(Washington, DC, November 20, 2008) – Colombia needs to do much more to address its human rights problems before the US Congress should consider the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives.
(Washington, DC, November 20, 2008) - The Bush administration should immediately arrange for the return to Bosnia of five detainees ordered freed by a US federal court, Human Rights Watch said today.
(The Hague) - The request on November 20 by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for arrest warrants for three rebel leaders believed to be responsible for attacks on international peacekeepers in Darfur is an important step toward protecting those who protect civilians, Human Rights Watch said today.
November 2008
(Washington, DC, November 19, 2008) – President Álvaro Uribe of Colombia should stop making false and dangerous accusations against human rights groups that criticize his government, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today in a joint statement. Colombia should instead address the human rights concerns they raise.
For Immediate Release
India: Stop ‘Social Cleansing' in Bangalore
Illegal Mass Evictions Against a Transgender Community
(The Hague, November 18, 2008) - The International Criminal Court's decision today to proceed with the trial of a Congolese rebel leader accused of using child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo is a victory for victims and fair trials, Human Rights Watch said.
(New York, November 18, 2008) – The Nepali government should urgently address the widespread torture and ill-treatment of children in police custody, Human Rights Watch said today in a statement marking Nepali Children’s Day on November 20.
(Johannesburg) - Lesotho's drive to test all of its citizens age 12 or older for the virus that causes AIDS fell short of its goals, both in carrying out the program and in safeguarding the rights of those tested, said Human Rights Watch and the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa in a new report released today.
(London, November 16, 2008) – The UK foreign secretary, David Miliband, should use his visit to Syria to raise human rights concerns, Human Rights Watch said today. In particular, Miliband should urge the Syrian government to release activists detained solely for exercising freedom of expression and association.
(New York, November 17, 2008) – The Andhra Pradesh state government should prosecute police officials responsible for the torture of 21 Muslims after a series of bomb blasts in Hyderabad in May and August 2007, Human Rights Watch said today.
(Geneva, November 14, 2008)– An effort by some countries to legitimize the ongoing use, production, trade, and stockpiling of cluster munitions failed today, in the lead-up to a comprehensive legal ban on the weapon that more than 100 other nations plan to sign in Oslo, Norway on December 3.
(New York, November 11, 2008) - Human Rights Watch today honored Abd al-Rahman al-Lahim, a Saudi human rights lawyer, with the 2008 Human Rights Defenders Award in London.
(Washington, DC, November 16, 2008) – Upon taking office, President-elect Barack Obama should decisively repudiate the abusive counterterrorism practices of the past seven years and adopt fair and effective policy reforms, Human Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released today.
(London, November 16, 2008) – The UK foreign secretary, David Miliband, should use his visit to Syria to raise human rights concerns, Human Rights Watch said today. In particular, Miliband should urge the Syrian government to release activists detained solely for exercising freedom of expression and association.
(New York, November 13, 2008) - The UN Security Council should urgently increase the number of peacekeepers to help protect civilians in northern Democratic Republic of Congo following renewed attacks by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), four international and national human rights organizations said today.
(Nairobi, November 13, 2008) -The Kenyan government, foreign donors, and United Nations agencies should rapidly increase their response to the worsening Somali refugee crisis in Kenya, Human Rights Watch said today.
(Paris, November 13, 2008) - The European Union should establish human rights criteria for moving forward with a new strategic partnership with Russia, Human Rights Watch said today. The EU and Russia are to resume negotiations on renewing their partnership agreement at a summit meeting on November 14, 2008, in Nice.
(New York, November 12, 2008) - Bahrain's government should withdraw a threat by the interior minister to prosecute human rights activists for having met with foreign government officials while abroad, Human Rights Watch said today.
(The Hague, November 12, 2008) - International Criminal Court (ICC) member countries should speak up to support the court's independence and mandate during their annual meeting beginning November 14, 2008, Human Rights Watch said today. They should also pledge increased international cooperation on arrest warrants and should resolve to carry out arrests in the coming year.
(New York) – The United Nations Security Council should urgently increase the number of peacekeepers in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to protect civilians in the face of new fighting and mounting civilian deaths, Human Rights Watch said today. The Security Council is meeting today with Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy to discuss the situation.
(New York, November 11, 2008) - Human Rights Watch today honored Abd al-Rahman al-Lahim, a Saudi human rights lawyer, with the 2008 Human Rights Defenders Award in London.
(New York, November 11, 2008) - Burma's military government should immediately exonerate and free about 70 activists who are being tried by unfair courts for their peaceful participation in the protests in September 2007, Human Rights Watch said today. A court inside Rangoon's notorious Insein prison today sentenced 14 of them to 65-year prison terms.