Palestinian Armed Groups’ October 7 Assault on Israel
The 236-page report, “‘I Can’t Erase All the Blood from My Mind’: Palestinian Armed Groups’ October 7 Assault on Israel,” documents several dozen cases of serious violations of international humanitarian law by Palestinian armed groups at nearly all the civilian attack sites on October 7. These include the war crimes and crimes against humanity of murder, hostage-taking, and other grave offenses. Human Rights Watch also examined the role of various armed groups and their coordination before and during the attacks. Previous Human Rights Watch reports have addressed numerous serious violations by Israeli forces in Gaza since October 7.
Human Rights Abuses Inside the Mojahedin Khalq Camps
The Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) is an armed Iranian opposition group that was formed in 1965. An urban guerrilla group fighting against the government of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, it was an active participant in the anti-monarchy struggle that resulted in the 1979 Iranian revolution. At present, the MKO is listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S.
Human Rights Watch and Foundation for Human Rights Initiative submission to the U.N. Committee against Torture
Uganda ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment in 1986. As the U.N. Committee against Torture scrutinizes Uganda’s compliance with the Convention, Human Rights Watch and the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI) raised their concerns.
Recent religious reforms announced by the Vietnamese government are not improving religious freedom for many Christian Montagnards, indigenous hill people from Vietnam’s Central Highlands.
Sometime at the end of February 2004, six Egyptians, alleged militants who had spent several years in exile in Yemen, the last several in official custody, were surreptitiously ferried from Sanaa to Cairo, very much against their will.
Human Rights Abuses and Political Repression in Ethiopia's Oromia Region
On May 15, 2005, Ethiopia will hold national elections. The international community, including international donors, who have poured substantial amounts of aid into Ethiopia since the current government came to power fourteen years ago, will be watching these elections closely for signs that Ethiopia is moving towards real democracy.
The Precarious State of Human Rights and Civilian Protection in Côte d’Ivoire
This 35-page report documents recent military incidents that demonstrate the precariousness of the situation in Côte d’Ivoire. The report also shows how the continued proliferation of militias and the government’s practice of using hate speech to incite violence puts civilians at continued risk.
Command Responsibility for the U.S. Abuse of Detainees
This 95-page report, issued on the eve of the first anniversary of the publication of the Abu Ghraib photos, presents substantial evidence warranting criminal investigations of Rumsfeld and Tenet, as well as Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, formerly the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Gen. Geoffrey Miller the former commander of the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Written Testimony Submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means
Human Rights Watch welcomes the opportunity to testify regarding workers’ human rights under the proposed United States-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (D.R.-CAFTA). Human Rights Watch takes no position on free trade per se, but we take an active interest in workers’ human rights.
This 39-page report charges that the government’s policy of isolation is driven not by legitimate penological concerns. Rather, this national policy seeks to punish and demoralize jailed leaders of the banned Nahdha (Renaissance) party, as part of government efforts to destroy the country’s Islamist movement.
Diplomatic Assurances No Safeguard Against Torture
This 91-page report documents the growing practice among Western governments—including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands—of seeking assurances of humane treatment in order to transfer terrorism suspects to states with well-established records of torture.
The Lethal Legacy of West Africa’s Regional Warriors
The lives of “regional warriors” are documented in this 66-page report. Based on interviews with some 60 former fighters who have crossed borders to fight in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea, the report explores the forces driving the phenomenon of cross-border mercenary activity in West Africa.
Georgia has a long record of tolerating torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement agents. The new government that came to power after the November 2003 ‘Rose Revolution’ has taken some steps to address such abusive practices, but these efforts have proven inadequate to stem them.
This briefing paper documents how the Sudanese security forces, including police deployed to protect displaced persons, and allied Janjaweed militias continue to commit rape and sexual violence on daily basis.
This 114-page report is based on previously undisclosed Communist Party and government documents, as well as local regulations, official newspaper accounts, and interviews conducted in Xinjiang. It unveils for the first time the complex architecture of law, regulation, and policy in Xinjiang that denies Uighurs religious freedom, and by extension freedom of association, assembly, and expression.
