Governments around the world should protect the health of millions of artisanal gold miners working with mercury, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch submitted recommendations to governments ahead of negotiations for an international, legally binding convention on mercury.

The Ukrainian parliament should reject a bill that would unlawfully censor information about homosexuality.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s proposed ban on sending domestic workers to Malaysia should be accompanied by a major overhaul in protections for these workers. On October 14, 2011, Hun Sen promised an opposition lawmaker, Mu Sochua, to halt migration in the wake of repeated complaints of abuse during recruitment in Cambodia and employment in Malaysia.

Police and local militia in Vientiane, the capital of Lao PDR, are forcibly detaining people who use drugs in a so-called treatment center where they risk beatings and other abuse, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Homeless people, street children, people with mental disabilities, and others deemed “undesirable” are often detained in the center as well, Human Rights watch said.

The US government should reverse its decision to continue military assistance to governments using child soldiers.

(New York) – The US government should reverse its decision to continue military assistance to governments using child soldiers, Human Rights Watch said today.read more

Member states of the United Nations should use President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s appearance before the UN General Assembly to highlight the Iranian government’s gross and systematic human rights violations against its own people. Member states should press the Iranian leader to allow the newly appointed UN special envoy on Iran and independent human rights organizations to visit the country.