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The Children's Rights Division monitors human rights abuses against children around the world and works to end them. We investigate all kinds of human rights abuses against children: the use of children as soldiers; the worst forms of child labor; torture of children by police; police violence against street children; conditions in correctional institutions and orphanages; corporal punishment in schools; mistreatment of refugee and migrant children; trafficking of children for labor and prostitution; discrimination in education because of race, gender, sexual orientation, or HIV/AIDS; and physical and sexual violence against girls and boys. Children's physical and intellectual immaturity makes them particularly vulnerable to human rights violations. Their ill-treatment calls for special attention because, for the most part, children cannot speak for themselves, their opinions are seldom taken into account and they can only rarely form their own organizations to work for change. Press ReleasesUK: Missed Chance to Charge Sri Lankan Rights AbuserKaruna Case Could Have Been Landmark for International Justice The British government’s failure to file criminal charges against a former Tamil Tiger leader for grave human rights abuses in Sri Lanka is a tragic missed opportunity to bring a notorious rights abuser to justice, Human Rights Watch said today. May 9, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version DR Congo: Suspected War Criminal Wanted International Court Unseals Arrest Warrant Against Bosco Ntaganda Congolese officials and UN peacekeepers should take swift action to enforce the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant against a rebel leader accused of forcibly conscripting child soldiers and of other abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. April 29, 2008 Press Release Also available in Printer friendly version China: Educate Children of North Korean Women Policies Marginalize Children, Force Family Breakups Many children of North Korean women living in China are denied legal identity and access to education, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. To comply with international standards and its own laws, China should ensure all children can go to school, without preconditions such as requiring them to show household registration papers. China should also stop arresting and summarily repatriating North Korean women who have had children with Chinese men. April 13, 2008 Press Release Also available in Printer friendly version US: California May End ‘Life Without Parole’ for Youth Committee Approves Bill to Reform Sentencing of Young Offenders The California Senate’s Public Safety Committee has taken a historic step toward ending the practice of sentencing youth to die in prison by voting 3 to 2 in favor of the Juvenile Life Without Parole Reform Act (Senate Bill 1199), which would eliminate life-without-parole sentences for offenders under age 18. April 8, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Saudi Arabia: Heavy Price of Unfair Justice System Instead of Protection, Children are Exposed to Danger Saudi Arabia should urgently enact a penal code to protect all criminal suspects against arbitrary arrest, Human Rights Watch said in two reports released today. Criminal defendants, especially children, need greater protection against gross abuses during interrogation and unfair trials. The new reports are the result of a yearlong examination of the criminal justice system and draw on hundreds of interviews with Saudi officials, current and former detainees, their lawyers, and their families. The first, 144-page report, “Precarious Justice: Arbitrary Detention and Unfair Trials in a Deficient Criminal Justice System,” documents the arbitrary arrest and detention of individuals for vaguely defined crimes or behavior that is not inherently criminal. Once arrested, suspects often face prolonged solitary confinement, ill-treatment, forced confessions, and are denied a lawyer at crucial stages of interrogation and trial. March 24, 2008 Press Release Also available in Printer friendly version US: Move New Guantanamo Cases to Federal Courts Jawad and Al-Darbi Slated to Be Charged by Unfair Military Commissions This Week The US government should transfer the military commission trials of Mohammad Jawad and Ahmed Mohammad al-Darbi to federal court, Human Rights Watch said today. The Guantanamo military commissions are expected to formally charge Jawad and al-Darbi this week, making them the fourth and fifth detainees to be so charged. March 10, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Iran: Halt Execution of Juvenile Offender The head of Iran’s judiciary, Ayatollah Shahrudi, should immediately order a stay of execution for Mohammad Reza Haddadi, who was sentenced to death for a crime that he allegedly committed at the age of 15, Human Rights Watch said today. February 22, 2008 Press Release Also available in Printer friendly version UN: Sanction LTTE, Karuna Group for Child Soldiers Government Fails to Investigate Its Forces’ Complicity in Child Abductions The UN Security Council should impose sanctions on armed groups in Sri Lanka for using children in their forces, Human Rights Watch said today. February 21, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Uganda: New Accord Provides for War Crimes Trials Prosecuting Rights Abusers Will Require Political Will, Legal Reforms The agreement announced today between the Ugandan government and the Lord’s Resistance Army is a major step, but provisions on war crimes trials must be effectively put into practice for sustainable peace and justice in northern Uganda, Human Rights Watch said today. February 19, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version UN: Security Council Should Act Against Child Recruiters 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. February 12, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version US: Don’t Misrepresent Human Rights Watch to Justify Guantanamo Trials Contrary to US Claims, Human Rights Watch Opposes Khadr Prosecution The US government fundamentally misrepresented Human Rights Watch’s position to justify its prosecution of Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen facing charges for war crimes allegedly committed when he was just 15, Human Rights Watch said today. February 5, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Canada: Intervene on Behalf of Canadian Citizen at Guantanamo Canada should formally request that the United States transfer a Canadian citizen at Guantanamo, who was arrested when he was 15, to a court that meets juvenile justice and fair trial standards or repatriate him to Canada for rehabilitation, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, and Human Rights First said today in a joint letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. February 1, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version US: Stop Unfair Trial of Guantanamo Youth Transfer Omar Khadr to Federal Court or Return Him to Canada The United States should try Omar Khadr, a Guantanamo detainee arrested when he was 15 years old, in a court that meets juvenile justice and fair trial standards or repatriate him to Canada for rehabilitation, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, and Human Rights First said today in a joint letter to the US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. February 1, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version California: Repeal Law Jailing Children for Life Senate Should End ‘Life Without Parole’ for Juvenile Offenders California’s State Senate should pass a law this month to end the sentencing of children to prison for life with no possibility of parole, Human Rights Watch said today in a report on a practice outlawed in most of the world. January 14, 2008 Press Release Also available in Printer friendly version Australia: Rudd Should Make Human Rights a Priority Newly elected Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd should make human rights a priority for the new government’s policies at home and abroad, Human Rights Watch said in a letter today. December 17, 2007 Press Release Printer friendly version DR Congo: Warring Sides Must Protect Civilians UN Peacekeepers Must Also Help Civilians at Risk in North Kivu All sides to the renewed fighting in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo must protect civilians at risk, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch also called on United Nations peacekeepers in the area to strengthen their civilian protection efforts. December 11, 2007 Press Release Also available in Printer friendly version Iran: Prevent Execution of Juvenile Offender Prisoner Convicted on Recanted Testimony Now Faces Death The Iranian government should prevent the execution of Makwan Mouloudzadeh, who was sentenced to death for crimes allegedly committed when he was aged 13, Human Rights Watch said today. Court authorities in the city of Kermanshah should follow the recent order by the head of the Judiciary to allow judicial review of the case. December 5, 2007 Press Release Also available in Printer friendly version UN: Impose Burma Arms Embargo to End Child Soldier Use Burmese Government’s Steps to Address Problem Are Wholly Insufficient The United Nations Security Council should impose an arms embargo on Burma in response to the Burmese military government’s continuing recruitment of children for its national army, Human Rights Watch said today. December 5, 2007 Press Release Printer friendly version China: End Child Labor in State Schools ‘Work and Study’ Programs Put Hundreds of Thousands of Children at Risk The Chinese government should abolish the use of income-generating child labor schemes in middle and junior high schools because of their chronic abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. Many programs interfere with children’s education, lack basic health and safety guarantees, and involve long hours and dangerous work. December 3, 2007 Press Release Printer friendly version UN: New Post to Combat Violence Against Children 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. November 27, 2007 Press Release Printer friendly version |
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