Corrections

In this October 1, 2009 letter on Yemen's humanitarian situation and the accompanying October 5 media release, Human Rights Watch said that Yemen's government and the Huthis, a rebel group, had not responded to United Nations calls to establish humanitarian corridors. In fact, the Huthis announced in e-mails sent to international humanitarian organizations and news outlets their readiness to do so on September 4, and again on September 15, 2009. We apologize for the mistake. (November 20, 2009)

In a July 31, 2009 press release and a July 30, 2009 letter concerning Secretary of State Clinton's visit to Africa, Human Rights Watch did not specify that it was refugees and asylum seekers who were the target of abuse by the Angolan armed forces. The letter and press release have been corrected accordingly.

In a July 13, 2009 news release, Human Rights Watch quoted article 24 of the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Identification Act. However, the article was deleted from the version of the bill passed by the lower house of Malaysia’s parliament. To date, the Senate has not passed the bill. Human Rights Watch has deleted the inaccurate referral from its news release. (July 15, 2009)

In this June 19, 2009 news release a clause was inadvertently deleted from the sentence that describes mandatory installation. It should have read, “Despite domestic and international criticism, the Chinese government has apparently not reversed its initial demand that companies pre-install or otherwise include Green Dam on all personal computers by July 1.” The open letters to companies that accompanied this release did include such language to more accurately describe the Chinese government’s notification. (June 23, 2009)

The June 2009 report, Discrimination, Denial, and Deportation did not specify that in Haiti, only criminal deportees are taken immediately to jail and held indefinitely. The report has been corrected accordingly.

In This May 14, 2009 news release, Human Rights Watch originally cited civilian deaths in Afghanistan during airstrikes by US forces conducted on May 3, 2009. The date of May 3 was initially reported by the US military and in the international media; however, the airstrikes actually occurred on May 4, 2009. (August 14, 2009) US: Clinton Should Stress Human Rights on Africa Trip

The April 2009 report “Uniform Impunity” incorrectly states that the husband of Inés Fernandez Ortega has forced her to leave their home. The report has been corrected accordingly.

In this April 23, 2009 news release, Human Rights Watch quoted Kamal al Jizouli as a prominent journalist for the Sudanese newspaper Ajras al-Huriya. However, al Jizouli is in fact a lawyer and a columnist for the newspaper, and so his title has been changed as such. (Arabic Correction)

The Arabic translation of the January 21, 2009 media statement, “Gaza Crisis: Regimes React with Routine Repression,” mistakenly stated that the Jordanian government “systematically” denies permission for demonstrations critical of Jordanian foreign policy, where the correct English version speaks of “routine” denials. We apologize for the mistake and have corrected the language in the Arabic version.

Furthermore, both the Iranian and Jordanian governments did allow many demonstrations against the war in Gaza to proceed. In Iran, the government allowed demonstrations nationwide to give voice to public outrage against Israeli actions in Gaza and support for the government’s rallying call for Palestinian rights. In Jordan, the government states that over 600 demonstrations against Israeli actions in Gaza took place. Nevertheless, at least one protest in Iran and two protests in Jordan met with police beatings and dispersal. (February 9, 2009 | Arabic Correction)

On August 21, 2008, Human Rights Watch reported a series of attacks with cluster munitions around four towns and villages in Georgia's Gori district. Human Rights Watch attributed all the strikes to Russian forces, but upon further investigation has concluded that the origin of the cluster munitions found on August 20 in two of the villages - Shindisi and Pkhvenisi - cannot yet be determined.