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The federal government continues abusive counterterrorism policies, including indefinite detention and flawed military commissions at Guantanamo Bay. The criminal justice system is marred by racial disparities and harsh sentences. The US incarcerates more people than any other country, often in conditions that violate inmates’ rights. The rights of immigrants—authorized and unauthorized—are threatened by federal policies, state laws, and the rapid expansion of immigration detention. Finally, the US sometimes fails to provide remedies to survivors of abuse, particularly women and vulnerable groups.  <span style="display: none;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p></div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="panel-region-separator"></div><div class="panel-pane pane-views-panes pane-taxonomy-landing-page-panel-pane-1 pane-taxonomy-feature-page"> <div class="pane-content"> <div class="view view-taxonomy-landing-page view-id-taxonomy_landing_page view-display-id-panel_pane_1 view-taxonomy-feature-page view-dom-id-5"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="item-list"> <ul> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/06/justice-cheated"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20120509175332im_/http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/crop-300x200/media/images/photographs/2012_Guantanamo_jamespohl.jpg" class="imagecache imagecache-crop-300x200 imagecache-default imagecache-crop-300x200_default"/></a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-image-caption-value"> <div class="field-content">Military judge Colonel James Pohl, listens at a military commission hearing in this courtroom sketch at Guantanamo Bay Navy Base, Cuba on May 5, 2012.</div> </div> <div class="views-field-field-copyright-value"> <span class="field-content">© 2012 Reuters</span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/06/justice-cheated">Justice Cheated</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content">As I sat in the Guantánamo courtroom this weekend for the arraignment of the five leading suspects, the alleged masterminds of the September 11th attacks, I couldn’t help but feel cheated.</div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="attachment attachment-before"> <div class="view view-taxonomy-landing-page view-id-taxonomy_landing_page view-display-id-attachment_1 view-dom-id-2"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="item-list"> <ul> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first"> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/09/us-house-bill-puts-immigrant-women-risk">US House: Bill Puts Immigrant Women at Risk</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">May 9, 2012</span> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even"> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/09/justice-trial">Justice on Trial</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">May 9, 2012</span> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd"> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/07/labor-department-abandons-child-farmworkers">Labor Department abandons child farmworkers</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">May 7, 2012</span> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-4 views-row-even views-row-last"> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/01/us-targeted-killing-policy-disregards-human-rights-law">US: ‘Targeted Killing’ Policy Disregards Human Rights Law</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">May 1, 2012</span> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="view-footer"> <a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/by-issue/news-filter/12">More news »</a> </div> <div class="attachment attachment-after"> <div class="view view-taxonomy-landing-page view-id-taxonomy_landing_page view-display-id-attachment_2 view-dom-id-4"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="item-list"> <h3>Featured Content</h3> <ul> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last"> <div class="views-field-field-related-audio-feature-nid"> <span class="field-content"><div class="view view-nodereference-related-audio view-id-nodereference_related_audio view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-3"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="item-list"> <ul> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last"> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/audio/2012/01/10/guantanamo-ten-years">Guantanamo Ten Years On</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">Jan 10 2012 - 15:07</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-audiofile-fid"> <span class="field-content"><div class="swftools-wrapper wijering4-mediaplayer"><div id="swfobject2-id-13365860121" class="swftools swfobject2"> <p>You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.</p> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> swfobject.embedSWF("https://web.archive.org/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/sites/all/modules/contrib/swftools/shared/flash_media_player/player.swf", "swfobject2-id-13365860121", "300", "20", "7", "", { "file": "https://web.archive.org/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media/audio/GTMO_10_POD.mp3", "width": "300", "height": "20" }, { "swliveconnect": "default", "play": "true", "loop": "true", "menu": "false", "quality": "autohigh", "scale": "showall", "align": "l", "salign": "tl", "wmode": "opaque", "bgcolor": "#FFFFFF", "version": "7", "allowfullscreen": "true", "allowscriptaccess": "sameDomain", "width": "300", "height": "20", "base": "https://web.archive.org/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/", "src": 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href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/rss/taxonomy/12" class="feed-icon">Subscribe to content feed</a><img src="/web/20120509175332im_/http://www.hrw.org/misc/feed.png" width="16" height="16"/> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="panel-region-separator"></div><div class="panel-pane pane-views-panes pane-taxonomy-landing-page-panel-pane-2 pane-taxonomy-reports"> <h2 class="pane-title">Reports</h2> <div class="pane-content"> <div class="view view-taxonomy-landing-page view-id-taxonomy_landing_page view-display-id-panel_pane_2 view-taxonomy-reports view-dom-id-6"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="item-list"> <ul> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first"> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/reports/2012/03/01/when-i-die-they-ll-send-me-home-0">“When I Die…They’ll Send Me Home”</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-reportsynopsis-subtitle-value"> <span class="field-content">Youth Sentenced to Life in Prison without Parole in California, An Update</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-reportsynopsis-cover-fid"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/reports/2012/03/01/when-i-die-they-ll-send-me-home-0" class="imagecache imagecache-scale-crop-200w-133h imagecache-linked imagecache-scale-crop-200w-133h_linked"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20120509175332im_/http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/scale-crop-200w-133h/media/images/report-covers/crd0112.jpg" class="imagecache imagecache-scale-crop-200w-133h"/></a></span> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even"> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/reports/2012/01/27/old-behind-bars-0">Old Behind Bars</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-reportsynopsis-subtitle-value"> <span class="field-content">The Aging Prison Population in the United States</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-reportsynopsis-cover-fid"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/reports/2012/01/27/old-behind-bars-0" class="imagecache imagecache-scale-crop-200w-133h imagecache-linked imagecache-scale-crop-200w-133h_linked"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20120509175332im_/http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/scale-crop-200w-133h/media/images/report-covers/usprisons0112.jpg" class="imagecache imagecache-scale-crop-200w-133h"/></a></span> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd views-row-last"> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/reports/2012/01/03/against-all-odds-0">Against All Odds</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-reportsynopsis-subtitle-value"> <span class="field-content">Prison Conditions for Youth Offenders Serving Life without Parole Sentences in the United States</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-reportsynopsis-cover-fid"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/reports/2012/01/03/against-all-odds-0" class="imagecache imagecache-scale-crop-200w-133h imagecache-linked imagecache-scale-crop-200w-133h_linked"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20120509175332im_/http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/scale-crop-200w-133h/media/images/report-covers/us0112_reportcover.jpg" class="imagecache imagecache-scale-crop-200w-133h"/></a></span> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="panel-region-separator"></div><div class="panel-pane pane-views-panes pane-taxonomy-landing-page-panel-pane-4 pane-taxonomy-news-listing"> <h2 class="pane-title">United States</h2> <div class="pane-content"> <div class="view view-taxonomy-landing-page view-id-taxonomy_landing_page view-display-id-panel_pane_4 view-taxonomy-news-listings view-dom-id-7"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="item-list"> <ul> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/09/us-house-bill-puts-immigrant-women-risk">US House: Bill Puts Immigrant Women at Risk</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">May 9, 2012</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content">The full US House of Representatives should reject a dangerous version of a bill to renew the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Human Rights Watch said today. The bill would undermine the law and expose immigrant women and families to abuse, Human Rights Watch said. The House Judiciary Committee on May 8, 2012 approved a version that makes multiple changes to VAWA’s existing provisions addressing immigrant victims of domestic and sexual violence.</div> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/09/justice-trial">Justice on Trial</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">May 9, 2012</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content"><p>Andrea Prasow writes on Huffington Post regarding the significance of the military commission arraignment of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.</p></div> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/07/labor-department-abandons-child-farmworkers">Labor Department abandons child farmworkers</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">May 7, 2012</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content">In a few weeks, children as young as 12 will start leaving schools in south Texas to work in the summer harvest, taking on the difficult and sometimes even dangerous work of picking fruits and vegetables. Nationwide, hundreds of thousands of kids this year will cut the roots off onions, hoe cotton, climb tall ladders to pick oranges and apples, and drive tractors. If the past is a guide, some will be injured, some will be maimed, and some will die.</div> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-4 views-row-even"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/06/justice-cheated">Justice Cheated</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">May 6, 2012</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content">As I sat in the Guantánamo courtroom this weekend for the arraignment of the five leading suspects, the alleged masterminds of the September 11th attacks, I couldn’t help but feel cheated.</div> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-5 views-row-odd"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/01/us-targeted-killing-policy-disregards-human-rights-law">US: ‘Targeted Killing’ Policy Disregards Human Rights Law</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">May 1, 2012</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content">Human Rights Watch responded to a statement made by chief US counterterrorism advisor John Brennan on April 30, 2012, that sought to clarify and justify the US use of aerial drones in targeted killings in Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere.</div> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-6 views-row-even"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/01/us-white-house-puzzling-racial-profiling">US: White House is 'puzzling' on racial profiling</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">May 1, 2012</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content">The Obama administration has displayed a lack of interest in changing Justice Department rules on religious profiling or in supporting legislation like the End Racial Profiling Act, which would impede the government’s ability to monitor Muslim communities without cause.</div> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-7 views-row-odd"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/04/27/us-labor-department-abandons-child-farmworkers">US: Labor Department Abandons Child Farmworkers</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">Apr 27, 2012</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content">The US Labor Department's withdrawal of proposed rules to shield hired child farmworkers from the most dangerous tasks condemns children to be killed and maimed, Human Rights Watch said today. The proposed regulations would have updated for the first time in decades the list of tasks too dangerous for employed children under age 16. The regulations would not have applied to children working on family farms. The Labor Department withdrew the proposal on April 26, 2012.</div> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-8 views-row-even"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/04/26/us-senate-vote-violence-against-women-act-victory">US: Senate Vote on Violence Against Women Act a Victory</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">Apr 26, 2012</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content">The US House of Representatives should move quickly to renew the Violence against Women Act (VAWA), Human Rights Watch said today. The US Senate, in a bipartisan vote on April 26, 2012, passed the bill, the primary federal law providing legal protection and services to counter domestic and sexual violence and stalking.</div> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-9 views-row-odd"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/04/25/uzbekistan-end-forced-child-labor-cotton-fields">Uzbekistan: End Forced, Child Labor in Cotton Fields</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">Apr 25, 2012</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content">US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should urge the Uzbek government to take immediate steps to end forced labor, including the state-sponsored mobilization of children, in the cotton sector, a coalition of nongovernmental organizations said today in a letter to Clinton.</div> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-10 views-row-even views-row-last"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/04/24/uzbekistan-joint-letter-secretary-clinton-regarding-state-sponsored-forced-labor-and">Uzbekistan: Joint Letter to Secretary Clinton regarding State-Sponsored Forced Labor and Child Labor</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">Apr 24, 2012</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content">We write to ask that, as part of your ongoing advocacy on behalf of human rights around the world, you urge the government of Uzbekistan to immediately take the appropriate steps to abide by its international commitments to end state-sponsored forced labor and child labor, beginning with an invitation to the International Labour Organization (ILO) to monitor the 2012 cotton harvest.</div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="more-link"> <a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/news-all/12">more documents on this topic »</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="footer"> <div class="limiter clear-block"> <div class="clear-block"><a href="#header" class="back-to-top">Back to top</a></div> <div class="nav"> <a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/rss" class="rss-link">RSS</a> <div class="pipe-links"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/home">Home</a> <span class="pipe">|</span> <a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/our-work">Our Work</a> <span class="pipe">|</span> <a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/news">News</a> <span class="pipe">|</span> <a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/publications">Publications</a> <span class="pipe">|</span> <a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/multimedia">Multimedia</a> <span class="pipe">|</span> <a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/about">About Us</a> <span class="pipe">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120509175332/https://www.kintera.org/site/c.nlIWIgN2JwE/b.7885413/k.8B47/Donate_Now_v5/apps/ka/sd/donorcustom.asp?msource=nav">Donate</a></div> </div> <div class="footer-blocks clear-block"> <div id="block-tic-5" class="clear-block block block-tic"> <div class="bcontent"><div class="col-left clear-block"><strong class="vocab-header"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/regions">Browse by Region</a></strong><div class="item-list"><ul><li class="first first"><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/africa">Africa</a></li> <li class=""><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/americas">Americas</a></li> <li class=""><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/asia">Asia</a></li> <li class=""><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia">Europe/Central Asia</a></li> <li class=""><a href="/web/20120509175332/http://www.hrw.org/middle-east/n-africa">Middle East/N. 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