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.
Mexico’s Failure to Protect Central American Refugee and Migrant Children
This report documents wide discrepancies between Mexican law and practice. By law, Mexico offers protection to those who face risks to their lives or safety if returned to their countries of origin. But less than 1 percent of children who are apprehended by Mexican immigration authorities are recognized as refugees, according to Mexican government data.
Repression and Abuse of Women Human Rights Defenders, Activists, and Protesters in Sudan
This report documents efforts by Sudanese authorities to silence women who are involved in protests, rights campaigns, and other public action, and who provide social services and legal aid, as well as journalists.
Abuse against Transgender Women in US Immigration Detention
This report documents 28 cases of transgender women who were held in US immigration detention between 2011 and 2015. More than half of the transgender women Human Rights Watch interviewed were held in men’s facilities at some point. Half also spent time in solitary confinement, in many cases allegedly for their protection. But solitary confinement is a form of abuse in and of itself, and many who had spent time there experienced trauma and profound psychological distress.
Delivering Credible Accountability for Serious Abuses in Côte d’Ivoire
This report outlines critical areas requiring additional government support so that Ivorian courts can provide credible justice. It is based on more than 70 interviews with government officials, members of the judiciary, representatives of nongovernmental groups, international criminal justice experts, UN officials, diplomats, and donor officials.
Abuses against People with Psychosocial Disabilities in Indonesia
This report examines how people with mental health conditions often end up chained or locked up in overcrowded and unsanitary institutions – without their consent – due to stigma and the absence of adequate community-based support services or mental health care. In institutions, they face physical and sexual violence; involuntary treatment, including electroshock therapy; seclusion; restraint; and forced contraception.
Reparations for Survivors of Kenya’s 2007-2008 Post-Election Sexual Violence
This report is based on interviews with 163 women and girls, nine male survivors, and witnesses of rape or other sexual violence in the post-election period. Human Rights Watch found that most of the survivors interviewed were still in dire need of medical attention, leaving them unable to work or pursue education, adding to their poverty and hunger. The government has recently promised reparations, which should be designed in consultation with survivors of sexual violence to ensure their full inclusion in all programs.
Attacks on Schools, Military Use of Schools During the Armed Conflict in Eastern Ukraine
This report documents how both Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed militants have carried out indiscriminate or deliberate attacks on schools. Both sides have used schools for military purposes, deploying forces in and near schools, which has turned schools into legitimate military targets. The resulting destruction has forced many children out of school and many schools to stop operating or to operate under overcrowded and difficult conditions, Human Rights Watch found.
Challenges and Progress in Ensuring the Right to Palliative Care in Morocco
This report estimates that each year, more than 62,000 Moroccans need palliative care, which focuses on improving the quality of life of people with life-limiting illnesses by treating pain and other symptoms. While the Moroccan government has taken a number of important steps to improve end-of-life care, Human Rights Watch found only two public hospitals, in Casablanca and Rabat, have specific units that offer this essential health service, and only to cancer patients. Patients suffering severe pain outside of these cities must either undergo difficult travel to these centers or do without effective pain medicine.
Tunisia’s Repressive Drug Law and a Roadmap for Its Reform
This report documents the human rights abuses and social toll that stem from enforcement of the country’s draconian drug law, which sends thousands of Tunisians to prison each year merely for consuming or possessing small quantities of cannabis for personal use.
World Report 2016 summarizes key human rights issues in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide. It reflects investigative work that Human Rights Watch staff undertook in 2015, usually in close partnership with human rights activists in the country in focus.
This report scrutinizes how courts approach hundreds of thousands lawsuits brought every year by debt buyers – firms that specialize in buying up bad debts which they then try to collect for themselves. These suits have often been marred by patterns of apparent error, legal deficiency, and alleged illegality.
How Settlement Businesses Contribute to Israel’s Violations of Palestinian Rights
This report documents how settlement businesses facilitate the growth and operations of settlements. These businesses depend on and contribute to the Israeli authorities’ unlawful confiscation of Palestinian land and other resources. They also benefit from these violations, as well as Israel’s discriminatory policies that provide privileges to settlements at the expense of Palestinians, such as access to land and water, government subsidies, and permits for developing land.
How Lebanon’s Residency Rules Facilitate Abuse of Syrian Refugees
This report is based on interviews with more than 60 Syrian refugees, lawyers, and humanitarian workers assisting refugees in Lebanon. Human Rights Watch found that residency regulations adopted in January 2015 have resulted in most Syrians losing their legal status. Only two out of the 40 refugees interviewed said they had been able to renew their residencies. Lebanese authorities should immediately revise the renewal regulations, including by waiving renewal fees and ending requirements for many refugees to find a sponsor.
Pre-election Threats to Free Expression and Association in Uganda
This report documents how some journalists and activists are facing increased threats as the elections in Uganda loom. While print journalists working in English have some relative freedom, radio journalists – particularly those working in local languages whose listeners are based in rural areas – face harassment and threats from an array of government and party officials. These include the police; resident district commissioners, who represent the president; internal security officials; and the Ugandan Communications Commission, the government broadcasting regulator.