch's long and labyrinthian campaign to bring Habré to justice. With the help of Souleymane Guengueng, a civil servant who had been imprisoned and tortured in Habré's jails, Human Rights Watch worked tirelessly to build the case against the former dictator. During frequent trips to Chad, we discovered and compiled the abandoned archives of Habré's political police, which listed the names of 1,208 detainees who died in Habré's jails. Alongside a coalition of Chadian, Senegalese, and international activists, we successfully brought charges against Habré in Senegal in 2000, before national courts ruled that he could not be tried there. Belgium has now issued Habré's indictment under its "universal jurisdiction" law, which allows prosecution of the worst atrocities, no matter where they are committed. Though Belgium repealed that law in August 2003, the Habré case was allowed to continue. Habré could become the first ex-President ever extradited to face human rights charges in another country. Read more.
United States: Soldiers Provide Accounts of Torture
In a new report by Human Rights Watch, United States soldiers have for the first time come forward to describe torture and other abuse by the U.S. military in Iraq, and the failure of superior officers to stop it. Two sergeants and a captain in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division gave firsthand accounts of the systematic and routine beatings and torture of prisoners by troops while under the direct command and approval of superior officers. Their testimonies contradict Bush Administration claims that abuse has been infrequent and exceptional. Soldiers were directed and encouraged to regularly beat prisoners, deprive them of sleep for days at time, douse their skin with chemical irritants, expose them to extreme hot and cold temperatures, and deny them food and water. 82nd Airborne soldiers recounted a prevailing climate of confusion over military interrogation procedures, and widespread knowledge of torture by military intelligence personnel at varying levels of command.
Human Rights Watch's report has revitalized a discussion in the United States Congress of detainee abuse by the military. Two days after our report's release, Senator John McCain stated his commitment to investigate the soldiers' claims, and pressed the United States to back a proposed law that will affirm the military's obligation to abstain from torture and other abuse. Human Rights Watch continues to call for an independent criminal investigation of military and civilian officials at all levels, and for the full protection of those soldiers who bravely spoke out in defense of international law. Read more.
Papua New Guinea: Police Respond to HRW Brutality Charge
A scathing Human Rights Watch report documenting routine, severe police brutality in Papua New Guinea prompted the country's police minister, Bire Kimisopa, to publicly acknowledge Human Rights Watch's findings. Our report's release in Port Moresby on September 1 sparked an instant reaction from Kimisopa, who admitted that women and girls have been raped in police custody and spoke out to condemn police violence - in compliance with the first recommendation of our report. Kimisopa expressed his intention to remedy the culture of police violence. Based on extensive research in Papua New Guinea, our report found widespread physical abuse by police of those who have been arrested, including children. We documented severe beatings, rape and other violence, some rising to the level of torture - boys and girls are shot; knifed; and beaten by gun butts, iron bars, and other heavy objects. Human Rights Watch intends to hold the police minister to his word by enlisting the governments of Papua New Guinea and the country's largest foreign donor, Australia, to monitor and punish police abuses and protect people in custody. Read more
United Nations: Disappearances Treaty a Victory
The adoption by the United Nations of the first draft of an international treaty
against forced disappearances on September 23 represents the culmination of
years of work by Human Rights Watch's Legal and Policy Director, Wilder Tayler,
and human rights colleagues. Tayler has been involved at the United Nations
in work on forced disappearances for over a decade and had been actively engaged
in drafting the International
Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
The Convention constitutes a historic step forward in the development of international
law on the issue. It recognizes a new right not to be subjected to forced disappearance
and requires countries to prohibit this practice under their national laws.
Human Rights Watch recognizes this tremendous achievement and calls on all
United Nations member states to ensure the treaty's swift adoption. Read
more.
United States: Salt Lake Improves Housing Rights
A Human Rights Watch report persuaded city and county housing officials in Salt Lake City, Utah to revise discriminatory housing policies. Our November 2004 report documented the denial of public housing to people with criminal records in the United States, condemning hundreds of thousands of poor people in the U.S. to homelessness or transient living. We highlighted cases where punitive and overly harsh exclusionary policies have denied housing to people with minor offenses (such as shoplifting), and people who had proven their capacity for successful rehabilitation. Following our recommendations, housing officials in St. Lake City will now assess a housing candidate's rehabilitation when considering his or her eligibility; reduce the excessively long timeframe of ineligibility for people with criminal records; and reexamine official policy on the use of arrest records to evaluate a candidate's "safety risk." Though encouraged by Utah's positive steps, we continue to call on the federal government to repeal laws that deny vulnerable citizens their right to decent and stable housing.
IN THE NEWS:
International Failure to Condemn Massacre in Uzbekistan
In the Guardian, London Director Steve Crawshaw urges the international community to hold the Uzbek government responsible for killing hundreds of unarmed demonstrators in May, and subsequently silencing witnesses through torture and threats.
Sound Investing in Asia
In Forbes Global, Media Director Minky Worden offers nine tips for doing business in Asia's totalitarian, semi-authoritarian, or recently democratic countries, without compromising human rights.
Burma's Government Forces Continue to Violate Rights
In an interview with the Irrawaddy, Brad Adams, Asia Division director, condemns the Burmese government's ongoing use of child soldiers, forced labor, extrajudicial executions, rape of women and girls, torture, and forced relocation of minority populations.
Abuses by Royal Nepali Army Continue Unabated
Nepal Researcher Tejshree Thapa reports in the Nepali Times that the U.S. has restricted military support to the Royal Nepali Army over concerns about detainee abuse, torture, disappearances, and the lack of prosecution of soldiers who perpetrate these crimes.
100 Million Children Worldwide Not Attending School
Children's Rights Advocacy Director Jo Becker exposes how nearly half of the world's countries will fail to meet the goal of universal primary school education by 2015 unless world leaders take immediate action.
