Pro-Qaddafi Forces and Rebels Committed War Crimes

The United Nations concluded on 2 March 2012 that both pro-Qaddafi forces and rebels committed war crimes during the Libyan conflict last year.

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Current Work

Smoke and Mirrors in the Gulf Kingdom of Bahrain

PHR's Richard Sollom protests new regulations by the Government of Bahrain limiting the length of time human rights organizations are allowed in the country to five working days.

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As Situation in Syria Worsens, U.S. Embassy in Damascus Closes

As the situation in Syria devolves, Russia and China should see that they have chosen the wrong side of history with their recent veto of a U.N. Security Council resolution designed to end the atrocities in Syria.

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Bahraini Government’s Use of Tear Gas Claims Several Lives

Over the last month, the Bahraini police have been using tear gas almost every night against protesters in residential areas. Specifically, the police have been targeting the Shi’a neighborhoods of Iker, Sitra, Nuwadrat, and Ma’ameer. While there are international guidelines for the proper use of tear gas, victims of such attacks describe the police using tear gas inappropriately – including firing into homes and other closed spaces. Such inappropriate use can have disastrous consequences. Since the start of the unrest in February 2011, at least 13 civilians have died from exposure to the tear gas, according to Bahraini civil society groups. They note that those who die from tear gas inhalation are usually people who are already vulnerable due to old age or disease, which make the gas’s effects more deadly.

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Doctors in Libya Still Under Attack

Doctors in Libya are still under attack – even though the Libyan conflict officially ended last August. In December 2011, Qaddafi loyalists attacked the Director of Tripoli’s Central Hospital, holding him at gunpoint and forcibly detaining him and doctors went on strike after another doctor was assaulted on hospital property.

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