Momentum for Signing of Ban Treaty Grows
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....
Ten Years on, Use Annual Meeting to Support and Strengthen the Court
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 Voluntary Standards Could Safeguard Freedom of Expression
A new voluntary standard that internet and telecom companies have agreed on could help safeguard freedom of expression and human rights in China and other countries where the internet is censored, Human Rights Watch said today....
Millions Worldwide Suffer Unnecessarily
Governments around the world, including those in low and middle income countries, should take urgent action to stop the unnecessary suffering of millions of people from severe but treatable pain, Human Rights Watch said today, ahead of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day on October 11....
Honored for Courage in Exposing Abuse and Seeking Justice
Five brave and selfless advocates of human rights from Burma, Congo, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan have been awarded the prestigious 2008 Human Rights Defender Awards, Human Rights Watch said today. All five have been persecuted and threatened for their work. One winner, Saudi lawyer Abd al-Rahman al-Lahim, is, which Human Rights Watch urges the Saudi government lift so that he may receive his award in person in London....
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Groups Gain Consultative Status
The decision by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) granting consultative status to two groups that work on sexual orientation and gender identity is a victory in the ongoing struggle for inclusion at the UN, a coalition of six human rights organizations said today. The two groups approved on July 21 and 22, 2008 are COC Netherlands and the State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals of Spain (FELGTB), national organizations representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Netherlands and Spain....
Senior Post Needed in New York to Support New High Commissioner
Navanethem Pillay, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s presumptive nominee for the post of High Commissioner for Human Rights, should commit herself to be a voice for victims and human rights defenders worldwide, Human Rights Watch said today. An announcement of Pillay’s nomination is expected shortly, and will go to the UN General Assembly for approval....
Court Needs Continuing International Support for Challenges Ahead
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has made notable progress in bringing justice for the worst crimes despite mistakes in policy and practice, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today that assesses the court’s first five years. Human Rights Watch urged greater international support of the ICC to meet the political and financial challenges ahead....
Security Council Takes Action to Identify and Help End Sexual Violence
The UN Security Council’s new resolution on sexual violence is a historic achievement for a body that has all too often ignored the plight of women and girls in conflict, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch applauds the council for setting out in the resolution a clear path to systematic information-gathering on sexual violence. Until now, the Security Council has asked for information on such violence only in selected cases....
Security Council Should Listen to Women Hurt by War
The United Nations Security Council should effectively address sexual violence in conflict as a weapon of war and its destabilizing impact on communities, Human Rights Watch and the International Women’s Tribune Center said today....
Security Council Can Correct Historic Inaction on Sexual Violence
The United Nations Security Council has a unique opportunity to correct its historic failure to address sexual violence against women and girls in conflict, Human Rights Watch said today....
Threat to US Humanitarian Aid Overblown
The US government is trying to win dangerous loopholes in a new treaty on cluster munitions even though it is not participating in the international conference to hammer out a final text, Human Rights Watch said today....
New Global Survey Finds Children in Fewer Conflicts but Still Fighting
Despite progress, efforts to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers are too little and too late for many children, according to the 2008 Child Soldiers Global Report, launched today by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers....
International Day Against Homophobia Highlights Dangers of Bias
The president of Poland, the leader of Uganda, and the UK Home Office are making prejudicial policies and public statements that deny people’s dignity and endanger their lives, Human Rights Watch said today in its annual “Hall of Shame” to mark the International Day Against Homophobia....
States Should Resist Weakening Treaty in Any Way
The more than 100 countries that will gather in Dublin, Ireland on May 19 to negotiate a new international treaty aimed at banning cluster munitions should reject attempts to weaken the treaty, Human Rights Watch said today. Participating countries are scheduled to adopt the final text of the treaty on May 30....
States Avoid Serious Discussion of Rights in Algeria, Tunisia
The first session of the new country review mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council was undermined by inconsistencies and the timidity of some governments in reviewing others, Human Rights Watch said today. On April 18, 2008 the council concluded a two-week session in which it examined the records of 16 countries as part of the new Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process....
The UK government should abandon its insistence on exempting certain weapons from the new cluster munitions treaty whose text is being finalized next month, Human Rights Watch said today. The government is seeking to weaken the treaty in other ways as well, Human Rights Watch said....
Council Fails to Act on Tibet and Remains Timid on Darfur
The UN Human Rights Council showed little resolve to take on states responsible for serious human rights violations in its session ending today, Human Rights Watch said. Although the council took action on Burma and Somalia, it ignored other human rights crises such as Tibet, and adopted a disturbingly weak resolution on Darfur....
Successor to Louise Arbour Should be Strong Leader and Fearless Advocate for Human Rights
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon should seek broad input and ensure transparency in the selection of Louise Arbour’s successor as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said in a joint letter released today....
Final Treaty Negotiations Set for Dublin in May 2008
Eighty-two nations endorsed a strongly worded draft treaty on cluster munitions, moving the world closer to a ban on weapons that cause horrific civilian casualties, Human Rights Watch said today at the end of a week of diplomatic talks in Wellington, New Zealand. The push for a comprehensive ban on clusters, which harm civilians during and after conflict, came despite efforts to water down the text by a handful of states with stockpiles of the weapon....
Companies Harm Human Rights Worldwide
People in countries across the world are regularly harmed when businesses fail to respect basic human rights, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at New York University School of Law....
Harsher Measures Needed to Discourage the Use of Child Soldiers in Armed Conflict
The UN Security Council should impose sanctions against government and rebel forces that persist in using child soldiers, Human Rights Watch said today. The Security Council is holding an open debate today on children and armed conflict....
Secretary-General to Address ICC Meeting at UN Headquarters
The United Nations secretariat and the 105 states that have joined the International Criminal Court should step up support for the court so that it can bring justice for war crimes, Human Rights Watch said today as the ICC opens its annual meeting in New York....
Rights Groups Welcome Establishment of New Representative to Secretary-General
The UN General Assembly’s decision today to establish a special representative to the secretary-general on violence against children is a welcome step toward combating this worldwide problem, said a broad coalition of human rights groups and child rights advocates....
Diplomatic talks on cluster munitions at a United Nations conference in Geneva sputtered to a weak conclusion today, underscoring the importance of the “Oslo Process” to ban cluster munitions, Human Rights Watch said today....
Landmine Monitor Report 2007 Released Today
Many states are not on course to meet their Mine Ban Treaty mine clearance obligations, according to Landmine Monitor Report 2007: Toward a Mine-Free World. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) releases the 1,124-page report at the United Nations today. Landmine Monitor reports on the global landmine situation and scrutinizes the implementation of and compliance with the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. Landmine Monitor Report 2007 is the ninth annual edition of the report....
(New York, November 5, 2007) – Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay will co-sponsor the New York event of the Yogyakarta Principles, a global charter for gay rights, at the United Nations on November 7, 2007, Human Rights Watch said today....
Investigation Should Expand to Include Senior Officials in the Region
The International Criminal Court’s successful arrest warrant against a major war crimes suspect in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) should be followed up by the court extending its investigation to include senior military and political figures in the Great Lakes region who backed local warlords, Human Rights Watch said today....
Expand Agenda to Address Backlog of Work
The Human Rights Council should actively address serious human rights abuses in countries across the globe, Human Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released today. The council began the first session of its second year today in Geneva....
Advances in HIV/AIDS Prevention, Treatment Hinge on Respecting Human Rights
Scientists and other delegates meeting July 22-25 at the 4th International AIDS Society Conference in Sydney should focus their attention on how human rights abuses against people living with HIV undermine the impact of scientific advances against AIDS, Human Rights Watch said today....