U.S. Policy on Voting Rights in Global Perspective
The 55-page report, “Out of Step: US Policy on Voting Rights in Global Perspective,” examines the laws of 136 countries around the world with populations of 1.5 million and above and finds that the majority—73 of the 136—never, or rarely, deny a person’s right to vote because of a criminal conviction. In the other 63 countries, the United States sits at the restrictive end of the spectrum, disenfranchising a broader swath of people overall.
The Execution of `Abd al-Karim Mara`i al-Naqshabandi
In stark contrast to the worldwide trend toward abolition of the death penalty, in Saudi Arabia its use has become increasingly frequent. Since 1990 at least 540 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia, usually by public beheading; at least one hundred people were reported executed in the first nine months of 1997 alone.
The months of May, June, and July 1997 seemed to mark an intensification of the conflict in East Timor, with guerrilla attacks on both Indonesian military targets and civilians in Dili, Baucau, Ermera, and Los Palos, and intensive operations by the Indonesian army to find and punish those responsible.
In this report, Human Rights Watch examines the activities of Israeli military forces and Lebanese guerrillas during the escalation of military activities that raged in Lebanon and parts of northern Israel from April 11 to 27, 1996 -- code-named "Operation Grapes of Wrath" by Israel.
Children Abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda
In northern Uganda, thousands of children are victims of a vicious cycle of violence, caught between a brutal rebel group and the army of the Ugandan government.
The situation of religious and ethnic minorities is a neglected aspect of the human rights picture in Iran. With the exception of the persecution of the Baha'i religious minority, little has been written about human rights problems experienced by minorities.
The government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (comprised of Serbia and Montenegro) has demonstrated a blatant disregard for human rights during the past year.
The Misuse of Authority in Bihac, Cazin, and Velika Kladusa
The Una Sana canton, a province in northwestern Bosnia, is currently controlled by the SDA, with officials loyal to the SDA dominating almost all aspects of government, including law enforcement, public utilities and medical and educational institutions, and the economy.
Between July 20 and 22, 1997, the Bangladesh government forcibly repatriated some 400 refugees belonging to the Rohingya minority of Burma's northern Arakan state. The repatriations, which drew international protests, highlighted the dilemma facing the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the international community in addressing the Rohingya situation.
This report focuses mainly on one aspect of the criminal justice system and its handling of violence against women: the performance of those involved in the provision of medical expertise to the courts when it is alleged that women have been abused. Medical evidence is often a crucial element in the investigation and prosecution of a case of rape or sexual assault.
A month after Second Prime Minister Hun Sen's coup, Cambodia bears little resemblance to the society envisioned in the Paris accords of 1991 that laid the framework for an end to conflict and a United Nations peacebuilding effort on an unprecedented scale.
The summer of 1996 was an appropriate time for the Human Rights Watch Children's Rights Project to examine conditions of confinement for children in Colorado's detention and corrections institutions. Several sensational crimes had created an alarming Asummer of violence in 1993. Public fear triggered a call by Governor Roy Romer for an Airon-fisted response to gang violence.
In his three years in office, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenka has reversed nearly all the advances in the field of human rights, freedoms and democratization that had marked the perestroika era and the post-Soviet period.
Human rights abuses in Bahrain are wide-ranging and fall into two basic categories. The first relates to law enforcement and administration of justice issues.
This report documents the continued systematic violation of internationally recognized human rights by the Burmese military against ethnic minority villagers in Burma’s Karen, Mon, and Shan States during 1996 and 1997.