Reports

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.

A framed family photo hung up on the wall of a burned home

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  • February 28, 2003

    A ceasefire signed on December 3, 2002 by the government of Burundi and the rebel movement, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (Conseil National pour la Défense de la Democratie-Forces pour la Défense de la Democratie, CNDD-FDD) raised hopes for an end to nine years of war in Burund
  • February 26, 2003

    Enforced Disappearances in Algeria,

    Algerian security forces made "disappear" at least 7,000 persons, more than the number recorded in any other country during the past decade except wartime Bosnia, Human Rights Watch said in a new report. To date, the Algerian authorities have utterly failed to investigate these "disappearances" or to provide families with answers about the fate of their loved ones.
  • February 24, 2003

    The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which reviews compliance with the United Nations’ anti-discrimination convention, recently adopted its concluding observations and recommendations for Russia.
  • February 20, 2003

    More girls are employed in domestic work than in any other form of child labor. They are exploited and abused on a routine basis, yet are nearly invisible among child laborers. They work alone in individual households, hidden from public scrutiny, their lives controlled by their employers.
  • February 20, 2003

    A potential U.S.-led military action against Iraq would likely have profound humanitarian consequences for the Iraqi civilian population. Consistent with our established policy, Human Rights Watch takes no position on the legality or appropriateness of such a war. Yet we have concerns with regard to the manner in which it may be conducted.
  • February 18, 2003

    Egyptian Police Abuse of Children in Need of Protection

    The Egyptian government conducts mass arrest campaigns of children whose "crime" is that they are in need of protection, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Children in police custody face beatings, sexual abuse and extortion by police and adult criminal suspects, and police routinely deny them access to food, bedding and medical care.
  • February 14, 2003

    Briefing to the 59th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights

    Human Rights Watch calls on the U.N. Commission on Human Rights to condemn the execution of juvenile offenders in those few states that retain the practice in an omnibus children's resolution, a resolution on extrajudicial, arbitrary and summary executions, and any resolution on the death penalty.
  • February 14, 2003

    Briefing to the 59th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights

    The Commission on Human Rights has not focused specifically on the human rights of asylum seekers and refugees, except as a part of its work on the human rights of non-nationals more generally.
  • February 13, 2003

    This briefing paper describes the current humanitarian and security conditions faced by hundreds of thousands of Iraqi residents, refugees, and displaced persons, and examines priority concerns and potential humanitarian consequences in the event of war.
  • February 5, 2003

    Ansar al-Islam fi Kurdistan (Supporters of Islam in Kurdistan) is one of a number of Sunni Islamist groups based in the Kurdish-controlled northern provinces of Iraq. Its bases are in and around the villages of Biyara and Tawela, which lie northeast of the town of Halabja in the Hawraman region of Sulaimaniya province bordering Iran.
  • January 30, 2003

    Briefing Paper: January 2003

    The process of Turkey's accession to the E.U. has, since 1999, emerged as the most important catalyst of reform in Turkey. The E.U.'s progress report for 2001 made it clear that Turkey was lagging behind in its efforts to meet the E.U. accession conditions of "democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities."
  • January 29, 2003

    Mass Expulsions and the Nationality Issue

    Citizens and residents expelled by both Ethiopia and Eritrea during their 1998-2000 border war should be offered repatriation and the restoration of citizenship, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 64-page report, “The Horn of Africa
  • January 28, 2003

    Forced Return of Displaced People to Chechnya

    Russia’s ongoing record of serious human rights abuse in Chechnya impugns its claim that the war there contributes to the international campaign against terrorism, Human Rights Watch said in a new report published today The twenty-seven page report, “Into Harm’s
  • January 27, 2003

    The Links between Human Rights Abuses and HIV Transmission to Girls in Zambia

    Sexual abuse of girls in Zambia fuels the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the strikingly higher HIV prevalence among girls than boys, Human Rights Watch said today. Concerted national and international efforts to protect the rights of girls and young women are key to curbing the AIDS epidemic’s destructive course.