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.
President Aleksandr Lukashenka continues to steer Belarus back toward Soviet-era repression by leading a government that is engaged in violations of a broad spectrum of basic civil and political rights. His four years in office have witnessed the reversal of modest improvements in respect for human rights that followed the perestroika period and the break-up of the Soviet Union.
Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States
Police brutality is one of the most serious, enduring and divisive human rights violations in the United States. Unjustified shootings by police, severe beatings, fatal chokings, and unnecessarily rough treatment of detainees occur in cities throughout the country.
The Foca municipality was the site of some of the most brutal crimes committed during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Hercegovina. Bosnian Serb civilian, police, and military officials established a wartime government called the "Crisis Committee," much like those established in many towns in Bosnian Serb-controlled territory, to plan and carry out the expulsion of the non-Serb population.
The present political environment in Cambodia, in which opposition parties are not able to operate freely and safely, is in no way conducive to the holding of free, fair, and credible elections. The primary obstacle is neither logistical nor technical, but rather the determination of the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) to control the electoral process and restrict basic freedoms.
The pattern of systematic human rights violations that characterized former President Suharto's thirty-two year rule is perhaps best symbolized by the people he imprisoned for political activities.
Politics & the Policing Agenda of the UN International Police Task Force
The United Nations mission to Bosnia and Hercegovina-with over 2,000 international police monitors-has the opportunity to make an important contribution to lasting peace and respect for human rights in the country. The U.N.
Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the Republic of Uzbekistan has made little progress in moving away from Soviet-style repression of human rights.
Political tensions began to rise in Zambia soon after the conclusion of the June 1997 Consultative Group (CG) meeting on Zambia. Two weeks after the meeting closed, the opposition United National Independence Party (UNIP) found its Lusaka headquarters besieged by police and filled with tear gas.
Despite positive movement toward the consolidation of political freedoms, human rights violations in Mexico continue to be extremely serious. State and federal police and members of the army continue to engage in torture, arbitrary detention, and other widespread abuses. Prosecutors frequently accept such abuses and judges often fail to question them.
Immigration practices, police abuse, the death penalty, prison conditions, and issues of discrimination continue to be some of the most serious human rights violations in the United States.
Even as democracy has advanced in Argentina, the country still faces a number of serious human rights problems, including police brutality, lack of independence of the judiciary, and harassment of journalists who expose such problems.
President Clinton will begin his Summit trip with an official state visit to Chile. Almost eight years have passed since Chile returned to democratic rule, and during this time the country has benefitted from economic growth unparalleled elsewhere in Latin America.
Even as the administration of President Ernesto Samper has taken limited steps to curb violence and address impunity, the human rights situation in Colombia has deteriorated sharply. Political violence was particularly intense in areas contested by guerrillas and by paramilitaries operating with the acquiescence or active support of the Colombian army.
The most significant human rights event in Cuba in the past months was the visit of Pope John Paul II in late January. While the pontiff's visit forced the Cuban government to make some concessions, there has been a lack of genuine human rights reform in Cuba.
Human Rights Watch has created packet containing background information on the state of human rights in several American countries, in anticipation of the Second Summit of the Americas.
