WASHINGTON, DC, March 2, 2017 – The hearing by the US House Judiciary Committee on March 1, 2017, about one of the broadest and most intrusive surveillance laws in the United States highlights the need for reforms to prevent executive branch abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act […]
Human Rights Watch
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Gaza: ‘Unlawful Combatants Law’ Violates Rights
JERUSALEM, March 1, 2017 – Israel has been detaining Palestinian residents of Gaza under an obscure law that strips away meaningful judicial review and due process rights, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch said today. Israel has detained 18 Palestinian residents of Gaza under the Internment of Unlawful Combatants Law since […]
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Bill Frelick: The UN Should Just Say No to Returning Refugees to Danger
Feb. 27, 2017 – Bill Frelick is Director, Refugee Rights Program, Human Rights Watch Pressure is building on Afghan and Somali refugees to go home, even if they no longer have homes to return to. It is not surprising that this pressure is coming from governments that have been hosting huge numbers of refugees and […]
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US Should Investigate Civilian Deaths in Yemen Raid, Says Human Rights Watch
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2017 – The US government should credibly investigate the raid on Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in central Yemen in late January 2017, that killed at least 14 civilians, including nine children, and make its findings public, Human Rights Watch said today. The high number of civilian casualties raises concerns that […]
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Ryan Thoreson: The Trump administration has failed LGBT youth
Feb. 23, 2017 – Ryan Thoreson is Bernstein Fellow, Human Rights Watch The Trump administration is putting transgender children in harm’s way by withdrawing guidance issued by the Obama administration that instructs schools in the United States to respect the gender identity of students. The guidance, issued last year by the Departments of Justice and […]
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Clara Long: Expanding US Fast-Track Deportations a Disastrous Idea
Feb. 23, 2017 – Clara Long is Researcher, US Program, Human Rights Watch A US Department of Homeland Security memo implementing one of President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration exponentially expands the number of people subject to fast-track deportation, or expedited removal. It is likely to speed up the pace of removals of immigrants […]
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Russia: Broken Promises for Investigations of Civilian Casualties in Syria
BEIRUT, Feb. 19, 2017 – The Russian government appears to be breaking its promises to investigate civilian casualties from airstrikes in Syria, Human Rights Watch said today. In a letter sent to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on November 22, 2016, Human Rights Watch detailed 16 Syrian-Russian aerial attacks that appear to have deliberately or indiscriminately […]
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Rebecca Chowdhury: Recipients of DACA Unsure of Their Futures
Feb. 16, 2017 – Rebecca Chowdhury is Senior Coordinator, Legal & Policy, Human Rights Watch “I told my family: I don’t want you to get deported because of me. It’s because I have DACA that the government has our information.” Nafisa is one of approximately 750,000 people who have benefitted from DACA, Deferred Action for […]
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Ukraine: Activists ‘Disappeared’ in Separatist Territory
KYIV, Ukraine, Feb. 9, 2017 – А Russian lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activist and another person have been missing since January 31, 2017, in the separatist-controlled area of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, and are feared to be victims of enforced disappearances, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch is concerned […]
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Iraq: Men Fleeing Mosul Held in Secret
Erbil, February 2, 2017 – Groups within the Iraqi military are screening and detaining men fleeing Mosul in unidentified detention centers where they are cut off from contact with the outside world, Human Rights Watch said today. The groups, the Popular Mobilization Forces (known as the PMF or Hashd al–Sha’abi), are apparently screening the men […]
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Egypt: Court Names 1,500 to Terrorist List
Beirut, January 24, 2017 – An Egyptian criminal court decision on January 12, 2017, designating about 1,500 citizens “terrorists” for their alleged assistance to the Muslim Brotherhood reflects the authorities’ indiscriminate use of broad counterterrorism laws, Human Rights Watch said today. Using these laws to impose penalties on people without giving them a chance to […]
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Dawn of Dangerous New Era in U.S, Says Human Rights Watch
WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 20, 2017 – Donald Trump takes office today having vowed to enact policies that would threaten rights at home and abroad if actually implemented, Human Rights Watch said today. Human rights advocates, elected officials, and members of the public should press the new United States president to abandon those proposals and should […]
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World Report 2017: Demagogues Threaten Human Rights
WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 12, 2017 – The rise of populist leaders in the United States and Europe poses a dangerous threat to basic rights protections while encouraging abuse by autocrats around the world, Human Rights Watch said today in launching its World Report 2017. Donald Trump’s election as US president after a campaign fomenting hatred […]
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Don’t Confirm Sessions as Attorney General, Says Human Rights Watch
NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2017 – The United States Senate should vote against the confirmation of Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General of the United States, Human Rights Watch said today. The senator’s record raises fears that Sessions would be unwilling to enforce crucial US laws protecting rights, and might instead seek to undermine them. […]
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Komala Ramchandra: US Plan on Responsible Business Conduct is Too Little, Too Late
Dec. 21, 2016 – The US Secretary of State released the first US National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct last Friday, outlining how the US government intends to take on human rights and business. While it represents an important step in recognizing the human rights impacts of businesses, the modest plan largely restates the […]
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Wenzel Michalski: An Act of Murder in Berlin
Dec. 20, 2016 – Wenzel Michalski is Human Rights Watch Director, Germany On Monday night a truck ploughed through a Berlin Christmas market. After the attack, that killed 12 people and injured 48 others, a strange silence fell over Berlin. The streets were deserted, and trains and buses were almost empty. Berlin, it seemed, was […]
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U.S. Must Repeal Anti-Gay No Promo Homo Laws, Says Human Rights Watch
SIOUX FALLS, SD, Dec. 7, 2016 – Many schools across the United States remain hostile environments for LGBT students despite significant progress on LGBT rights in recent years, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Measures to improve student safety and inclusion are urgently needed at all levels of government. The 106-page report, […]
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Do You Believe Wearing ‘Sexy Clothing’ Makes Rape OK?
December 6, 2016 – Think all of your fellow citizens understand the definition of “rape”? Think again. In a recently published survey conducted in all 28 European Union member countries, over a quarter of respondents said that non-consensual sex can be justified in some circumstances. Those respondents agreed that in at least one of several […]
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Iraq: Airstrike Hit Clinic, 8 Civilians Died
Beirut, November 29, 2016 – An airstrike targeting Islamic State, also known as ISIS, fighters hit a clinic south of Mosul on October 18, 2016, Human Rights Watch said today. The attack destroyed half the clinic, killed eight civilians, and wounded at least two more. Two ISIS fighters and the ISIS transport minister were also […]
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Burma: End Prosecutions for Critical Speech
Rangoon, November 28, 2016 – Burmese authorities continue to arrest and charge individuals, including members of the ruling party, for criticizing the military and government, Human Rights Watch said today. On November 18, 2016, National League for Democracy (NLD) member Myo Yan Naung Thein was charged with defamation for a Facebook post criticizing the military for […]