Corrections

Human Rights Watch has updated this December 30, 2009 article following suggestions that the quote of former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni ("On my way here I heard that Hamas declared the man killed by a rocket in Ashkelon ‘one of the Zionists' despite being an Israeli Arab. They don't make a distinction, and neither should we.") is ambiguous on whether she meant that Israel will not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Other statements from Livni and former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert support the argument, and one from Olmert has been added here.

In a December 23, 2009 press release concerning the need to protect witnesses in Colombia, Human Rights Watch noted that in one case, involving the Pablo Escobar neighborhood in Medellin, five witnesses had been killed in recent months. Human Rights Watch later received more precise information indicating that only one of the deceased was an active witness in a criminal case. Other victims were current or former residents of the neighborhood, and the son of a witness. The press release has been corrected accordingly.

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)