Reports

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.

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  • August 13, 2009

    Killings of Palestinian Civilians during Operation Cast Lead

    This 63-page report is based on field investigations of seven incident sites in Gaza, including ballistic evidence found at the scene, medical records of victims, and lengthy interviews with multiple witnesses - at least three people separately for each incident.

  • August 10, 2009

    Corporal Punishment of Students with Disabilities in US Public Schools

    In this 70-page report, the ACLU and Human Rights Watch found that students with disabilities made up 18.8 percent of students who suffered corporal punishment at school during the 2006-2007 school year, although they constituted just 13.7 percent of the total nationwide student population.
  • August 10, 2009

    Religious Counseling, Indefinite Detention, and Flawed Trials

    This 27-page report documents Saudi Arabia's response to threats and acts of terrorism since 2003, including the indefinite detentions of thousands of people, some of them peaceful political dissidents. The domestic intelligence agency, the mabahith, which runs its own prisons, has prevented effective judicial oversight.
  • August 6, 2009

    Harm to Civilians from Palestinian Armed Groups’ Rocket Attacks

    This 31-page report documents attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups since November 2008 that killed three Israeli civilians and seriously injured dozens of others, damaged property and forced residents to leave their homes. The rockets unlawfully struck populated areas up to 40 kilometers inside Israel, placing roughly 800,000 Israeli civilians at risk.

  • August 4, 2009

    Dysfunction, Abuse, and Impunity in the Indian Police

    This 118-page report documents a range of human rights violations committed by police, including arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and extrajudicial killings. The report is based on interviews with more than 80 police officers of varying ranks, 60 victims of police abuses, and numerous discussions with experts and civil society activists.
  • July 29, 2009

    Institutionalizing Discrimination against Gays and Lesbians in Burundi

    This report consists of narratives and photos of Burundian gays and lesbians that bring to life the daily struggles faced by the small lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in Burundi. Members of the community talk about how they have been fired from their jobs, beaten by parents and neighbourhood youth, and evicted from their homes.
  • July 20, 2009

    Submission to the Investigative Bodies on the November 28-29, 2008 Violence in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria

    Human Rights Watch testified before the Plateau State Judicial Commission of Inquiry on July 20, 2009 in Jos, the capital of Plateau State in central Nigeria, where on November 28-29, 2008, sectarian violence between Muslim and Christian mobs left hundreds dead.
  • July 16, 2009

    Sexual Violence and Military Reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo

    This 56-page report documents persistent sexual violence by the army, and the limited impact of government and donor efforts to address the problem. The report looks closely at the conduct of the army's 14th brigade as an example of the wider problem of sexual violence by soldiers.

  • July 13, 2009

    Threats to Human Rights and Democracy in Somaliland

    This 56-page report says that Somaliland's government has helped create a measure of stability and democratic governance even as Somalia has remained mired in armed conflict. But Somaliland's gains are fragile and currently under threat.
  • July 9, 2009

    Oil and Human Rights in Equatorial Guinea

    This 107-page report details how the dictatorship under President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has used an oil boom to entrench and enrich itself further at the expense of the country's people.
  • July 7, 2009

    Why Accountability Matters for Peace

    This 128-page report draws upon Human Rights Watch's work over the past 20 years in nearly 20 countries. The report documents how ignoring atrocities reinforces a culture of impunity that encourages future abuses. Rather than impede negotiations or a transition to peace, remaining firm on justice can yield short- and long-term benefits.
  • July 2, 2009

    Punitive House-Burning in Chechnya

    This 54-page report documents a distinct pattern of house burnings by security forces to punish families for the alleged actions of their relatives.
  • June 30, 2009

    Gaza Civilians Killed by Israeli Drone-Launched Missiles

    This 39-page report details six incidents resulting in 29 civilian deaths, among them eight children. Human Rights Watch found that Israeli forces failed to take all feasible precautions to verify that these targets were combatants, as required by the laws of war, or that they failed to distinguish between combatants and civilians.

  • June 29, 2009

    Torture, Rape, and Other Serious Human Rights Violations by Kenyan Security Forces in the Mandera Triangle

    This 51-page report documents rampant abuses during the operation and provides detailed accounts of the events in four of the 10 communities that were targeted.
  • June 26, 2009

    Human Rights Abuses in the Marange Diamond Fields of Zimbabwe

    This 62-page report documents how, following the discovery of diamonds in Marange in June 2006, the police and army have used brutal force to control access to the diamond fields and to take over unlicensed diamond mining and trading.