Human Rigths Watch-Informe 2009

February 13th - February 20th, 2009
EU: Press Croatia to Continue Cooperation with Yugoslav Tribunal
Sri Lanka: End ‘War’ on Civilians
US: Obama Should Appoint Commission to Investigate 9/11-Related Abuses
Jamaica: Condemn Homophobic Remarks
Morocco: Rights Activist Detained
Sudan: End Censorship and Repression
US: Resettle Guantanamo Uighurs in the United States
EU should not tolerate Ethiopia's repression
Israel/Egypt: Choking Gaza Harms Civilians
UK: Law Lords Judgment Undermines Torture Ban
US: Rights Leaders Applaud Decision to Join Durban Review
Canada: Harper Should Raise Khadr Case During Obama's Visit
UN: Send More Troops to DR Congo
Lebanon: Removal of Religion from IDs Positive but not Sufficient
Burundi: Respect Privacy, Reject Repressive Law
Cambodia: First Trial to Test Tribunal’s Credibility

EU: Press Croatia to Continue Cooperation with Yugoslav Tribunal
Cooperation Should Be Considered in EU Accession Process
(Brussels) - The European Union should send a signal to Croatian authorities that they should continue to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, including by handing over key documents, Human Rights Watch said in a letter today. The EU foreign ministers are expected to adopt conclusions on the Western Balkans at a meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council on February 23 and 24, 2009 in Brussels.Read more
Sri Lanka: End 'War' on Civilians
Army Shells and Detains Displaced Persons, Tamil Tigers Prevent Their Flight
(New York) - The Sri Lankan government should immediately cease its indiscriminate artillery attacks on civilians in the northern Vanni region and its policy of detaining displaced persons in internment camps, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Since early January 2009, civilian casualties have skyrocketed in the fighting between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).Read more
US: Obama Should Appoint Commission to Investigate 9/11-Related Abuses
(Washington, DC) - President Barack Obama should appoint a nonpartisan commission to investigate and examine detention, treatment, and transfer of detainees following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Human Rights Watch and 17 other leading rights organizations said.Read more
Jamaica: Condemn Homophobic Remarks
Prime Minister Should Speak Out Against Violence and Discrimination, Affirm Rights for All
(New York) - Jamaica's leaders should condemn the comments of a governing-party member of parliament who called for gay organizations to be outlawed and demanded life imprisonment for homosexual conduct, Human Rights Watch said in a Letter to Prime Minister Bruce Golding. Citing endemic violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Jamaica, Human Rights Watch urged the government to repeal the colonial-era law against 'buggery' and publicly affirm equality before the law.Read more
Morocco: Rights Activist Detained
(New York) - Moroccan authorities should disclose immediately the whereabouts of a human rights activist, Chekib el-Khiari, who reported to the Judicial Police in Casablanca on February 17, 2009, in response to a summons and has not been heard from since. Early this morning, plainclothes police searched el-Khiari's family's home in the city of Nador and confiscated his computer and some documents, family members said.Read more
Sudan: End Censorship and Repression
Security Services Abuse Rights Activists and Journalists and Censor Press
(New York) - The Sudanese government is censoring the media and cracking down on human rights activists and journalists who speak out on human rights and justice, Human Rights Watch said in a report today. Harassment, repression and censorship has worsened in the last year, particularly since the International Criminal Court's (ICC) request for an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir in July 2008.Read more
US: Resettle Guantanamo Uighurs in the United States
Appeals Court Ruling a Setback to Fundamental Right to Liberty
(Washington, DC) - A federal appeals court ruling that US courts lack authority to order the release of a group of Uighur detainees into the United States is a major setback to the prohibition against arbitrary detention. Read more
EU should not tolerate Ethiopia's repression
by Lotte Leicht
On 30 January, European Union policymakers sent a clear signal to Ethiopia: no matter how repressive the government becomes, vast sums of aid will continue to flow. This is emerging as a case study in bad donor policy.Read more
Israel/Egypt: Choking Gaza Harms Civilians
US, EU, Security Council Should Demand Greater Access for Food and Fuel
(Jerusalem) – Israel should urgently end its unlawful restrictions on desperately needed humanitarian aid and basic goods entering Gaza, Human Rights Watch said today. Security concerns do not justify overly broad limitations on the delivery of food, fuel, and other essential supplies.Read more
UK: Law Lords Judgment Undermines Torture Ban
Approval of no Torture Promises is Setback for Human Rights
(London) - A House of Lords ruling that allows the deportation of terrorist suspects to Algeria and Jordan damages the global ban on torture, Human Rights Watch said today. The ruling wrongly endorses the British government's use of unreliable promises from the Algerian and Jordanian governments that, despite the well-documented evidence of torture in both countries, individuals sent from the UK would not be tortured. Read more
US: Rights Leaders Applaud Decision to Join Durban Review
(Washington, DC) – Four leading nongovernmental organizations issued a statement on February 16, 2009 applauding the decision by the US Department of State to send a negotiating team to Geneva to participate in the Durban Review Conference. Read more
Canada: Harper Should Raise Khadr Case During Obama's Visit
(Toronto) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper should take advantage of US President Barack Obama's February 19 visit to Canada to push for repatriation or fair trial of Omar Khadr, a Canadian national detained at Guantanamo Bay, Human Rights Watch.Read more
UN: Send More Troops to DR Congo
Urgent Security Council Action Needed as LRA Attacks on Civilians Escalate
(New York, February 16, 2009) – The United Nations Security Council should act with urgency to send additional peacekeepers to northern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) continues its brutal attacks on civilians, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Security Council is expected to discuss the situation in Congo on February 17, 2009.Read more
Lebanon: Removal of Religion from IDs Positive but not Sufficient
Amend Laws to Reform Sectarian System and End Discrimination
(Beirut) - The decision by Lebanon's Minister of Interior to give citizens the right to remove their religious affiliation from identification papers is an improvement, but further steps are needed for Lebanon to meet its international human rights obligations. Read more
Burundi: Respect Privacy, Reject Repressive Law
Pending Code Revision Would Violate International Law
(Bujumbura) - Burundi's parliament should respect its human rights obligations and reject a pending criminal code revision that would outlaw consensual homosexual conduct, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to President Peter Nkurunziza and the members of the Burundian Senate. Read more
Cambodia: First Trial to Test Tribunal’s Credibility
Court’s Independence Remains a Concern as Khmer Rouge Trials Begin
(New York) - Cambodia's Khmer Rouge tribunal, about to begin its first trial, should resist political interference and meet international fair trial standards, Human Rights Watch said today. The tribunal is prosecuting Khmer Rouge leaders for crimes against humanity in the deaths of up to 2 million people in the late 1970s.Read more