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RSS News Feed   Labour Regulations Foreign domestic workers need rest, too By Emily Allen and Nisha Varia Published in The Straits Times Today as many of us celebrate May Day with a break from our jobs, others in Singapore are expected to work through the day. In fact, foreign domestic workers often work through all holidays. Far too many of them work every day of the week, every week of the year, without a single day of rest. May 1, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version The Future of Human Rights: U.S. Policy for a New Era The thirteen essays in this volume, edited by William F. Schulz, provide thematic assessments of the current state of global human rights programs. Human Rights Watch's Refugee Policy Director Bill Frelick writes an essay on U.S. refugee and asylum policy and Senior Labor Rights and Trade Researcher Carol Pier contributes a chapter on labor rights. Taken together, the essays converge on one overarching point: to attract the widest support, the U.S. commitment to universal human rights should be presented as reflecting the best of the American tradition. April 16, 2008 Web Site China: Olympic Flame Turns Up Heat on Sponsors Corporate Social Responsibility Rhetoric Does Not Match Reality With fewer than four months remaining until the start of the Beijing Games, corporate sponsors of the Olympics risk lasting damage to their brands if they do not live up to their professed standards of corporate social responsibility by speaking out about the deteriorating human rights situation in China, Human Rights Watch said today. April 16, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Olympic Corporate Sponsors: Rhetoric and Reality Excerpts from all 12 “TOP” Olympic sponsor companies’ policies on commitment to social responsibility and their comments on China, the Olympics, and human rights. April 16, 2008 Background Briefing Printer friendly version Advocacy group misrepresented By José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director Published in The Boston Globe RE "THE promise of a Colombia trade pact" (Op-ed, April 11): Edward Schumacher-Matos misrepresents the work of Human Rights Watch on killings of trade unionists in Colombia when he says we "imply" that all such murders are because of labor organizing. April 15, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Don't Dismiss the Killings in Colombia Letter to the Editor of The Washington Post By Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director Published in The Washington Post If death squads with ties to the U.S. government were targeting Post reporters for assassination, I doubt that The Post would dismiss the problem by arguing that the murder rate for journalists was less than the rate for the District as a whole. Yet that is exactly what The Post did in dismissing the killings of trade union activists by paramilitaries in Colombia on the basis that trade unionists are still less likely to be killed than the average citizen ["The Sin of Speaking Truth," editorial, April 8]. Congress is right to delay approval of a free-trade agreement with Colombia until Mr. Uribe takes on the violent right as he did the violent left. April 10, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Congress Should Stand Firm on Colombia By Maria McFarland, senior researcher on Colombia Published in The Huffington Post In the remote Nariño region of southwestern Colombia, one mother amongst many mourned her loss. "The paramilitaries said my son was a guerrilla," she told me last month. "They tortured him, tied him up ... and then shot him three times in the head in front of everybody." April 9, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version US: Reject Colombia Free Trade Deal Bogota Fails to Tackle Anti-Union Violence and Impunity The US Congress should vote against the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) because of Colombia’s continuing failure to effectively address anti-union violence and impunity, Human Rights Watch said today. April 7, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Universal Periodic Review of the State of Bahrain Human Rights Watch's Submission to the Human Rights Council The Human Rights Council, in its review of Bahrain’s human rights record, should assess this legislation and recommend steps to bring existing legislation, especially in the areas of freedom of association, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, and accountability for grave crimes April 7, 2008 Written Statement Printer friendly version Universal Periodic Review of Morocco Human Rights Watch's Submission to the Human Rights Council Morocco continues to present a mixed picture on human rights. It has made great strides in addressing past abuses, allowed considerable space for public dissent and protest, and reduced gender inequality in the family code. But authorities, aided by complaisant courts, continue to use repressive legislation to punish peaceful opponents. April 7, 2008 Written Statement Printer friendly version Nigeria: Niger Delta Gang Violence Goes Unpunished Failure to Prosecute Gang Leaders, Politicians Will Fuel Bloodshed The Nigerian government’s failure to hold accountable politicians and gang leaders responsible for a deadly wave of post-election violence in the oil-rich Niger Delta threatens to bring further bloodshed, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. March 21, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version “One Year of My Blood” Exploitation of Migrant Construction Workers in Beijing
HRW Index No.: C2003 March 12, 2008 Report Download PDF, 304 KB, 59 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release Business: Rights at Risk in the Global Economy 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. February 19, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version On the Margins of Profit Rights at Risk in the Global Economy
HRW Index No.: G2003 February 19, 2008 Report Download PDF, 1100 KB, 54 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release Troubled Times Published in Progress Magazine For years, the Bush administration in the United States has stood by the government of President Álvaro Uribe in Colombia unconditionally, turning a blind eye to Colombia’s serious human rights problems. The Blair government in the UK, for the most part, quietly followed suit, providing substantial assistance to Colombia’s military with no strings attached. It’s time to rethink that policy. February 1, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Bangladesh: Labor Activists in Export Sector Harassed Recent Arrest Shows Government’s Misuse of Emergency Powers Bangladesh’s interim government should immediately end the recent harassment of labor rights activists who are conducting legitimate activities to protect the rights of workers in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. January 31, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Crackdown in Burma: Targeted Sanctions Needed Business-Related Recommendations on Burma Human Rights Watch issued a new report in December 2007 documenting the crackdown on popular protests in Burma that began in August. Hundreds of people remain arbitrarily detained. We recommend targeted financial, trade, and investment sanctions, and also make specific recommendations to companies doing business in Burma. January 11, 2008 Background Briefing Printer friendly version Burma’s Gem Trade and Human Rights Abuses Burma produces the vast majority of high-quality rubies on the world market. According to industry estimates, the country accounts for more than 90 percent of the trade by value. It is also the top global producer of jade. Burma’s gem mines are ruled with an iron hand by military authorities and mining companies. Deplorable conditions at the mines reportedly include rampant land confiscation, extortion, forced labor, child labor, environmental pollution and unsafe working conditions for miners. HIV/AIDS, drug-resistant malaria and tuberculosis are increasingly common in mining areas. January 11, 2008 Background Briefing Printer friendly version Burma: Boycott Gems Funding Military Repression Consumers and merchants should not buy jade, rubies, and other gems from Burma until the military government ends its repression, which is partly funded by gem sales, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called for a boycott in advance of a gem auction scheduled from January 15 to 19 in Rangoon. January 11, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Letter to Governments in Asia and the Middle East on International Migrants' Day Migrants’ Groups Call for Key Reforms We are writing on December 18, 2007, International Migrants’ Day, to call upon you to implement key reforms to respect and uphold migrants’ rights. On January 21-22, 2008, the United Arab Emirates will host the latest round of the “Colombo Process,” a series of regional consultative processes focused on Asian contract migrant workers. We believe this meeting could provide an important stepping stone to establishing regional minimum standards regarding recruitment, employment, and protection of migrant workers. December 17, 2007 Letter Printer friendly version |
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 Display Only: Reports Briefing Papers Press Releases Themes: Featured Reports: Too High a Price: The Human Rights Cost of the Indonesian Military’s Economic Activities
The Indonesian military's involvement in licit and illicit business threatens human rights. This 136-page report provides a comprehensive account of the harmful effect on civilians of the armed forces' involvement in business. In the report, Human Rights Watch calls on the Indonesian government to ban all military businesses, reform the budget process and hold military personnel accountable for crimes. June 2006
Democratic Republic of Congo: The Curse of Gold
This 159-page report documents widespread human rights abuses linked to efforts by foreign armies and armed groups to control two key gold mining areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The report provides details of how a leading gold mining company established a relationship with an armed group responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in return for assurances of security and access to a mining site in northeast DRC. The report also illustrates the trail of tainted gold from the DRC to neighboring Uganda from where it is sent to global gold markets in Europe and elsewhere. June 2005
Angola: Some Transparency, No Accountability
This 93-page report investigates the use of oil revenues in Angola and the loss of approximately $4.2 billion from government coffers between 1997-2002, and examines how this loss undermines the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of the Angolan people. January 2004
July 2004 Deliberate
Indifference: El Salvador’s Failure to Protect Workers’ Rights
This 110-page report documents violations of workers’ rights – most pervasively, the right to freedom of association – and investigates the government’s disregard and facilitation of such abuses; to prevent these violations, the report recommends revising and strengthening the labor rights protections afforded by the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). December 2003 2004 World Report Chapter: Engine of War: Resources, Greed, and the Predatory
State
Written by Arvind Ganesan, director of the Business and Human Rights Program, this chapter explores how corruption, lack of transparency, and private and public sector profiteering play into the “greed or grievance” theory on the cause of civil conflict; it cites examples from recent conflicts in Angola, Liberia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. January 2004  Beijing Olympic Watch |
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