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.

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  • December 11, 2012

    Indiscriminate Bombing and Abuses in Sudan’s Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States

    This 39-page report is based on five research missions to the hard-to-access rebel-held areas in the two states and to refugee camps in South Sudan.

  • December 5, 2012

    Accountability before Guinea’s Courts for the September 28, 2009 Stadium Massacre, Rapes, and Other Abuses

    This 58-page report analyzes Guinea’s efforts to hold those responsible for the crimes to account. On that day, several hundred members of Guinea’s security forces burst into a stadium in Guinea’s capital, Conakry, and opened fire on tens of thousands of opposition supporters peacefully gathered there.

  • November 30, 2012

    Too Little Compassionate Release in US Federal Prisons

    A joint report by Human Rights Watch and Families Against Mandatory Minimums

  • November 23, 2012

    Marijuana Arrestees Do Not Become Violent Felons

    In this report, Human Rights Watch offers new data indicating that people who enter the criminal justice system with an arrest for public possession of marijuana rarely commit violent crimes in the future.

  • November 19, 2012

    The Case against Killer Robots

    This 50-page report outlines concerns about these fully autonomous weapons, which would inherently lack human qualities that provide legal and non-legal checks on the killing of civilians. In addition, the obstacles to holding anyone accountable for harm caused by the weapons would weaken the law’s power to deter future violations.

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  • November 18, 2012

    Abusive Military Crackdown in Response to Security Threats in Côte d’Ivoire

    This 73-page report details the brutal crackdown that followed a series of violent attacks on military installations around the country in August. The attacks were allegedly committed by militants loyal to former President Laurent Gbagbo.

  • November 15, 2012

    Child Domestic Labor in Morocco

    ‪This 73-page report found that some child domestic workers – who are overwhelmingly girls – toil for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, for as little as US$11 a month. Some girls told Human Rights Watch that their employers frequently beat and verbally abused them, denied them education, and sometimes refused them adequate food.‬
  • November 14, 2012

    Obstacles to Health, Justice, and Protection for Displaced Victims of Gender-Based Violence in Colombia

    This 101-page report documents how recent improvements in Colombia’s laws, policies, and programs on rape and domestic violence have not translated into more effective justice, healthcare, and protection for displaced women and girls. More than half of the country’s roughly four million displaced are female.

  • November 13, 2012

    Two Decades of Impunity in Hun Sen’s Cambodia

    This 68-page report documents key cases of unsolved killings of political activists, journalists, opposition politicians, and others by Cambodian security forces since the 1991 Paris Agreements, which were signed by 18 countries, including the five permanent United Nations Security Council members.

  • November 8, 2012

    Migrant Women’s Access to Protection for Family Violence in Belgium

    This 59-page report found three major protection gaps for migrant women who experience domestic violence in that country. Women who migrate to Belgium to join a husband or partner may face deportation if they report the violence during the period when their status is being confirmed, as do undocumented migrant women.
  • October 16, 2012

    Bloody Vengeance in Sirte

    This 58-page report details the final hours of Muammar Gaddafi’s life and the circumstances under which he was killed. It presents evidence that Misrata-based militias captured and disarmed members of the Gaddafi convoy and, after bringing them under their total control, subjected them to brutal beatings. They then executed at least 66 captured members of the convoy at the nearby Mahari Hotel.

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  • October 11, 2012

    Boko Haram Attacks and Security Force Abuses in Nigeria

    This 98-page report catalogues atrocities for which Boko Haram has claimed responsibility. It also explores the role of Nigeria’s security forces, whose own alleged abuses contravene international human rights law and might also constitute crimes against humanity.

  • October 10, 2012

    Youth in Solitary Confinement in Jails and Prisons Across the United States

    The 141-page report is based on research in both US jails and prisons in five states ­– Colorado, Florida, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania – and correspondence with young people in 14 others. The isolation of solitary confinement causes anguish, provokes serious mental and physical health problems, and works against rehabilitation for teenagers, Human Rights Watch and the ACLU found.

  • October 8, 2012

    The Health Repercussions of Bangladesh’s Hazaribagh Leather

    This report documents an occupational health and safety crisis among tannery workers, both men and women, including skin diseases and respiratory illnesses caused by exposure to tanning chemicals, and limb amputations caused by accidents in dangerous tannery machinery.

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  • October 3, 2012

    Failures of Criminal Justice in Gaza

    This 43-page report documents extensive violations by Hamas security services, including warrantless arrests, failure to inform families promptly of detainees’ whereabouts, and subjecting detainees to torture. It also documents violations of detainees’ rights by prosecutors and courts. Military courts frequently try civilians, in violation of international law.