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Recent Publications A Chance for Justice? War Crime Prosecutions in Bosnia’s Serb Republic This 42-page report describes the increased momentum towards war crimes trials at the end of 2005, and the opportunity created by the transfer of cases from the new War Crimes Chamber in Sarajevo. It also documents the obstacles to sustained progress on fair and effective prosecutions, including limited prosecutorial resources and insufficient assistance by Republika Srpska police. HRW Index No.: D1803 March 16, 2006 Report Also available in 
Download PDF, 317 KB, 44 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release Funding the "Final War" LTTE Intimidation and Extortion in the Tamil Diaspora This 45-page report details how representatives of the LTTE and pro-LTTE groups use unlawful pressure among Tamil communities in the West to secure financial pledges. People were told that if they did not pay the requested sum, they would not be able to return to Sri Lanka to visit family members. HRW Index No.: C1801 March 15, 2006 Report Also available in 
Download PDF, 325 KB, 48 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release The Impact of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the New Government of National Unity on Southern Sudan More than a year after the Sudanese government and southern-based rebels signed the peace agreement that ended their 21-year war, Sudan’s ruling party has failed to undertake promised reforms that would help end human rights abuses throughout the country, Human Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released today. March 8, 2006 Background Briefing Printer friendly version Mexico: The Second Assault Obstructing Access to Legal Abortion after Rape in Mexico This 92-page report details the disrespect, suspicion and apathy that pregnant rape victims encounter from public prosecutors and health workers. The report also exposes continuing and pervasive impunity for rape and other forms of sexual violence in states throughout Mexico. HRW Index No.: B1801 March 7, 2006 Report Also available in 
Download PDF, 486 KB, 94 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW): Responses to the IHL and ERW Questionnaire and the McCormack Report Memorandum to Delegates to the CCW In March 2005, members of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Working Group on Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) issued a questionnaire to states parties regarding ERW and International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Based on the questionnaire responses and state practice to date, Human Rights Watch believes that a new legally binding instrument specific to cluster munitions is required in order to avoid a future humanitarian crisis. With respect to cluster munitions, clearer and broader law is needed because interpretation of relevant IHL is too inconsistent, effective implementation globally is unlikely, and enforcement would be strengthened with a new instrument. March 6, 2006 Background Briefing Printer friendly version Rhetoric and Risk Human Rights Abuses Impeding Ukraine’s Fight Against HIV/AIDS This report documents how draconian drug laws and routine police abuse of injection drug users – the population hardest hit by HIV/AIDS in Ukraine – keep them from receiving lifesaving HIV information and services that the government has pledged to provide. HRW Index No.: D1802 March 2, 2006 Report Also available in 
Download PDF, 496 KB, 86 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release Libya: A Threat to Society? Arbitrary Detention of Women and Girls for “Social Rehabilitation” This 40-page report documents numerous and serious human rights abuses that women and girls suffer in "social rehabilitation" facilities in Libya. These include violations of their rights to liberty, freedom of movement, personal dignity, privacy and due process. Libyan authorities are holding many women and girls in these facilities who have committed no crime, or who have completed a sentence. Some are there for no reason other than that they were raped, and are now ostracized for staining their families’ “honor.” Officials transferred the majority of these women and girls to these facilities against their will, while those who came voluntarily did so because no genuine shelters for victims of violence exist in Libya. HRW Index No.: E1802 February 28, 2006 Report Also available in 
Download PDF, 319 KB, 41 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release Darfur Bleeds: Recent Cross-Border Violence in Chad This report documents an alarming rise in attacks against civilians in Chad by Sudanese government-backed Janjaweed militias and Chadian rebel groups. The Janjaweed and Chadian rebel forces operate from bases in Sudanese government-controlled areas of Darfur. Sudanese government troops and helicopter gunships have at times supported these cross-border attacks in eastern Chad. The Sudanese government provides support for several Chadian rebel groups, including harboring them on Sudanese territory. February 21, 2006 Background Briefing Also available in 
Printer friendly version Questions and Answers on the Danish Cartoons and Freedom of Expression When Speech Offends On September 30, 2005, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published twelve cartoon depictions of the Prophet Mohammed that its editors said they solicited as part of an experiment to overcome what they perceived as self-censorship reflected in the reluctance of illustrators to depict the Prophet. The cartoons were highly offensive to Muslims because Islam is understood to prohibit graphic depictions of the Prophet and because most of the depictions were extremely derogatory, for example, by associating him, and by implication all Muslims, with terrorism. February 15, 2006 Background Briefing Also available in 
Printer friendly version In Hope and Fear Uganda's Presidential and Parliamentary Polls Despite impressive displays of independence from the Electoral Commission and the judiciary, the first multiparty elections in two decades have been marred by intimidation of the opposition, military interference in the courts and bias in campaign funding and media coverage, Human Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released today. February 14, 2006 Background Briefing Printer friendly version The Iraqi High Tribunal and Representation of the Accused Since October 19, 2005, Saddam Hussein and seven other former Iraqi officials have been on trial for crimes that took place in the town of al-Dujail in 1982. Government security forces allegedly detained and tortured hundreds of individuals from al-Dujail in retaliation for an assassination attempt on Saddam Hussein as his motorcade passed through the town, sixty kilometers north of Baghdad. One hundred and forty-eight individuals were allegedly executed as part of the attack on al-Dujail. The defendants are charged with crimes against humanity in relation to these events and are being tried in Baghdad before the Iraqi High Tribunal (“the Tribunal”). February 10, 2006 Background Briefing Printer friendly version Looking for Justice The War Crimes Chamber in Bosnia and Herzegovina In March 2005, the War Crimes Chamber began operations within Bosnia’s State Court to try cases of serious war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina that could not be prosecuted within the mandate or timeframe of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The chamber will also handle serious war crimes cases initiated locally. This 44-page report evaluates the initial phase of the chamber, identifies achievements, and makes recommendations on how to improve the chamber’s operations. HRW Index No.: D1801 February 8, 2006 Report Also available in
Download PDF, 309 KB, 46 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release Libya: Words to Deeds The Urgent Need for Human Rights Reform This 84-page report is based primarily on Human Rights Watch’s first-ever trip to Libya, made in mid-2005, which the organization praised as a welcome step towards transparency. The authorities provided access to a wide range of high-level officials, as well as police stations, an immigration detention center and five prisons, where 32 prisoners were interviewed in private. However, government guides escorted Human Rights Watch researchers at all other times and controlled unauthorized contact with Libyans and foreigners in the country. HRW Index No.: E1801 January 25, 2006 Report Download PDF, 597 KB, 85 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release Sudan: Imperatives for Immediate Change The African Union Mission in Sudan This report examines the evolving role in the Darfur conflict of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), from its inception as a ceasefire monitoring body in June 2004 to its current incarnation as a major operation with a mandate to protect civilians that includes armed troops, unarmed civilian police, unarmed military observers, and support teams. HRW Index No.: A1801 January 20, 2006 Report Download PDF, 379 KB, 57 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release Briefing to the African Union Member States [Sixth Summit of the African Union, January 23-24, 2006] At the Sixth Summit of the African Union (A.U.) in Khartoum on January 23 and 24, Human Rights Watch calls on the Assembly of African Heads of State and Government to put the protection of civilians and the prosecution of human rights abusers at the top of its agenda. In this regard, Human Rights Watch respectfully draws the Assembly’s attention to two issues: the possible election of Sudanese president Omar El Bashir to the presidency of the African Union and the extradition from Senegal of former Chadian president Hissène Habré on charges of serious crimes in violation of international law. January 19, 2006 Background Briefing Also available in
Printer friendly version World Report 2006 Events of 2005 The 532-page Human Rights Watch World Report 2006 contains information on human rights developments in more than 60 countries in 2005. In addition to these country chapters, the book contains an introductory essay on torture and two other essays: “Private Companies and the Public Interest: Why Corporations Should Welcome Global Human Rights Rules” and “Preventing the Further Spread of HIV/AIDS: The Essential Role of Human Rights.” HRW Index No.: 1583227156 January 18, 2006 Report Download PDF, 2500 KB, 544 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release Rwanda: Historic Ruling Expected for Former President and Seven Others A Human Rights Watch Backgrounder The Supreme Court of Rwanda is scheduled to rule January 17 on the bid by former president Pasteur Bizimungu and seven others to have their convictions on charges of having formed a criminal association quashed. Bizimungu and former Public Works Minister Charles Ntakirutinka are also appealing convictions on charges of spreading rumors to incite rebellion against the government; in addition Bizimungu is appealing a conviction on the charge of embezzling government funds. January 16, 2006 Background Briefing Also available in
Printer friendly version Probable Cause Evidence Implicating Fujimori This 22-page report focuses specifically on information implicating Fujimori in five criminal cases currently pending in Peru, including human rights violations as well as acts of corruption that undermined Peru’s democratic institutions. HRW Index No.: B1706 December 21, 2005 Report Also available in
Download PDF, 305 KB, 24 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release Inside the Home, Outside the Law Abuse of Child Domestic Workers in Morocco This 60-page report documents cases of girls as young as five working 100 or more hours per week, without rest breaks or days off, for as little as six and a half Moroccan dirhams (about 70 U.S. cents) a day. Current and former child domestics describe frequent physical and verbal abuse, denial of education and of adequate food and medical care, and sexual harassment by employers or their relatives. Some domestics said that employers forced them to work against their will by beating them, locking them indoors, or refusing to pay those who wanted to quit. HRW Index No.: E1712 December 20, 2005 Report Also available in
Download PDF, 428 KB, 60 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release Elections in sight "Don’t Rock the Boat"? Some twenty-four million citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have registered to vote in the first nation-wide elections to be held in more than forty years. In the press to get the Congolese to the polls, donor nations and others in the international community must not neglect continuing efforts to establish the rule of law, freedom of expression, security, and good governance. Failure to progress in these areas may endanger the elections, risking the loss of everything thus far invested in restoring order in the Congo. December 15, 2005 Background Briefing Also available in
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