NCJ Number
199392
Date Published
2003
Length
588 pages
Annotation
This report is the 13th annual review of human rights practices around the world by the Human Rights Watch.
Abstract
The report covers developments in 58 countries from the period of November 2001 through November 2002. Most chapters are dedicated to examining major developments in human rights for each particular country. The response to these developments by major global actors such as the European Union, Japan, the United States, the United Nations, and other regional and international organizations and institutions is also examined. The report also discusses the freedoms or constraints experienced by human rights defenders in various nations as they attempted to conduct their work. The highlighted issue presented in the introduction of this report is the United States-led campaign against terrorism undertaken since the events of September 11, 2001. The report is critical of the human rights violations carried out by the United States in the name of stamping out terrorism. Also under close scrutiny is the lack of leadership exhibited by the European Union. The European Union is criticized as being excessively preoccupied with achieving consensus, which has left it paralyzed in the face of human rights abuses created by the United States-led war on terrorism. Despite these trends of human rights abuses, the report notes several positive developments in 2002, including the treaty to establish the International Criminal Court (ICC). Also highlighted is the long-awaited trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, which began within the International Criminal Tribunal in 2002. As far as methodology, the current report was brought together as a result of extensive investigative work that was undertaken by Human Rights Watch research staff in concert with human rights activists in the countries under examination. The conclusions of the Human Rights advocacy team are also presented; this team closely monitored the policies of governments and international institutions that have the power to halt human rights abuses. This volume contains brief summaries of the issues present in many countries. More detailed analysis for the various countries may be obtained through Human Rights Watch publications that are issued throughout the year; they are also available on the Human Rights Watch Web site, www.hrw.org.