United States: Bush Signs Law on Child Soldiers
Measure to Prosecute Recruiters Abroad Puts Commanders on Notice
Under a new law signed today by US President George W. Bush, leaders of military forces and armed groups who have recruited child soldiers may be arrested and prosecuted in the United States, Human Rights Watch said today. The law could apply to leaders of dozens of forces that have recruited and used child soldiers in over 20 armed conflicts.
October 3, 2008 Press Release
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More Blowback from the War on Terror
The U.S.-backed Ethiopian military has secreted away scores of "suspects" – including pregnant women and children – and fueled anti-American rancor in Africa.
By Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel
Published in Salon
Ishmael is a victim of a 2007 rendition program in the Horn of Africa, involving Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and the United States. There are at least 90 more victims like him. Most have since been sent home. A few – including a Canadian and nine who assert Kenyan nationality – remain in detention even now. The whereabouts of 22 others – including several Somalis, Ethiopian Ogadenis, and Eritreans--remain unknown.
October 1, 2008 Commentary
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"Why Am I Still Here?"
The 2007 Horn of Africa Renditions and the Fate of Those Still Missing
 | This 54-page report examines the 2007 rendition operation, during which at least 90 men, women, and children fleeing the armed conflict in Somalia were unlawfully rendered from Kenya to Somalia, and then on to Ethiopia. The report documents the treatment of several men still in Ethiopian custody, as well as the previously unreported experiences of recently released detainees, several of whom described being brutally tortured. Update: Two days after this report was issued, eight of the ten rendition victims remaining in Ethiopian jails were released to Kenya.
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HRW Index No.: 1-56432-380-3
October 1, 2008 Report
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Ethiopia/Kenya: Account for Missing Rendition Victims
Secret Detainees Interrogated by US Officials Are Still in Custody
Two days after this report was issued, eight of the ten rendition victims known to be in Ethiopian jails were released to Kenya. The whereabouts of 22 others remains unknown.
At least 10 victims of the 2007 Horn of Africa rendition program still languish in Ethiopian jails and the whereabouts of several others is unknown. Several of the detained men were interrogated by US officials in Addis Ababa soon after they were secretly transferred from Kenya to Somalia, and then to Ethiopia in early 2007.
October 1, 2008 Press Release
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Oral Statement in Response to the Update of the Newly Appointed High Commissioner of Human Rights
High Commissioner, Human Rights Watch warmly welcomes you in your new position as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
September 8, 2008 Oral Statement
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Ethiopia: Army Commits Executions, Torture, and Rape in Ogaden
Donors Should Act to Stop Crimes Against Humanity
In its battle against rebels in eastern Ethiopia's Somali Region, Ethiopia's army has subjected civilians to executions, torture, and rape, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. The widespread violence, part of a vicious counterinsurgency campaign that amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity, has contributed to a looming humanitarian crisis, threatening the survival of thousands of ethnic Somali nomads.
June 12, 2008 Press Release
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Collective Punishment
War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia’s Somali Region
 | This 130-page report documents a dramatic rise in unchecked violence against civilians since June 2007, when the Ethiopian army launched a counterinsurgency campaign against rebels who attacked a Chinese-run oil installation. The Human Rights Watch report provides the first in-depth look at the patterns of abuse in a conflict that remains virtually unknown because of severe restrictions imposed by the Ethiopian government. |
HRW Index No.: 1-56432-322-6
June 12, 2008 Report
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Statement on Human Rights Situations that Require the Council's Attention
Human Rights Watch's Statement to the Human Rights Council
Human Rights Watch brings the human rights situations in Somalia, Ethiopia, China, and Zimbabwe to the Council's attention during the June session's General Debate (agenda item 4).
June 6, 2008 Oral Statement
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South Africa: Protect Victims of Xenophobic Violence
Provide Basics of Food, Water, Shelter, and Safety to Displaced
The South African government should ensure that “temporary shelter sites” for homeless and traumatized victims of recent xenophobic violence comply with international standards, Human Rights Watch said today. The UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement require states to provide food, water, shelter, medical care and security to displaced persons.
June 5, 2008 Press Release
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Somalia: Beleaguered Journalists Recognized for Courage
Vibrant Press Threatened by Worsening Chaos, Repression
Three Somali journalists have been awarded the prestigious Hellmann/Hammett award in recognition for their journalism while risking their lives and suffering terrible hardships in the midst of Somalia’s worsening armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said today.
June 2, 2008 Press Release
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Letter to the UN Security Council in Advance of its June Mission to Africa
We write in advance of the Security Council’s mission to Africa on June 1-10, 2008, to urge you to use this opportunity to address pressing human rights issues in Sudan, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.
May 27, 2008 Letter
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UN: Africa Trip Should Focus on Human Rights
Protection of Civilians Necessary for Lasting Peace
The United Nations Security Council should address protection of civilians, justice, and human rights during its upcoming visit to Africa from June 1-10, 2008, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the council. Human Rights Watch highlighted critical issues that needed to be addressed at each of the stops on the council’s tour.
May 27, 2008 Press Release
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South Africa: Lead UN to Action on Somalia, Darfur and Burma
Use Security Council Presidency to Save Lives
South Africa should use its Security Council presidency in April 2008 to make significant progress on human rights crises in Somalia, Darfur and Burma, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to South Africa’s minister of foreign affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and members of the United Nations Security Council.
“The Security Council should be signaling hope to civilians in crisis, but so far it has failed the people of Darfur, Burma and Somalia,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “South Africa should lead the Security Council in a major new international effort to end horrible abuses in these places and save lives.”
March 31, 2008 Press Release
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The Human Rights Crisis in Somalia
Statement prepared by Human Rights Watch for the “Arria formula” meeting on Somalia
Human Rights Watch welcomes this initiative by the United Nations Security Council to discuss the human rights and humanitarian crisis in Somalia. The situation in Somalia is one of the world’s starkest and most neglected tragedies. In basic human terms the scope of the crisis is enormous. It is also a situation with serious regional implications that must be squarely addressed by the Security Council.
March 31, 2008 Testimony
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Off-target
When missile strikes at alleged terrorists go awry, U.S. policy takes a hit.
By Jennifer Daskal and Leslie Lefkow
Published in The Los Angeles Times
On March 3 two Tomahawk missiles were launched toward Dobley, Somalia in the fourth U.S. airstrike aimed at individuals with Al Qaeda links in Somalia since January 2007. While missing its target, shrapnel from the missiles injured six civilians, a pattern that echoes previous U.S. strikes in Somalia. Such strikes inevitably turn ordinary Somalis against the United States, thereby bolstering support for militant groups, while the human rights and humanitarian crisis that terrorists feed off -- and that U.S. policies exacerbate -- is largely ignored. Additionally, the Ethiopian military offensive that ousted the ruling Islamist authority from Mogadishu and installed a weak but internationally backed transitional government triggered a predictable insurgency by both Islamist militants and ordinary Somalis, with the resulting conflict having led to thousands of civilian deaths and displaced persons. Ultimately, an effective counter-terrorism policy must address the underlying human rights and humanitarian tragedies that are fueling the crisis, as it has become clear that eliminating a few alleged terrorists will not solve these deeper problems.
March 28, 2008 Commentary
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South Africa: Lead UN to Action on Somalia, Darfur and Burma During Security Council Presidency
Letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Africa
March 28, 2008 Letter
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Somalia: UN Security Council Must Not Ignore Abuses
Video Footage From Mogadishu Shows Devastating Effects of Attacks on Civilians
The UN Security Council should strongly condemn serious abuses of civilians in Somalia and establish a commission of inquiry to identify individuals responsible for these crimes, Human Rights Watch said. Later this week, the UN secretary- general is due to present his report on Somalia to the Security Council.
March 11, 2008 Press Release
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Letter to the Secretary General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference
Urging the Organisation to Improve and Strengthen the 1999 OIC Convention on Combating International Terrorism
Human Rights Watch writes to urge Dr. Ihsanoglu to use his position as Secretary General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference to support measures at the upcoming Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Conference in Dakar, Senegal on March 13-14 that would improve and strengthen the 1999 OIC Convention on Combating International Terrorism. In particular, we urge the OIC to consider two amendments to the Convention in order to narrow its overbroad definition of terrorism and to make absolutely clear that there is no sanction in Islam for deliberately attacking civilians, whatever the circumstances or justifications.
March 11, 2008 Letter
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UN: Rights Council Should Tackle Somalia Crisis
Put Spotlight on Burma, Eastern Congo, and Sri Lanka
The UN Human Rights Council should draw attention to the neglected human rights crisis in Somalia, Human Rights Watch said today as the council began its first session of this year. The council, meeting in Geneva, should also intensify its engagement on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sri Lanka and Burma, Human Rights Watch said.
March 3, 2008 Press Release
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Making exceptions for Ethiopia
By Tom Porteous, London Director
Published in Guardian Unlimited
Meles Zenawi thinks the west's attitude to Africa is unbalanced and unfair. But his country is being torn apart by human rights abuses
January 31, 2008 Commentary
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