Archiv: Human Rights Watch (organization)


25.12.2024 - 16:12 [ Human Rights Watch ]

Extermination and Acts of Genocide

(December 19, 2024)

To All States

– Take all measures within their power to prevent genocide by Israeli authorities in Gaza by pressuring Israel to lift the blockade and comply with the orders of the International Court of Justice, including by discontinuing any military assistance and arms sales or transfers, imposing targeted sanctions, and reviewing bilateral deals and diplomatic relations.

– Publicly condemn war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other violations of human rights and international humanitarian law and the genocide convention committed by the Israeli authorities, and urge them to immediately halt those violations and crimes and cooperate with international judicial bodies, investigative mechanisms, and UN special procedures.

– Increase public and private pressure on the Israeli government to comply with international humanitarian law in the conduct of hostilities, and ensure the entry and safe distribution at scale throughout Gaza of adequate aid and provision of basic services.

– Demand that Israel implement UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions on Israel and Palestine, including all provisions relating to humanitarian aid delivery to the residents of Gaza and compliance with international humanitarian law.

Review and possibly suspend bilateral agreements with Israel, such as the EU-Israel Association Agreement, whose review has been proposed by the Spanish and Irish governments.

– End all forms of support for and complicity in the atrocities being carried out by Israel, including suspending military assistance and arms transfers to the Israeli government so long as its forces commit serious rights abuses and war crimes against Palestinian civilians with impunity.

– Publicly support the ICJ’s work and its decisions as an independent judicial institution and press Israel to comply with the ICJ’s binding orders.

– Publicly support the work of the International Criminal Court across all situations under its jurisdiction, including the ongoing Palestine investigation, and render any assistance necessary to give effect to orders of the Court. Uphold the court’s independence and publicly condemn efforts to intimidate or interfere with its work, officials, and those cooperating with the institution.

– Support foreign domestic investigations and prosecutions under the principle of universal jurisdiction, as relevant and appropriate, of those credibly implicated in serious crimes in Gaza.

– The United States should immediately reverse its decisions to suspend funding to UNRWA and state clearly the intention to continue to fund the agency, and all states should urge Israeli authorities to reverse Israel‘s decisions to bar UNRWA from operating within Israel.

– Fund repairs of damaged and destroyed water and sanitation infrastructure, and press Israel to urgently allow the infrastructure to be repaired.

– Support the creation of an international mechanism to address reparation for Palestinians and an international register of damages.

– Call on Israeli authorities to allow water filtration systems, water tanks, and other materials needed to repair water infrastructure and to improve the water supply into Gaza.

– Support the United Nations to establish a plan that would ensure Palestinians have access to water at least equal to what Israel grants Israeli citizens, and pressure Israel to facilitate and contribute to the plan.

– Address long-standing impunity by Israeli authorities and Palestinian armed groups for serious crimes under international law.

To the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation

– Request access to Gaza in order to monitor and report publicly on the human rights situation regarding access to water and sanitation, including damage and destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure; obstruction of repairs and targeting of repair workers; restrictions on the entry of fuel; and the human rights impacts stemming from these actions.

To the International Criminal Court Prosecutor

– Investigate Israeli authorities’ actions and policies that have deprived the civilian population of Gaza of water, including as war crimes, as the crime against humanity of extermination, and as genocide.

25.12.2024 - 15:47 [ Middle East Eye ]

Opinion: Another expert report finds Israel is committing genocide. The West yawns

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) agree that Israel is striving for extermination. It has not hidden its intent, and that intent is confirmed by its actions on the ground.

19.12.2024 - 21:24 [ Human Rights Watch ]

Extermination and Acts of Genocide: Israel Deliberately Depriving Palestinians in Gaza of Water

To All States

– Take all measures within their power to prevent genocide by Israeli authorities in Gaza by pressuring Israel to lift the blockade and comply with the orders of the International Court of Justice, including by discontinuing any military assistance and arms sales or transfers, imposing targeted sanctions, and reviewing bilateral deals and diplomatic relations.

– Publicly condemn war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other violations of human rights and international humanitarian law and the genocide convention committed by the Israeli authorities, and urge them to immediately halt those violations and crimes and cooperate with international judicial bodies, investigative mechanisms, and UN special procedures.

– Increase public and private pressure on the Israeli government to comply with international humanitarian law in the conduct of hostilities, and ensure the entry and safe distribution at scale throughout Gaza of adequate aid and provision of basic services.

– Demand that Israel implement UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions on Israel and Palestine, including all provisions relating to humanitarian aid delivery to the residents of Gaza and compliance with international humanitarian law.

Review and possibly suspend bilateral agreements with Israel, such as the EU-Israel Association Agreement, whose review has been proposed by the Spanish and Irish governments.

– End all forms of support for and complicity in the atrocities being carried out by Israel, including suspending military assistance and arms transfers to the Israeli government so long as its forces commit serious rights abuses and war crimes against Palestinian civilians with impunity.

– Publicly support the ICJ’s work and its decisions as an independent judicial institution and press Israel to comply with the ICJ’s binding orders.

– Publicly support the work of the International Criminal Court across all situations under its jurisdiction, including the ongoing Palestine investigation, and render any assistance necessary to give effect to orders of the Court. Uphold the court’s independence and publicly condemn efforts to intimidate or interfere with its work, officials, and those cooperating with the institution.

– Support foreign domestic investigations and prosecutions under the principle of universal jurisdiction, as relevant and appropriate, of those credibly implicated in serious crimes in Gaza.

– The United States should immediately reverse its decisions to suspend funding to UNRWA and state clearly the intention to continue to fund the agency, and all states should urge Israeli authorities to reverse Israel‘s decisions to bar UNRWA from operating within Israel.

– Fund repairs of damaged and destroyed water and sanitation infrastructure, and press Israel to urgently allow the infrastructure to be repaired.

– Support the creation of an international mechanism to address reparation for Palestinians and an international register of damages.

– Call on Israeli authorities to allow water filtration systems, water tanks, and other materials needed to repair water infrastructure and to improve the water supply into Gaza.

– Support the United Nations to establish a plan that would ensure Palestinians have access to water at least equal to what Israel grants Israeli citizens, and pressure Israel to facilitate and contribute to the plan.

– Address long-standing impunity by Israeli authorities and Palestinian armed groups for serious crimes under international law.

To the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation

– Request access to Gaza in order to monitor and report publicly on the human rights situation regarding access to water and sanitation, including damage and destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure; obstruction of repairs and targeting of repair workers; restrictions on the entry of fuel; and the human rights impacts stemming from these actions.

To the International Criminal Court Prosecutor

– Investigate Israeli authorities’ actions and policies that have deprived the civilian population of Gaza of water, including as war crimes, as the crime against humanity of extermination, and as genocide.

19.12.2024 - 21:22 [ Human Rights Watch ]

‫ה‬‫כחדה‬‫ומעשים‬ ‫הנכללים‬ ‫תחת‬ ‫הגדרת‬ ‫הפשע‬‫של‬ ‫רצח‬ ‫עם‬ ‫ישראל‬‫שוללת‬ ‫מים‬ ‫בכוונה‬ ‫תחילה‬ ‫מפלסטינים‬ ‫ברצועת‬ ‫עזה‬

‫תקציר‬
‫מאז‬‫אוקטובר‬ ‫‪2023‬‬ ‫‪,‬‬‫הרשויות‬ ‫הישראליות‬ ‫מונעות‬ ‫בכוונה‬ ‫תחילה‬ ‫מפלסטינים‬ ‫גישה‬ ‫לכמות‬ ‫ה‬ ‫מים‬
‫ה‬‫הולמת‬‫הנדרשת‬ ‫להישרדות‬ ‫ברצועת‬ ‫עזה‪.‬‬
‫על‬‫פי‬ ‫ארגון‬ ‫הבריאות‬ ‫העולמי‬ ‫)‬ ‫‪WHO‬‬‫(‪,‬‬‫אדם‬ ‫זקוק‬ ‫ל‬ ‫‪-‬‬‫‪50‬‬‫–‬‫‪100‬‬‫ליטר‬ ‫ים‬‫מים‬ ‫ביום‬ ‫כדי‬ ‫להבטיח‬ ‫ש“צרכיו‬
‫הבסיסיים‬‫ביותר‬ ‫יסופקו“‪.‬‬ ‫‪1‬‬‫במצבי‬ ‫חירום‬ ‫מתמשכים‪,‬‬ ‫כמות‬ ‫המים‬ ‫המינימלית‬ ‫הנדרשת‬ ‫היא‬ ‫‪15‬‬
‫ליטר‬‫ים‬‫לאדם‬ ‫ליום‬ ‫לשתייה‬ ‫ולרחצה‪.‬‬ ‫‪2‬‬‫ולמרות‬ ‫זאת‪,‬‬ ‫בין‬ ‫אוקטובר‬ ‫‪2023‬‬ ‫לספטמבר‬ ‫‪2024‬‬ ‫‪,‬‬‫פעולות‬
‫שביצעו‬‫הרשויות‬ ‫הישראליות‬ ‫מנעו‬ ‫מרובם‬ ‫של‬ ‫יותר‬ ‫מ‬ ‫שני‬‫מיליון‬ ‫הפלסטינים‬ ‫החיים‬ ‫ברצוע‬ ‫ת‬‫עז‬ ‫ה‬‫גישה‬
‫אפילו‬‫לכמות‬ ‫מינימלית‬ ‫זו‬ ‫של‬ ‫מים‪,‬‬ ‫והדבר‬ ‫תרם‬ ‫להתפשטות‬ ‫מחלות‬ ‫והביא‬ ‫למותם‬ ‫של‬ ‫בני‬ ‫אדם‬ ‫‪.‬‬
‫‪3‬‬
‫לרבים‬‫ברצועה‬ ‫הייתה‬ ‫גישה‬ ‫רק‬ ‫‪,‬‬‫או‬ ‫בעיקר‬ ‫‪,‬‬‫למים‬ ‫שאינם‬ ‫ראויים‬ ‫לשתייה‪.‬‬
‫“‬‫אם‬‫אנחנו‬ ‫לא‬ ‫מצליחים‬ ‫למצוא‬ ‫מים‬ ‫ראויים‬ ‫לשתייה‪,‬‬ ‫אנחנו‬ ‫שותים‬ ‫את‬ ‫מי‬ ‫ה‬ ‫ים“‪,‬‬‫אמר‬ ‫אב‬ ‫שנעקר‬
‫לבית‬‫ספר‬ ‫ברפיח‬ ‫לארגון‬ ‫‪Watch‬‬ ‫‪Rights‬‬ ‫‪Human‬‬ ‫בדצמבר‬ ‫‪2023.‬‬ ‫‪4‬‬‫“קרה‬ ‫לי‬ ‫הרבה‬ ‫פעמים‬ ‫שנאלצתי‬
‫לשתות‬‫מי‬ ‫ים‪.‬‬ ‫א‬ ‫י‬‫אפשר‬ ‫להבין‬ ‫כמה‬ ‫אנחנו‬ ‫סובלים“‪.‬‬

19.12.2024 - 21:20 [ Middle East Eye ]

Human Rights Watch: Israel is guilty of extermination and acts of genocide in Gaza

Israel is guilty of the crime of extermination and acts of genocide in Gaza, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has concluded in a new report published on Thursday.

The US-based human rights organisation found that Israel has inflicted conditions of life in Gaza calculated to destroy the enclave‘s Palestinian population. This amounts to extermination, which is a crime against humanity, and acts of genocide.

Coming two weeks after fellow rights group Amnesty International similarly concluded that Israel is guilty of genocide, the Human Rights Watch report is the latest sign of a growing consensus around Israel‘s actions in Gaza.

17.12.2024 - 22:49 [ Human Rights Watch ]

Syria: Mass Grave in Damascus Should be Protected, Investigated

Residents in Tadamon said that executions in the area were common. In interviews in 2022, they described at least 10 other incidents of summary killings between August 2012 and January 2014 in Tadamon, Daraya, Moadamiya, and surrounding areas. This evidence suggests that other bodies were buried in and around the area. The area was also the site of armed clashes between Syrian government forces and opposition fighters affiliated with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) at numerous points between 2012 and 2013.

Human Rights Watch began investigating the massacre in October 2021, after receiving a leaked video discovered by a member of a Syrian militia on a laptop and handed to Annsar Shahhoud and Uğur Ümit Üngör, researchers at the University of Amsterdam and the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam, and ARD, a German Public Broadcaster.

“This video, filmed by the perpetrators themselves who laughed as they killed their victims, shows the Syrian government’s callous disregard for people’s lives,” Zayadin said. “This massacre is just one horrific incident in a pattern of state violence and apparent war crimes.”

14.11.2024 - 19:55 [ Human Rights Watch ]

“Hopeless, Starving, and Besieged”: Israel’s Forced Displacement of Palestinians in Gaza

To All Governments

– Publicly condemn Israel’s forced displacement of the civilian population in Gaza as a war crime and crime against humanity, as well as other violations of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and international criminal law by Israeli authorities, and urge them to immediately halt those crimes and cooperate with international judicial bodies and investigative mechanisms.

– Increase public and private pressure on the Israeli government to stop violating international humanitarian law in the conduct of hostilities, to fully comply with its obligations and the binding orders and advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, and to ensure the entry and safe distribution throughout Gaza of adequate aid and provision of basic services. Consider, in that regard, the review and possible suspension of bilateral agreements with Israel, such as the EU-Israel Association Agreement, as proposed by the governments of Spain and Ireland, and the US-Israel Free Trade Agreement.

– Suspend military assistance and arms sales to Israel so long as its forces commit violations of international humanitarian law with impunity.

– Enforce domestic legislation limiting the transfer of arms and military assistance for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.

– Publicly support the International Criminal Court, uphold the court’s independence, and publicly condemn efforts to intimidate or interfere with its work, officials, and those cooperating with the institution.

– Urge the Government of Israel to grant access to independent, international monitors, including from the UN Special Procedures.

– Impose targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against Israeli officials credibly implicated in ongoing serious violations, for the purpose of ending these violations.

– Address long-standing impunity by Israeli authorities and Palestinian armed groups for serious crimes under international law, and support reparations for all victims of gross human rights abuses.

– Support the creation of a register of damages, caused by unlawful Israeli action to persons in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, for the purposes of calculating reparations.

(…)

To the Prosecutor of the International Crimin19al Court

– Investigate Israeli authorities’ forced displacement and prevention of the right to return as a crime against humanity.

14.11.2024 - 19:50 [ France24.com ]

Israel is committing ‘ethnic cleansing’ amid mass forced displacements in Gaza, HRW report says

Israel has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, including pursuing a deliberate policy of forcibly displacing people and denying them the right to return home, according to a Human Rights Watch report released Thursday. The report also labelled the likely permanent dispossession of Gazans in areas cleared by Israel to serve as buffer zones and security corridors as “ethnic cleansing”.

24.10.2024 - 08:25 [ Human Rights Watch ]

North Gaza: Between Death and Displacement

(October 18, 2024)

As it escalates its attacks on north Gaza, the Israeli army has ordered the entire civilian population to evacuate – and cut off food aid to all who remain.

19.09.2024 - 22:32 [ Human Rights Watch ]

Lebanon: Exploding Pagers Harmed Hezbollah, Civilians

(September 18, 2024)

“Customary international humanitarian law prohibits the use of booby traps – objects that civilians are likely to be attracted to or are associated with normal civilian daily use – precisely to avoid putting civilians at grave risk and produce the devastating scenes that continue to unfold across Lebanon today. The use of an explosive device whose exact location could not be reliably known would be unlawfully indiscriminate, using a means of attack that could not be directed at a specific military target and as a result would strike military targets and civilians without distinction. A prompt and impartial investigation into the attacks should be urgently conducted.”

06.04.2024 - 19:10 [ Human Rights Watch ]

Gaza: Israeli Strike Killing 106 Civilians an Apparent War Crime

– Israeli forces unlawfully attacked a residential building in Gaza on October 31, 2023, absent any apparent military target, killing at least 106 civilians, including 54 children.
– Scores of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since October 7 have caused thousands of civilian casualties, underscoring the greater risk of unlawful attacks from explosive weapons in populated areas.
Governments should suspend arms transfers to Israel, support the International Criminal Court investigation in Palestine, and impose targeted sanctions on officials responsible for laws-of-war violations.

06.04.2024 - 18:55 [ Al Jazeera ]

Israel strike that killed 106 people in Gaza ‘apparent war crime’: Probe

(04.04.2024)

The inquiry was based on testimonies from 16 people the group spoke to between January and March, satellite images, dozens of photographs and videos from the site, as well as those shared on social media, the international rights group said on Thursday as it released the findings of its investigation.

It called on governments to suspend weapons transfers to Israel and support the International Criminal Court’s (ICC’s) investigation in Palestine, saying the attack was among the “deadliest single incidents for civilians” since Israel’s war on Gaza started in October.

20.12.2023 - 16:44 [ Human RIghts Watch ]

Israel: Starvation Used as Weapon of War in Gaza

International humanitarian law, or the laws of war, prohibits the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court provides that intentionally starving civilians by “depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully impeding relief supplies” is a war crime. Criminal intent does not require the attacker’s admission but can also be inferred from the totality of the circumstances of the military campaign.

In addition, Israel’s continuing blockade of Gaza, as well as its more than 16-year closure, amounts to collective punishment of the civilian population, a war crime. As the occupying power in Gaza under the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel has the duty to ensure that the civilian population gets food and medical supplies.

20.12.2023 - 16:38 [ New York Times ]

Human Rights Watch says Israel is using starvation as a weapon in Gaza.

The group said Israel’s actions could constitute a war crime.

It cited statements by senior Israeli leaders to support its claim that depriving Gazans of necessities was a policy implemented by the country’s armed forces.

20.12.2023 - 16:31 [ Communist Party of Israel ]

Human Rights Watch: Israel Starving Gaza Civilians as a Method of Warfare

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday accused Israel of intentionally starving the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, citing comments from high-ranking officials and interviews with displaced Palestinian people. According HRW using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, goes against international humanitarian law and constitutes collective punishment. The group charged that as the occupying power in Gaza, Israel is responsible for the population getting food and medical supplies.

14.11.2023 - 18:51 [ Human Rights Watch ]

Gaza: Unlawful Israeli Hospital Strikes Worsen Health Crisis

– The Israeli military’s repeated, apparently unlawful attacks on medical facilities, personnel, and transport are further destroying Gaza’s healthcare system and should be investigated as war crimes.

– Concerns about disproportionate attacks are magnified for hospitals. Even the threat of an attack or minor damage can have massive life-or-death implications for patients and caregivers.

– The Israeli government should end attacks on hospitals. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the ICC should investigate.

02.09.2023 - 20:31 [ New York Times ]

U.S. Knew About Migrant Killings by Saudi Forces Earlier Than Previously Disclosed

(Sept. 1, 2023)

The State Department said U.S. diplomats in Saudi Arabia had first heard reports of a dramatic increase in lethal violence against migrants and asylum seekers by that nation’s border forces in the summer of last year and had immediately asked officials at “high levels” of the Saudi government to investigate.

The department made the disclosure in a statement on Thursday night to The New York Times in response to questions posed early this week about the U.S. government’s knowledge of the reported violence and its working relationship with Saudi Arabia’s border forces.

02.09.2023 - 20:18 [ Human Rights Watch ]

„They Fired on Us Like Rain“: Saudi Arabian Mass Killings of Ethiopian Migrants at the Yemen-Saudi Border

(21.08.2023)

Saudi border guards have killed at least hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers who tried to cross the Yemen-Saudi border between March 2022 and June 2023. Human Rights Watch research indicates that, at time of writing, the killings are continuing. Saudi border guards have used explosive weapons and shot people at close range, including women and children, in a pattern that is widespread and systematic. If committed as part of a Saudi government policy to murder migrants, these killings would be a crime against humanity. In some instances, Saudi border guards first asked survivors in which limb of their body they preferred to be shot, before shooting them at close range. Saudi border guards also fired explosive weapons at migrants who had just been released from temporary Saudi detention and were attempting to flee back to Yemen.

02.09.2023 - 20:15 [ Washington Post ]

U.S. presses Saudi Arabia on reported migrant massacres

(Updated August 31, 2023 at 6:22 p.m.)

The United States has voiced public concern about the reports of violence against civilians, which circulated among diplomats and U.N. officials for more than a year before being thrust into wider public view, and called for a Saudi investigation.

U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic conversations, say they are also pushing the Saudis to identify the units who, according to eyewitnesses and victims, used mortars, small-arms fire and close-range executions to kill hundreds or possibly thousands of people, many of them women and children.

21.08.2023 - 17:40 [ Human Rights Watch ]

„They Fired on Us Like Rain“: Saudi Arabian Mass Killings of Ethiopian Migrants at the Yemen-Saudi Border

Saudi border guards have killed at least hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers who tried to cross the Yemen-Saudi border between March 2022 and June 2023. Human Rights Watch research indicates that, at time of writing, the killings are continuing. Saudi border guards have used explosive weapons and shot people at close range, including women and children, in a pattern that is widespread and systematic. If committed as part of a Saudi government policy to murder migrants, these killings would be a crime against humanity. In some instances, Saudi border guards first asked survivors in which limb of their body they preferred to be shot, before shooting them at close range. Saudi border guards also fired explosive weapons at migrants who had just been released from temporary Saudi detention and were attempting to flee back to Yemen.

21.08.2023 - 17:40 [ BBC ]

Hundreds of migrants killed by Saudi border guards – report

Migrants have told the BBC they had limbs severed by gunfire and saw bodies left on the trails.

Saudi Arabia has previously rejected allegations of systematic killings.

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, titled They Fired On Us Like Rain, contains graphic testimony from migrants who say they were shot at and sometimes targeted with explosive weapons by Saudi police and soldiers on Yemen‘s rugged northern border with Saudi Arabia.

07.07.2023 - 12:31 [ Antiwar.com ]

Report: US Will Provide Ukraine Cluster Bombs as Part of New Weapons Package

The Associated Press reported Thursday that the Biden administration has decided to arm Ukraine with cluster bombs and will announce the munitions as part of a new $800 million arms package. The news comes after Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a report that said Ukraine has killed its own citizens using the munitions.

01.06.2023 - 14:36 [ Human Rights Watch ]

China’s Techno-Authoritarianism Has Gone Global

(April 8, 2021)

To much of the rest of the world, however, this competition is little more than evil versus evil. The U.S. government has also practiced mass surveillance; big U.S. technology companies have adopted a surveillance-based business model, exploiting people’s data in the name of free service; and the Five Eyes, an intelligence coalition comprised of the United States and Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, has sought to undermine encryption by pressuring companies to give governments backdoor access to all digital communications. In this dismal global race to the digital bottom, the biggest losers are ordinary technology users all over the world.

08.05.2023 - 15:49 [ Human Rights Watch ]

Burkina Faso: Army Linked to Massacre of 156 Civilians

African Union, United Nations Should Press for Credible, Independent Inquiry

24.05.2021 - 06:23 [ i24news.tv ]

French FM warns Israel of ‚risk of apartheid‘

The official‘s rhetoric echoes recent reports by the Israeli B‘Tselem rights group, as well as by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) organization, both of which accused Israel of subjecting Palestinians to a multi-tiered regime of discrimination not unlike the racist system of governance that held sway in South Africa between 1948 and 1991.

26.11.2019 - 10:44 [ Mint Press ]

How Human Rights Watch Whitewashed a Right-Wing Massacre in Bolivia

(20.11.2019)

While some may be surprised by its response to the Bolivia crisis, Human Rights Watch’s support for a U.S.-backed right-wing coup is no aberration.

01.11.2019 - 13:14 [ Junge Welt ]

Krieg in Afghanistan: Krieg gegen Zivilisten

Obwohl die Einheiten nominell dem afghanischen Geheimdienst NDS angehören, sitzt ihr direkter Befehlshaber in Washington. Ihre Mitglieder wurden laut Bericht größtenteils von der CIA angeworben, geschult, ausgerüstet und beaufsichtigt. Zudem gingen die Einsätze oftmals mit Luftangriffen einher, die von den USA selbst durchgeführt wurden.

31.10.2019 - 17:28 [ Human Rights Watch ]

“They’ve Shot Many Like This”: Abusive Night Raids by CIA-Backed Afghan Strike Forces

Afghan paramilitaryforces nominally belong to the Afghan National Directorate of Security(NDS), the country’s primary intelligence agency. However, these forces do not fall under the ordinary chain of command within the NDS, nor under normal Afghan or US military chains of command.They largely have beenrecruited, trained, equipped,and overseen by the CIA. They often have US special forces personnel deployed alongside them during kill-or-capture operations; these US forces, primarily Army Rangers,have been seconded to the CIA.Afghanparamilitary strike forces generally carry out operations with USlogistical support andare dependent on US intelligence and surveillance for targeting.

31.10.2019 - 17:26 [ BBC ]

CIA-backed Afghan troops ‚committed war crimes‘: report

Forces conducted night raids, in which they dragged people out of their homes without prior warning. Among the allegations are claims they targeted medical staff who treated militants in contested or Taliban-controlled areas, and summarily executed or „forcibly disappeared“ people in custody.

Moreover, the troops „seem to have unlawfully targeted civilians because of mistaken identity, poor intelligence, or political rivalries in the locality“.

27.04.2019 - 11:53 [ sbs.com.au ]

Sri Lanka must have foreign judges in war crime investigation: HRW

(17. Februar 2017)

Sri Lanka must employ international judges and prosecutors to ensure accountability during trials of those responsible for alleged war crimes against mostly Tamils, Human Rights Watch Australia‘s director Elaine Pearson told SBS News.

Ms Pearson‘s call, which echoes a recommendation in a 2015 UN Human Rights Council report of the OHCHR investigation of Sri Lanka, comes as Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesingh this week visited Canberra.

24.07.2018 - 21:19 [ Portal amerika21.de ]

Uruguay verwahrt sich gegen Vorhaltungen von Human Rights Watch

Der in einem ungewöhnlich anmaßendem Ton gehaltene offene Brief von HRW an die Regierung des Sozialdemokraten Tábare Vázquez beklagt, dass Uruguay, das „in der Vergangenheit ein Verbündeter beim Schutz und der Förderung der Menschenrechte bei den Vereinten Nationen war“, sich der Initiative noch nicht angeschlossen habe. Vivanco rät, „Uruguay sollte nicht zu der schrumpfenden Gruppe von Staaten gehören, die immer noch bereit sind, das Maduro-Regime blind zu verteidigen.“