Human Rights Watch News Releases, Americas
News releases from Human Rights Watch on Americas
http://www.hrw.org/
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:12:11 +0000
| 02/19/2008 06:00 AM |
| Cuba: Fidel Castro’s Abusive Machinery Remains Intact |
| Major Obstacles Remain for Human Rights
Despite Fidel Castro’s resignation today, Cuba’s abusive legal and institutional mechanisms continue to deprive Cubans of their basic rights, Human Rights Watch said today. The counterproductive US embargo policy continues to give the Cuban government a pretext for human rights violations. |
| 02/07/2008 06:00 AM |
| US: Uphold Treaty Against Racial Discrimination |
| The United States has failed to comply with its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Subjects detailed in the report include the failure of federal authorities to inform individual states of their obligations under the treaty, the discriminatory treatment of Haitian refugees by the US, and policies that have the effect of denying health care to many African-Americans with HIV/AIDS. In addition, the report presents new data collected by Human Rights Watch demonstrating that racial disparities in the sentencing of children to life in prison without possibility of parole are more pronounced than the US has acknowledged to date. |
| 07/20/2007 07:00 AM |
| US: Presidential Order Affirms CIA Secret Detentions |
| Allows Detention in Violation of Geneva Conventions
President George W. Bush’s new executive order on the Central Intelligence Agency’s detention and interrogation program is contrary to the Geneva Conventions, Human Rights Watch said today. |
| 06/22/2007 07:00 AM |
| US: Close Guantanamo – Not Tomorrow, but Today |
| No Need to Wait for Transfers or Creation of Military Commissions
Human Rights Watch reiterated its call to President George W. Bush in a letter today to close immediately the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. Human Rights Watch said the continued detention of hundreds of men without charge has undermined US efforts to end terrorism. |
| 04/18/2007 07:00 AM |
| US/Australia: Refugee Deal Trades in Human Lives |
| Agreement to Swap Refugees Flouts International Law
A deal between the United States and Australia to trade refugees housed at Guantanamo Bay for those held on the island nation of Nauru upends international refugee standards, Human Rights Watch said today. |
| 03/27/2007 07:00 AM |
| US: Stop the Guantanamo Circus |
| Hicks Pleads Guilty; New Detainee Arrives
Two defense lawyers for Guantanamo detainee David Hicks were barred from representing their client yesterday, highlighting the failure of US military commissions to meet fair trial standards, Human Rights Watch said today. Hicks, the first person to be charged before the military commissions authorized by Congress in 2006, pleaded guilty to a single criminal charge. |
| 09/18/2006 07:00 AM |
| U.N.: Human Rights Council Must Expand Its Reach |
| Civilians in Darfur, Sri Lanka Need Protection
The new U.N. Human Rights Council must take urgent action to address crises from Darfur to Sri Lanka and expand its focus beyond the Middle East, Human Rights Watch said today. |
| 07/14/2006 07:00 AM |
| EU: Push U.S. To Close Guantanamo |
| European governments should take concrete steps to help close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter sent to EU foreign ministers. sent to EU foreign ministers. |
| 07/11/2006 07:00 AM |
| U.S.: Pentagon Applies Geneva Rules to Detainees |
| Those in CIA Custody Must Also Be Covered
The Bush administration’s belated decision to recognize the applicability of the Geneva Conventions to terrorism suspects in military custody is a step forward, Human Rights Watch said today. But because the Pentagon memorandum that codifies the change does not extend to detainees held by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), it represents only partial compliance with the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. |
| 05/09/2006 07:00 AM |
| U.S.: Bush Should Close Guantanamo Now |
| President George W. Bush should shut the Guantanamo Bay detention facility now and not wait for a Supreme Court ruling. |
