Human rights

Summit Key Opportunity to Press Moscow to Regain Lost Momentum for Reform

November 17, 2009 -- (Moscow) - European leaders should use the upcoming EU-Russia summit to convey alarm over deteriorating human rights in Russia and to press for concrete improvements, Human Rights Watch said today. The summit is scheduled for November 18 and 19, 2009, in Stockholm.

During the past year, Russia has suffered unprecedented blows to its human rights community, with at least five independent civic activists murdered, and others imprisoned, beaten, and harassed. A leading rights activist is facing criminal charges for speaking out over the murder of a colleague. Violence has surged in the North Caucasus.    » read more »

18 November 2009 -- Amnesty International has urged Afghanistan's newly re-elected President Hamid Karzai to prioritize human rights and the rule of law in his second term in order to strengthen the country's stability and security.

"Afghans from around the country continue to tell us that they suffer from poor governance, endemic corruption, a weak and inept justice system and lack of respect for human rights and rule of law," said Sam Zarifi, director of Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific programme. "All these factors weaken support for the government and its international allies."    » read more »

Use Annual Gathering of 110 Members to Confront Critics, Strengthen International Justice

November 17, 2009 -- (The Hague) - International Criminal Court member countries should use their annual meeting to strengthen international support for the court's mission and independence, Human Rights Watch said today. The ICC Assembly of States Parties, which oversees court administration, will meet in The Hague for nine days beginning November 18, 2009.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, DC (November 14, 2009) -- Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-IL, released the following statement in response to proposals that Guantanamo Bay deatainees will be relocatoted to a prison in Illinois.

“The Guantanamo Bay facility is a recruiting tool for Al Queda and a mark against the morals of the United States. In closing ‘Gitmo’ and moving some detainees to Illinois, we strengthen our national security, create thousands of jobs, and bring long overdue justice to those who have committed atrocities against the United States.

"Our American criminal justice and penal systems are fuIly capable of handling these individuals. In fact, today there are 340 domestic and international terrorists in U.S. prisons, including 35 in Illinois.    » read more »

Decisions on Accused 9/11 Plotters, Alleged Mastermind of USS Cole Attack & Others

November 13, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – The Departments of Justice and Defense today announced forum decisions for ten detainees at Guantanamo Bay whose cases were previously charged in military commissions, including five detainees accused of conspiring to commit the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and a detainee accused of orchestrating the attack on the USS Cole.    » read more »

Speech of Attorney General Eric Holder

Washington, D.C. -- Friday, November 13, 2009 -- Good morning. Just over eight years ago, on a morning our nation will never forget, nineteen hijackers working with a network of Al Qaeda conspirators around the world launched the deadliest terrorist attacks our country has ever seen. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in those attacks, and in the years since, our nation has had no higher priority than bringing those who planned and plotted the attacks to justice.

One year before, in October 2000, a terrorist attack on the USS Cole killed seventeen American sailors.

Today we announce a step forward in bringing those we believe were responsible for the 9/11 attacks and the attack on the USS Cole to justice.    » read more »

As New Facility Opens, Prisoner Rights Still Lacking

November 14, 2009 -- (London) - The Obama administration should revise its detention policies in Afghanistan to make them consistent with international law, Amnesty International, Human Rights First, and Human Rights Watch said today. The United States military is hosting the media and some nongovernmental organizations today at its recently constructed but empty detention facility in Parwan province, Afghanistan.

The three organizations urged the US to end arbitrary detention in Afghanistan and to fully align US detention practices with international law.    » read more »

November 13, 2009 -- (New York) - The Obama administration's decision to prosecute the September 11 suspects in federal court represents an important step forward for justice, Human Rights Watch said today. Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that five of the suspects facing pending military commission charges at Guantanamo would be transferred for federal trial in the United States.

"The Obama administration recognized that a trial of this historic importance belongs in a fair and time-tested justice system," said Joanne Mariner, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Program director at Human Rights Watch. "The military commissions at Guantanamo are simply not up to the task."    » read more »

Unlawful Detention Facilities Breed Violence, Threats, Extortion

November 11, 2009 -- (New York) - Since 2003, large numbers of Chinese citizens have been held incommunicado for days or months in secret, unlawful detention facilities known as "black jails" by state agents who violate detainees' rights with impunity, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.

The 53-page report, "An Alleyway in Hell," documents how government officials, security forces, and their agents routinely abduct people off the streets of Beijing and other Chinese cities, strip them of their possessions, and imprison them. These black jails are often located in state-owned hotels, nursing homes, and psychiatric hospitals.    » read more »

November 9, 2009 -- (New York) - United States President Barack Obama should raise key human rights concerns publicly on his first official visit to China, Human Rights Watch said in a letter released today.

"President Obama has spoken forcefully about the importance of defending human rights globally in speeches in Egypt, Ghana, Turkey, and at the United Nations," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "The test now is whether he will do so in a country where the government remains profoundly hostile to these concepts."

The letter urges Obama to raise three key issues, including:

* Freedom of expression, including internet censorship and the imprisonment of peaceful government critics;    » read more »

November 3, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), along with Constitution Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers [D-MI], Crime Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Scott [D-VA], Rep. Anthony Weiner [D-NY] , Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee [D-TX], and Ways and Means Subcommittee Chairman John Lewis [D-GA] today introduced the Effective Death Penalty Appeals Act (H.R. 3986), which would ensure that death row inmates have the opportunity to present newly discovered evidence of innocence.

Under current law, an inmate on death row can be stranded with no procedural options to appeal a conviction, even if there is compelling new evidence that he or she is innocent.

The Effective Death Penalty Appeals Act would:    » read more »

Oppose House Resolution on Goldstone Report

November 2, 2009 -- (Washington DC) - Members of the US House of Representatives should oppose a resolution that calls for the Obama administration to reject scrutiny of Israel and Hamas for laws-of-war violations in the recent Gaza conflict, Human Rights Watch said today.

House Resolution 867 calls on the US president and secretary of state to "oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration of the ‘Report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict' in multilateral fora." Debate on the non-binding resolution is scheduled for November 3, 2009.    » read more »

Michael H. Posner, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

Washington, DC -- October 26, 2009 -- ASSISTANT SECRETARY POSNER: Thank you, Madame Secretary, for your remarks and for your leadership on this issue of religious freedom. I have recently been confirmed as the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. In this position, I’m charged with leading the bureau in which the Office of International Religious Freedom is a part.    » read more »

October 19, 2009 -- (New York) - The Obama administration's new Sudan policy, announced this morning, represents a positive step toward improving human rights and securing justice in Sudan, Human Rights Watch said today. The policy aims to end conflict in Darfur and ensure implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

It recognizes the need to apply continued and increased pressure on Sudan to obtain progress on human rights and justice for atrocities committed in Darfur to ensure lasting peace in Sudan.    » read more »

Harsh Crackdown on Followers of Buddhist Peace Activist Thich Nhat Hanh

October 18, 2009 -- (New York) - The violent forced expulsion of more than 300 followers of the world-renowned Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh from Bat Nha monastery in late September highlights the Vietnamese government's suppression of religious freedom, Human Rights Watch said today.

In 2005, the Vietnamese government welcomed Thich Nhat Hanh during his first return to his homeland after 39 years in exile abroad. Government and religious officials subsequently invited him to open a Buddhist meditation center at Bat Nha monastery in Lam Dong province, which soon began to draw large numbers of followers.    » read more »