Reports

Ecuador’s Slow Progress Tackling and Preventing School-Related Sexual Violence

The 60-page report, “‘Like Patchwork’: Ecuador’s Slow Progress Tackling and Preventing School-Related Sexual Violence,” documents significant gaps in the government’s response to prevent and tackle abuses in Ecuador’s education system. Many schools still fail to report abuses or fully implement required protocols. Judicial institutions do not adequately investigate or prosecute sexual offenses against children, affecting survivors’ ability to find justice.

Women hold banners in Spanish at a protest

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  • December 13, 2010

    Attacks on Teachers and Schools in Pakistan’s Balochistan Province

    This 40-page report documents the killing of at least 22 teachers and other education personnel by suspected militants between January 2008 and October 2010. The report – based on interviews with teachers, students, victims’ families and friends, and government officials in Balochistan – describes these attacks and their consequences for the quality of education in the province.

  • December 11, 2010

    Human Rights Watch Work on Abuses against Migrants in 2010

    This roundup of Human Rights Watch reporting on violations of migrants’ rights in 2010 includes coverage of Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States.
  • December 9, 2010

    Excessive Use of Force by Indian Troops at the Bangladesh Border

    This 81-page report documents the situation on the border region, where both Bangladesh and India have deployed border guards to prevent infiltration, trafficking, and smuggling. Human Rights Watch found numerous cases of indiscriminate use of force, arbitrary detention, torture, and killings by the security force, without adequate investigation or punishment.
  • December 2, 2010

    Bail and Pretrial Detention of Low Income Nonfelony Defendants in New York City

    Drawing on previously unpublished data and scores of interviews with judges, defendants, prosecutors, and defense counsel, this report reveals the extent of the problem. Among defendants arrested in 2008 on nonfelony charges who had bail set at $1,000 or less, 87 percent were incarcerated because they were unable to post the bail amount at their arraignment.

  • November 30, 2010

    Abuses in the Application of Sharia in Aceh, Indonesia

    This 89-page report documents the experiences of people accused of violating Sharia laws prohibiting "seclusion" and imposing public dress requirements on Muslims. The "seclusion" law makes association by unmarried individuals of the opposite sex a criminal offense in some circumstances.
  • November 30, 2010

    Violence against Gay Men and Men Perceived as Gay in Senegal

    This 95-page report includes interviews with dozens of people who have faced threats and violence at the hands of both the police and others in the community. It looks in detail at two key incidents: the "gay marriage" scandal of February 2008; and the arrest of the "nine homosexuals of Mbao" in December 2008.
  • November 23, 2010

    State of Permanent Emergency Incompatible with Free and Fair Vote

    This 24-page report documents the vague and subjective criteria in Egypt’s Political Parties Law that allow the government and ruling party to impede formation of new political parties.
  • November 23, 2010

    The Narrowing of Democratic Space in Burundi

    This 69-page report documents abuses including torture, arbitrary arrests, banning of opposition activities, and harassment of civil society groups. Human Rights Watch called on the government to end the abuses and to strengthen institutional mechanisms to promote accountability by government officials and security forces.
  • November 22, 2010

    Protecting Civilians through the Convention on Cluster Munitions

    This book is the culmination of a decade of research by Human Rights Watch. It details the humanitarian toll of cluster munitions, analyzes the international process that resulted in the treaty successfully banning them, and presents the steps that nations that have signed the convention should take to fulfill its promise.

  • November 16, 2010

    The Ampatuans, State-Backed Militias, and Killings in the Southern Philippines

    This 96-page report charts the Ampatuans’ rise to power, including their use of violence to expand their control and eliminate threats to the family’s rule. It is based on more than 80 interviews, including with people having insider knowledge of the Ampatuan family security structure, victims of abuses and their family members, and witnesses to crimes.
  • November 4, 2010

    Rights Abuses in Cameroon based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

    This 62-page report details how the government uses article 347 bis of the Penal Code to deny basic rights to people perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). The report describes arrests, beatings by the police, abuses in prison, and a homophobic atmosphere that encourages shunning and abuse in the community.
  • November 1, 2010

    The Arbitrary Use of Terrorism Laws to Prosecute and Incarcerate Demonstrators in Turkey

    This report is based on a review of 50 cases. It describes 26 cases of individuals prosecuted for terrorism simply for taking part in protests deemed by the government to be sympathetic to the outlawed armed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Hundreds of Kurdish demonstrators are currently in prison pending the outcome of their trials or appeals against convictions.
  • October 27, 2010

    Forced Returns of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians from Western Europe to Kosovo

    This report documents the serious human rights problems faced by those who left Kosovo for Western Europe but were subsequently sent back. They experience problems getting identity documents as well as regaining possession of any property they own. They also have difficulties accessing housing, health care, employment, and social welfare services.
  • October 26, 2010

    The Vanishing Space for Freedom of Expression in Azerbaijan

    This 94-page report documents the government's efforts to limit freedom of expression in Azerbaijan, where Human Rights Watch has documented restrictions on freedom of expression for many years. For this report, Human Rights Watch interviewed over 37 print and radio journalists and editors in June 2010.
  • October 25, 2010

    Illegal Detentions under the Counterterrorism Law

    This report documents a pattern of abuse under Morocco's counterterrorism law, which was adopted 12 days after coordinated suicide bombings in Casablanca on May 16, 2003, took 45 lives. Many of these abuses violate the progressive legislation Morocco adopted to safeguard against torture and illegal detention, as well as international conventions that Morocco has signed.