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Blood, Sweat, and Fear
by Human Rights WatchWorkers in the U.S. meat and poultry industry endure unnecessarily hazardous work conditions, and the companies employing them often use illegal tactics to crush union organizing efforts. In meat and poultry plants across the United States, Human Rights Watch found that many workers face a real danger of losing a limb, or even their lives, in unsafe work conditions.
Black Hole
by Human Rights WatchThe 53-page report, "Black Hole: The Fate of Islamists Rendered to Egypt," identifies some 60 individuals, mostly alleged Islamist militants of Egyptian origin, whom other states rendered to Egypt since 1994. The sending states have mainly been Arab and South Asian countries, but include Sweden as well as the United States. The Egyptian government has held many of the suspects in prolonged incommunicado detention. In some cases, Egypt has refused to acknowledge the whereabouts of those persons, and even the fact that they were in custody, raising concerns that some of the suspects have been forcibly "disappeared." Human Rights Watch said that sending wanted individuals to Egypt is a clear violation of the international law that prohibits extraditing or otherwise transferring persons to a country where they face likely torture.
Beyond Reason
by Human Rights WatchTwenty-five U.S. states still permit the execution of offenders with mental retardation and should pass laws to ban the practice without delay. The United States appears to be the only democracy whose laws expressly permit the execution of persons with this severe mental disability.
Basra
by Human Rights WatchThe city of Basra, with population of 1.5 million, is Iraq's main seaport and second largest city. It is situated some 550 kilometers south-east of Baghdad along the western shore of Shatt-al Arab, at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, 130 kilometers from the Persian Gulf. Basra suffered tremendously during Saddam Hussein's rule. The vast majority of the city's population are Shi`a Muslim Arabs. Shi`a Muslims comprise an estimated 55 percent of Iraq's population. Despite their numbers, Shi`a Muslims have been historically disempowered and oppressed in Iraq. As one of the chief population centers of Iraq's Shi`a Muslims, the city was a center of opposition to the Ba'th government. Basra's Shi`a residents rose up against Saddam Hussein after the rout of Iraqi forces in 1991, spurred in part by then-U.S. President George H. Bush's call to the Iraqi people to "take matters into their own hands to force Saddam Hussein, the dictator, to step aside." The uprising began in Basra and quickly spread to other major Shi`a areas in southern Iraq (as well as to the predominantly Kurdish areas in northern Iraq). Throughout the south, vengeance killings took place as the population vented its anger against anyone associated with the Ba'th government, killing hundreds of Ba'th party officials, local bureaucrats, and intelligence agents. However, the Iraqi government managed to maintain its control over the country and launched a brutal campaign of reprisal when the United States failed to support the uprising. In the ensuing retaliation, thousands of civilians from Basra were killed and thousands more imprisoned or "disappeared."
Barred from Treatment
by Human Rights WatchIn this 53-page report, Human Rights Watch found that New York prison officials sentenced inmates to a collective total of 2,516 years in disciplinary segregation from 2005 to 2007 for drug-related charges. At the same time, inmates seeking drug treatment face major delays because treatment programs are filled to capacity. When sentenced to segregation, known as "the box," inmates are not allowed to get or continue to receive treatment. Conditions in the box are harsh, with prisoners locked down 23 hours a day and contact with the outside through visitors, packages, and telephone calls severely restricted.
Bad Dreams
by Human Rights WatchThis report is the first comprehensive examination of the variety of human rights abuses that foreign workers experience in Saudi Arabia. The voices of these migrants provide a window into a country whose hereditary, unelected rulers continue to choose secrecy over transparency at the expense of justice. The stories in this report illustrate why so many migrant workers, including Muslims, return to their home countries deeply aggrieved by the lack of equality and due process of law in the kingdom. In an important sense, this report is an indictment of unscrupulous private employers and sponsors as well as Saudi authorities, including interior ministry interrogators and shari'a court judges, who operate without respect for the rule of law and the inherent dignity of all men and women, irrespective of gender, race, and religion.
After the Deluge
by Human Rights WatchIn a 47-page report released today, After the Deluge: India's Reconstruction Following the 2004 Tsunami, Human Rights Watch examines the Indian government's response to the tsunami and documents several systemic and potentially enduring failures. Human Rights Watch applauded the Indian government's overall response to the tsunami, but found that government recovery efforts did not adequately take into account the needs of different vulnerable segments of the affected population, particularly women, children, the disabled, Dalits (so-called untouchables) and tribal groups. In India, particularly in the weeks right after the tsunami, Human Rights Watch documented discrimination against Dalits by other victims of the tsunami, who belonged to a higher caste. In many instances, the Indian government failed to enforce its existing legislation and policy to protect vulnerable groups. Human Rights Watch urged the Indian government to undertake effective training and education-both for officials and the affected communities-part of its disaster management strategy.
Aceh Under Martial Law
by Human Rights WatchA hidden war has been raging in Aceh since May 2003, when Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri declared martial law in the province. This report attempts to convey some of the reality of that war: extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, beatings, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and drastic limits on freedom of movement. In many incidents described to Human Rights Watch, Indonesian security forces - military and police - routinely resorted to violence against primarily young Acehnese men stopped for questioning. Witnesses told Human Rights Watch about killings of civilians during village sweeps, some while being questioned or detained, others while fleeing in fear of mistreatment.
Aceh Under Martial Law
by Human Rights WatchA shroud of secrecy has enveloped Indonesia's Aceh province since the Indonesian government renewed its war there against the armed, separatist Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, or GAM) on May 19, 2003. This shroud parts occasionally to provide glimpses of vulnerable civilians caught in a violent military campaign with inadequate humanitarian relief. Although information is never more important than during wartime, troubling glimpses are all that is possible right now. The Indonesian government and military have effectively barred nearly all independent and impartial observers (including diplomats), as well as international humanitarian aid workers, from the province. Those allowed into or to stay in Aceh are generally not permitted to venture beyond the provincial capital, Banda Aceh.
Aceh Under Martial Law
by Human Rights WatchThousands of Indonesians have fled to Malaysia since the start of military operations and martial law in Indonesia's Aceh province in May 2003. They are fleeing a brutal conflict marked by grave human rights violations, including extra-judicial executions, forced disappearances, kidnappings, beatings, arbitrary detentions, and strict limitations on freedom of movement. Young men, in particular, are singled out by Indonesian security forces on suspicion that they are separatist rebels or supporters. Ongoing fighting, massive internal displacement, drastic restrictions on movement, and restrictions on humanitarian assistance have made the province an unbearable place to live for many Acehnese. Braving a difficult, dangerous, and costly journey, many have fled to Malaysia to seek refuge. Upon arrival in Malaysia, Acehnese refugees face a new set of challenges. Malaysia does not have a system to provide protection for refugees and asylum seekers. It does not recognize Acehnese fleeing the armed conflict at home as refugees. As a result, the Malaysian government has arrested, detained, and deported Acehnese refugees back to the very conflict they are fleeing. Those who manage to avoid deportation frequently live in situations of extreme poverty and are regularly subject to extortion from local police.
Abusing the User:Police Misconduct, Harm Reduction and HIV/AIDS in Vancouver
by Human Rights WatchAn anti-drug crackdown by the Vancouver Police Department has driven injection drug users away from life-saving HIV prevention services, raising fears of a new wave of HIV transmission in the city that is already home to the worst AIDS crisis in the developed world, said Human Rights Watch. In a 25-page report released today, "Abusing the User: Police Misconduct, Harm Reduction and HIV/AIDS in Vancouver," Human Rights Watch documents instances of unnecessary force and mistreatment, arbitrary arrest, and other intimidation and harassment of drug users as part of a campaign commonly referred to as Operation Torpedo. The crackdown began on April 7 in the city's impoverished Downtown Eastside neighborhood. Though drug traffickers are the ostensible target, drug users not charged with selling drugs have been driven to places where health workers cannot reach them to ensure access to sterile syringes and other HIV prevention services.