Reports

The Cruel and Ineffective Criminalization of Unhoused People in Los Angeles

The 337-page report, “‘You Have to Move!’ The Cruel and Ineffective Criminalization of Unhoused People in Los Angeles,” documents the experiences of people living on the streets and in vehicles, temporary shelters, and parks in Los Angeles, as they struggle to survive while facing criminalization and governmental failures to prioritize eviction prevention or access to permanent housing. Law enforcement and sanitation “sweeps” force unhoused people out of public view, often wasting resources on temporary shelter and punishments that do not address the underlying needs. Tens of thousands of people are living in the streets of Los Angeles; death rates among the unhoused have skyrocketed.

Police remove an unhoused woman from her tent

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  • April 1, 1999

    Arms Dealing with Human Rights Abusers

    Bulgaria has earned a reputation as an anything-goes weapons bazaar where Kalashnikov assault rifles, mortars, antitank mines, ammunition,explosives and other items are available for a price — no matter who the buyers are or how they might use the deadly wares.
  • April 1, 1999

    Nato Expansion and the Arms Cascade

    As the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) celebrates its 50th anniversary and welcomes its three new members—the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland—one of the likely consequences of the Alliance’s enlargement eastwards remains largely unexplored: a firesale of stocks of old weapons.
  • March 3, 1999

    Human Rights Watch Backgrounder

    U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno's March 3 to March 4 visit comes at a moment of crisis for the rule of law and human rights in Colombia. Human rights defenders are under intense and violent attack.
  • March 1, 1999

    The Serbs of Croatia

    On January 15, 1998, the United Nations transferred authority over Eastern Slavonia, Baranja andWestern Sirmium (hereafter, Eastern Slavonia) to the Croatian government, bringing the lastremaining Serb-held territory of Croatia back under Croatian control Despite positivedevelopments in terms of the repeal of some discriminatory legislation, and a generally stablesecurity situation, Serbs remain s
  • March 1, 1999

    On January 19, 1999, as Muslims around the world were celebrating the end of the fasting month,a fight broke out on the island of Ambon, in Maluku (Molucca) province, Indonesia, between a Christian public transport driver and a Muslim youth. Such fights were commonplace, but thisone escalated into a virtual war between Christians and Muslims that is continuing.
  • March 1, 1999

    Caste Violence Against India’s “Untouchables”

    Some 160 million people in India live a precarious existence, shunned by much of society because of their rank as "untouchables" or Dalits—literally meaning "broken" people—at the bottom of India's caste system.
  • March 1, 1999

    Genocide in Rwanda

    In 1994 a small elite chose genocide to keep power in Rwanda. They used state resources and authority to incite - or force - tens of thousands of Rwandans to kill the Tutsi minority. Within one hundred days, they slaughtered more than half a million people, three quarters of the Tutsi of Rwanda. The major international actors, France, the U.S., Belgium, and the U.N., failed to heed the warnings of coming disaster and refused to recognize the genocide when it began. They withdrew the troops that could have saved lives and made little protest against the genocide, lest condemnation lead to calls for action.

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  • March 1, 1999

    Caste Violence Against India's "Untouchables"

    More than one-sixth of India's population, some 160 million people, live a precarious existence, shunned by much of society because of their rank as "untouchables" or Dalits-literally meaning "broken" people[4]-at the bottom of India's caste system.  Dalits are discriminated against, denied access to land, forced to work in degrading conditions, and routinely abused at the hands of the police and of higher-caste groups that enjoy the state's protection.  In what has been called India's "hidden apartheid," entire villages in many Indian states remain completely segregated by caste.  National legislation and constitutional protections serve only to mask the social realities of discrimination and violence faced by those living below the "pollution line."

  • March 1, 1999

    Human Rights Watch has long denounced the contemporary form of slavery practiced in Sudan in the context of the fifteen-year civil war. This practice is conducted almost entirely by government-backed and armed militia of the Baggara tribe in western Sudan, and it is directed mostly at the civilian Dinka population of the southern region of Bahr El Ghazal.
  • February 23, 1999

    Corporate Responsibility and Human Rights Violations in Nigeria’s Oil Producing Communities

    This report is an exploration of human rights violations related to oil exploration and productionin the Niger Delta, and of the role and responsibilities of the major multinational oil companies inrespect of those violations.
  • February 15, 1999

    During her visit to Beijing, Albright will lay the groundwork for Premier Zhu Rongji's summit meetings in Washington, D.C. in early April. Albright is expected to raise human rights issues brought up by President Clinton during his visit to China last year on which there has been no progress, and in some cases, major setbacks have occurred.
  • February 1, 1999

    Civilians, Rule of Law, and Democratic Freedoms

    With the disintegration of the rule of law in Congo and elsewhere in the region, Congo has become the battle ground for the interests of its neighbors and a Congolese political and military elite—all at the expense of Congolese civilians.
  • February 1, 1999

    The Human Rights Causes

    This report charges that the Sudanese government's abusive tactics, and the predatory practices of rebel forces and government-sponsored tribal militia, have turned this famine into a disaster requiring the largest emergency relief operation in the world in 1998,and the largest airlift operation since the Berlin airlift.