Human Rights Watch ( HRW ) is an international non-governmental organization , headquartered in New York City that conducts research and advocacy on human rights . The group pressures governments, policymakers, companies, and individual human rights abusers to denounce abuse and respect human rights, and often works on behalf of refugees, children, migrants, and political prisoners.
100-599: Dadaab ( Somali : Dhadhaab ) is a semi-arid town in Garissa County , Kenya . It is the site of a UNHCR base hosting 302,805 registered refugees and asylum seekers as of 31 October 2023, in four camps (Dagahaley, Hagadera and Ifo, and Ifo 2), making it one of the largest in the world behind Kutupalong refugee camp . The centre is run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and its operations are financed by foreign donors. In 2013, UNHCR,
200-738: A Latin orthography as the official national alphabet over several other writing scripts that were then in use. Concurrently, the Italian -language daily newspaper Stella d'Ottobre ("The October Star") was nationalized, renamed to Xiddigta Oktoobar , and began publishing in Somali. The state-run Radio Mogadishu has also broadcast in Somali since 1951. Additionally, other state-run public networks like Somaliland National TV , regional public networks such as Puntland TV and Radio and, as well as Eastern Television Network and Horn Cable Television , among other private broadcasters, air programs in Somali. Somali
300-513: A disability centre, police stations, graveyards, a bus station, and more. In addition, it is designed in a grid-like pattern, with the market on one side and a green belt at the centre of the many lines of tents. Despite these many amenities, however, the camps are crowded and have few signposts, making them confusing and difficult to navigate for new arrivals. Refugees in Dadaab typically live in tents, which are made of plastic sheeting and distributed by
400-829: A global network of non-governmental organizations that monitor censorship worldwide. It also co-founded the Cluster Munition Coalition , which brought about an international convention banning the weapons. HRW employs more than 275 staff—country experts, lawyers, journalists, and academics—and operates in more than 90 countries around the world. Headquartered in New York City , it has offices in Amsterdam , Beirut , Berlin , Brussels , Chicago , Geneva , Johannesburg , London , Los Angeles , Nairobi , Seoul , Paris , San Francisco , Sydney , Tokyo , Toronto , Washington, D.C. , and Zürich . HRW maintains direct access to
500-531: A mass membership, as AI is, HRW depends on wealthy donors who like to see the organization's reports make headlines. For this reason, according to Foreman, it may be that organizations like HRW "concentrate too much on places that the media already cares about," especially Israel. For the financial year ending June 2008, HRW reported receiving approximately US$ 44 million in public donations. In 2009, HRW said it received almost 75% of its financial support from North America, 25% from Western Europe and less than 1% from
600-637: A permanent access to attend the organization's assemblies. Bahrain held the IPU Meeting from 11–15 March 2023. Pursuant to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Human Rights Watch opposes violations of what the UDHR considers basic human rights . This includes capital punishment and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation . HRW advocates freedoms in connection with fundamental human rights, such as freedom of religion and freedom of
700-518: A potential issue, as the premises often have substandard sanitary facilities and unclean water. One reason refugees arrive at the camps is displacement caused by natural disasters. By the end of 2011, more than 25% of residents at the complex had come as a result of a drought in Eastern Africa. Individuals arriving under these conditions were already malnourished, and once at the camps they could experience additional food scarcity. Although malnutrition
800-488: A prominent 40,000-entry Somali dictionary. Most of the terms consisted of commonly used nouns. These lexical borrowings may have been more extensive in the past since a few words that Zaborski (1967:122) observed in the older literature were absent in Agostini's later work. In addition, the majority of personal names are derived from Arabic. The Somali language also contains a few Indo-European loanwords that were retained from
900-573: A repatriation commission to coordinate the return of the refugees. This repatriation effort was in response to an attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, and belief that Al-Shabaab , the militant group responsible for the attack, was using Dadaab to recruit new members. In 2014, the UNHCR assisted 3,562 refugees originating from Somalia to resettlement from Kenya. Slightly over 2,000 individuals returned to
1000-562: A report accusing Israel of apartheid and calling on the International Criminal Court to investigate "systematic discrimination" against Palestinians, becoming the first major international rights NGO to do so. In August 2020, the Chinese government sanctioned HRW executive director Kenneth Roth—along with the heads of four other U.S.-based democracy and human rights organizations and six U.S. Republican lawmakers—for supporting
1100-506: A result of the Chinese sanctions, with the situation in Hong Kong henceforth to be monitored by HRW's China team. The decision to leave came amid a wider crackdown on civil society groups in Hong Kong. On 8 March 2023, Bahrain canceled two HRW staff members' entry permit visas to attend the 146th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly. The permits were issued on 30 January 2023. Holding a constant observer status with IPU, HRW authorities had
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#17328512842171200-540: Is a contributing factor to high death rates among children, it has been observed that life expectancy at the complex is positively correlated with years of inhabitation. Refugees receive food rations containing cereal, legumes, oil, and sugar from the World Food Programme (WFP). Due to overcrowding and lack of resources, they are not eligible for their initial rations until 12 days after arrival, on average. The rations are generally first distributed to children under
1300-658: Is a qualified social worker who has worked with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Save the Children , and most recently as director of Amnesty International 's Crisis Response Program. Hassan holds honors degrees in social work and law from Australia and a master's degree in international human rights law from Oxford University . Human Rights watch and Amnesty International are both international non-governmental organizations headquartered in
1400-516: Is a result of a long series of southward population movements over the past ten centuries from the Gulf of Aden littoral. Lamberti subdivides Northern Somali into three dialects: Northern Somali proper (spoken in the northwest; he describes this dialect as Northern Somali in the proper sense), the Darod group (spoken in the northeast and along the eastern Ethiopia frontier; greatest number of speakers overall), and
1500-448: Is a tonal language, whereas Banti (1988) suggests that it is a pitch system. The syllable structure of Somali is (C)V(C). Root morphemes usually have a mono- or di-syllabic structure. Clusters of two consonants do not occur word-initially or word-finally, i.e., they only occur at syllable boundaries. The following consonants can be geminate: /b/, /d/, /ɖ/, /ɡ/, /ɢ/, /m/, /n/, /r/ and /l/. The following cannot be geminate: /t/, /k/ and
1600-703: Is an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic branch. It is spoken primarily in Greater Somalia , and by the Somali diaspora as a mother tongue. Somali is an official language in both Somalia and Ethiopia , and serves as a national language in Djibouti , it is also a recognised minority language in Kenya . The Somali language is officially written with the Latin alphabet although
1700-467: Is biased against Israel in its coverage of the Israel–Palestine conflict . In 2014, two Nobel Peace Laureates , Adolfo Pérez Esquivel and Mairead Maguire , wrote a letter signed by 100 other human rights activists and scholars criticizing HRW for its revolving-door hiring practices with the U.S. government, its failure to denounce the U.S. practice of extrajudicial rendition , its endorsement of
1800-583: Is not marked, and front and back vowels are not distinguished. Writing systems developed in the twentieth century include the Osmanya , Borama and Kaddare alphabets , which were invented by Osman Yusuf Kenadid , Abdurahman Sheikh Nuur and Hussein Sheikh Ahmed Kaddare , respectively. Several digital collections of texts in the Somali language have been developed in recent decades. These corpora include Kaydka Af Soomaaliga (KAF), Bangiga Af Soomaaliga,
1900-400: Is often not immediate due to overcrowding. Other relief organizations include Danish Refugee Agency (DRC), Norwegian Refugee Agency (NRC), Windle International, Lutheran World Federation , Center for Victims of Torture , In July 2011, due to a drought in Eastern Africa, over 1,000 people per day were arriving in need of assistance. The influx reportedly placed great strain on the resources, as
2000-477: Is rarely pronounced as a velar fricative, Partially the reason why is that it is mostly found in Arabic loanwords. It is pronounced as the phoneme χ when it is an allophone for the letter ⟨q⟩ in syllabic codas. As in A kh ri from A q ri meaning (read). Pitch is phonemic in Somali, but it is debated whether Somali is a pitch accent , or it is a tonal language . Andrzejewski (1954) posits that Somali
2100-570: Is recognized as an official working language in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Although it is not an official language of Djibouti , it constitutes a major national language there. Somali is used in television and radio broadcasts, with the government-operated Radio Djibouti transmitting programs in the language from 1943 onwards. The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation also broadcasts in the Somali language in its Iftin FM Programmes. The language
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#17328512842172200-467: Is similar to the stem alternation that typifies Cairene Arabic . Somali has two sets of pronouns: independent (substantive, emphatic) pronouns and clitic (verbal) pronouns. The independent pronouns behave grammatically as nouns, and normally occur with the suffixed article -ka/-ta (e.g. adiga , "you"). This article may be omitted after a conjunction or focus word. For example, adna meaning "and you..." (from adi - na ). Clitic pronouns are attached to
2300-712: Is spoken by an estimated 95% of the country's inhabitants, and also by a majority of the population in Djibouti. Following the start of the Somali Civil War in the early 1990s, the Somali-speaking diaspora increased in size, with newer Somali speech communities forming in parts of the Middle East, North America and Europe. Constitutionally, Somali and Arabic are the two official languages of Somalia . Somali has been an official national language since January 1973, when
2400-557: Is spoken in Somali inhabited areas of Somalia , Djibouti , Ethiopia , Kenya , Yemen and by members of the Somali diaspora . It is also spoken as an adoptive language by a few ethnic minority groups and individuals in Somali majority regions. Somali is the most widely spoken Cushitic language in the region followed by Oromo and Afar . As of 2021, there are approximately 24 million speakers of Somali, spread in Greater Somalia of which around 17 million reside in Somalia. The language
2500-685: Is spoken in the Somali territories within North Eastern Kenya , namely Wajir County , Garissa County and Mandera County . The Somali language is regulated by the Regional Somali Language Academy , an intergovernmental institution established in June 2013 in Djibouti City by the governments of Djibouti, Somalia and Ethiopia. It is officially mandated with preserving the Somali language. As of October 2022, Somali and Oromo are
2600-627: The Arabic script and several Somali scripts like Osmanya , Kaddare and the Borama script are informally used. Somali is classified within the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family, specifically, Lowland East Cushitic in addition to Afar and Saho . Somali is the best-documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies of the language dating back to the late 19th century. The Somali language
2700-450: The Near East and South Asia (e.g. khiyaar "cucumber" from Persian : خيار khiyār ). Other loan words have also displaced their native synonyms in some dialects (e.g. jabaati "a type of flat bread" from Hindi: चपाती chapāti displacing sabaayad). Some of these words were also borrowed indirectly via Arabic. As part of a broader governmental effort of linguistic purism in
2800-542: The Royal Geographical Society of Great Britain, scientist Johann Maria Hildebrandt noted upon visiting the area that "we know from ancient authors that these districts, at present so desert, were formerly populous and civilised[...] I also discovered ancient ruins and rock-inscriptions both in pictures and characters[...] These have hitherto not been deciphered." According to the 1974 report for Ministry of Information and National Guidance, this script represents
2900-753: The Rwandan genocide of 1994, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , and the excessive breadth of U.S. sex offender registries and their application to juveniles. In the summer of 2004, the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University in New York became the depository institution for the Human Rights Watch Archive, an active collection that documents decades of human rights investigations around
3000-584: The Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) declared it the Somali Democratic Republic 's primary language of administration and education. Somali was thereafter established as the main language of academic instruction in forms 1 through 4 , following preparatory work by the government-appointed Somali Language Committee. It later expanded to include all 12 forms in 1979. In 1972, the SRC adopted
3100-490: The Christian minorities were reportedly high. According to the UNHCR, 80% of residents were women and children and 95% were Somalia nationals as of mid-2015. Of the registered refugee population from Somalia, the number of men and women is equal, but only 4% of the total population is over the age of sixty. Each year, thousands of children are born in the Dadaab camps. A number of adults have spent their entire lives as refugees in
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3200-629: The Cushitic and Semitic Afroasiatic languages spoken in the Horn region (e.g. Amharic ). However, Somali noun phrases are head-initial, whereby the noun precedes its modifying adjective. This pattern of general head-finality with head-initial noun phrases is also found in other Cushitic languages (e.g. Oromo), but not generally in Ethiopian Semitic languages. Somali uses three focus markers: baa , ayaa and waxa(a) , which generally mark new information or contrastive emphasis. Baa and ayaa require
3300-473: The Dadaab complex shortly after its construction in 1992, with most escaping the Somali Civil War . When refugees arrive at the camp, they are registered and fingerprinted by the Kenyan government. However, the camps themselves are managed by the UNHCR, with other organizations directly in charge of specific aspects of the resident' lives. CARE oversees Water and Sanitation Hygiene as well as warehouse management and
3400-462: The HRW archive are not open to researchers or to the public, including the records of the meetings of the board of directors, the executive committee, and the various subcommittees, limiting historians' ability to understand the organization's internal decision-making. HRW has been criticized for perceived bias by the national governments it has investigated for human rights abuses. Some sources allege HRW
3500-515: The Hong Kong pro-democracy movement in the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests . The five organizations' leaders saw the sanctioning, whose details were unspecified, as a tit-for-tat measure in response to the earlier U.S. sanctioning of 11 Hong Kong officials. The latter step had in turn been a reaction to the enactment of the Hong Kong National Security Law in June. In October 2021, The New York Times reported that HRW left Hong Kong as
3600-726: The Ifo camp were destroyed, forcing the relocation of more than 10,000 refugees. The sole access road to the camp and to the town was also cut off by the floods, impeding the delivery of essential supplies. Humanitarian agencies present in the area worked together to bring vital goods to the area. In 2011, a drought in Eastern Africa caused a dramatic surge in the camps' population, placing greater strain on resources. By February 2012, aid agencies had shifted their emphasis to recovery efforts, including digging irrigation canals and distributing plant seeds. Long-term strategies by national governments in conjunction with development agencies are believed to offer
3700-544: The Ifo refugee camp. However, legal problems with the Kenyan Government prevented Ifo II from fully opening for relocation, until 2011. As of 13 May, Hagadera was the largest of the camps, containing just over 74,744 individuals and 17,490 households. Ifo refugee camp, on the other hand, is the smallest camp with 65,974 refugees. Former Kambioss and Ifo2 refugee camps were closed in April 2017 and May 2018, respectively. Ifo camp
3800-812: The Kenya Commissioner for Refugees, when migrants first began arriving in Dadaab town from Somalia, they were all educated. An assessment survey completed in 2011 found that access to education in Dadaab was considerably limited, restricting the ability of refugees at the centre to find jobs and become less reliant on aid organizations. Dadaab had only one secondary school; those who managed to be educated there could receive jobs working for aid agencies such as CARE , WFP , or GTZ that distribute resources to refugees. Those who were uneducated could pursue jobs in restaurants or helping load and unload trucks. Many chose other modes of subsistence. In 2011, only around 48% of children in Dadaab were enrolled in school. In response,
3900-727: The Kenyan authorities' unilateral declaration as irresponsible, and has sought to broker a deal to ensure that the complex remains open. The threat of closure by the Kenyan government is believed to be a ploy on its part to leverage more foreign donations. It also comes as the Somali federal authorities are challenging the Kenyan government at the International Court of Justice over demarcation of their respective territorial waters. Somali language Somali ( / s ə ˈ m ɑː l i , s oʊ -/ sə- MAH -lee, soh- ; Latin script: Af Soomaali ; Wadaad : اف صومالِ ; Osmanya : 𐒖𐒍 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘 [af soːmaːli] )
4000-530: The Kenyan government asked the UNHCR to repatriate the remaining refugees to a designated area in Somalia within three months. The proposed closure was reportedly spurred by fear that Al-Shabaab was still recruiting members from Dadaab. Some individuals reported that the anxiety caused by the Kenyan government repeatedly threatening to shut down the camps was enough to convince them to leave. Without job availability or reliable access to resources, greater opportunities existed for them outside of Dadaab. Others questioned
4100-452: The Kenyan government screens ethnic Somalis and Ethiopians separately from other residents due to their different physical characteristics. A special category in local police documents is earmarked for "Kenyan-Somalis". While all refugees at the camp are at risk of violence, the UNHCR and CARE have identified women and children as being particularly vulnerable. They have created a department called 'Vulnerable Women and Children' (VWC) to tackle
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4200-717: The Latin nor Osmanya scripts accommodate this numerical switching. *the commas in the Osmanya number chart are added for clarity Human Rights Watch In 1997, Human Rights Watch shared the Nobel Peace Prize as a founding member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines . It played a leading role in the 2008 treaty banning cluster munitions . HRW's annual expenses totaled $ 50.6 million in 2011, $ 69.2 million in 2014, and $ 75.5 million in 2017. Human Rights Watch
4300-579: The Lower Juba group (spoken by northern Somali settlers in the southern riverine areas). Benadir (also known as Coastal Somali) is spoken on the central Indian Ocean seaboard, including Mogadishu . It forms a relatively smaller group. The dialect is fairly mutually intelligible with Northern Somali. The language has five basic vowels . Somali has 22 consonant phonemes . The retroflex plosive /ɖ/ may have an implosive quality for some Somali Bantu speakers, and intervocalically it can be realized as
4400-569: The Luuq, Baidoa and Kismayo districts in southern Somalia under the repatriation project. Despite these government endorsed repatriation schemes, the majority of the returnees have instead repatriated independently. By February 2014, around 80,000 to 100,000 residents had voluntarily repatriated to Somalia, significantly decreasing the base's population. Following the Garissa University College attack in April 2015, which resulted in 148 deaths,
4500-567: The Ministry of Education of Somalia announced that all high school students at the centre who were Somali citizens would be eligible for higher education scholarships. To further improve the education standards, a new European Union-funded project was launched in 2013. The initiative was earmarked for three years, with $ 4.6 million allocated toward its syllabus. It included new classrooms for all local schools, adult programs, girls' special education, and scholarships for elite students based on merit. 75% of
4600-913: The North Atlantic Anglosphere that report on global human rights violations. The major differences lie in the groups' structures and methods for promoting change. Amnesty International is a mass-membership organization. Mobilization of those members is the organization's central advocacy tool. Human Rights Watch's main products are its crisis-directed research and lengthy reports, whereas Amnesty International lobbies and writes detailed reports but also focuses on mass letter-writing campaigns, adopting individuals as " prisoners of conscience " and lobbying for their release. HRW openly lobbies for specific actions for other governments to take against human rights offenders, including naming specific individuals for arrest, or sanctions to be levied against certain countries, such as calling for punitive sanctions against
4700-519: The Semitic Himyarite and Sabaean languages that were largely spoken in what is modern day Yemen —"there is an extensive and ancient relationship between the people and cultures of both sides of the Red Sea coast" Mire posits. Yet, while many more such ancient inscriptions are yet to be found or analyzed, many have been "bulldozed by developers, as the Ministry of Tourism could not buy the land or stop
4800-656: The Somali Web Corpus (soWaC), a Somali read-speech corpus, Asaas (Beginning in Somali) and a Web-Based Somali Language Model and text Corpus called Wargeys (Newspaper in Somali). For all numbers between 11 kow iyo toban and 99 sagaashal iyo sagaal , it is equally correct to switch the placement of the numbers, although larger numbers is some dialects prefer to place the 10s numeral first. For example 25 may both be written as labaatan iyo shan and shan iyo labaatan (lit. Twenty and Five & Five and Twenty). Although neither
4900-513: The Somali language, the past few decades have seen a push in Somalia toward replacement of loanwords in general with their Somali equivalents or neologisms . To this end, the Supreme Revolutionary Council during its tenure officially prohibited the borrowing and use of English and Italian terms. Archaeological excavations and research in Somalia uncovered ancient inscriptions in a distinct writing system . In an 1878 report to
5000-522: The Somali people's extensive social, cultural, commercial and religious links and contacts with nearby populations in the Arabian peninsula. Arabic loanwords are most commonly used in religious, administrative and education-related speech (e.g. aamiin for "faith in God"), though they are also present in other areas (e.g. kubbad-da , "ball"). Soravia (1994) noted a total of 1,436 Arabic loanwords in Agostini a.o. 1985,
5100-463: The Somali poems by Sheikh Uways and Sheikh Ismaaciil Faarah. The rest of the existing historical literature in Somali principally consists of translations of documents from Arabic. Since then a number of writing systems have been used for transcribing the Somali language. Of these, the Somali Latin alphabet , officially adopted in 1972, is the most widely used and recognised as official orthography of
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#17328512842175200-517: The U.S. 2011 military intervention in Libya , and its silence during the 2004 Haitian coup d'état . In 2020, HRW's board of directors discovered that HRW accepted a $ 470,000 donation from Saudi real estate magnate Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber , owner of a company HRW "had previously identified as complicit in labor rights abuse", under the condition that the donation not be used to support LGBT advocacy in
5300-432: The UNHCR. Although many residents have voluntarily repatriated , the camps are still overcrowded and exceed their intended capacity. By 2024, many residents had built homes to escape the heat of the sun, using mud, metal sheets, and tree branches. On average, four people live together in each household. With camps filled to capacity, NGOs have worked to improve camp conditions. However, as most urban planners frequently lack
5400-637: The World Food Programme (WFP) distributes food rations. Until 2003, only Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provided refugees with access to health-care. Now, healthcare is decentralized. Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) provides health care services in ifo refugee camp, International Rescue committee (IRC) in Hagadera and Medicins Sans Frontieres in Dagahley refugee camp. Although refugees arriving at Dadaab receive assistance from each of these organizations, aid
5500-510: The affected countries, Americas Watch also examined the role played by foreign governments, particularly the United States government , in providing military and political support to abusive regimes. Asia Watch (1985), Africa Watch (1988) and Middle East Watch (1989) were added to what was known as "The Watch Committees". In 1988, these committees united under one umbrella to form Human Rights Watch. In April 2021, Human Rights Watch released
5600-413: The age of five because they are at the greatest health risk. Markets at each of the camps have fresh food for sale. However, due to limited income opportunities, most residents are unable to afford them. Some have used innovations such as multi-storey gardens to supplement rations. These require only basic supplies to construct and less water to maintain than normal gardens. Deforestation has an effect on
5700-596: The basis for drawing international attention to abuses and pressuring governments and international organizations to reform. Researchers conduct fact-finding missions to investigate suspect situations, also using diplomacy, staying in touch with victims, making files about public and individuals, providing required security for them in critical situations, and generating local and international media coverage. Issues HRW raises in its reports include social and gender discrimination , torture , military use of children , political corruption , abuses in criminal justice systems, and
5800-449: The camps. Since 2015, Dadaab has had the largest solar-powered borehole in Africa, which is equipped with 278 solar panels and provides 16,000 residents of the complex with a daily average of about 280,000 litres of water. Local health risks are complicated by overcrowding. They include diarrhea , pulmonary issues, fever, measles , acute jaundice syndrome, and cholera . Hepatitis E is also
5900-519: The capacity of the camps was around 90,000, whereas the camps hosted 439,000 refugees in July 2011 according to the UNHCR. The number was predicted to increase to 500,000 by the end of 2011 according to estimates from Médecins Sans Frontières . Those population figures at the time made Dadaab the largest refugee camp in the world. According to the Lutheran World Federation , military operations in
6000-543: The colonial period. Most of these lexical borrowings come from English and Italian and are used to describe modern concepts (e.g. telefishen-ka , "the television"; raadia-ha , "the radio"). There are 300 loan words from Italian, such as garawati for "tie" (from Italian cravatta ), dimuqraadi from democratico (democratic), mikroskoob from microscopio , and so on. Additionally, Somali contains lexical terms from Persian , Urdu and Hindi that were acquired through historical trade with communities in
6100-527: The complex. In 2024, the camp was still over 97 percent Somali, but was also home to people from Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Eritrea and Ethiopia. The Dadaab refugee camp complex is so vast that it has been compared to a city, with urban features such as high population density, economic activity, and concentration of infrastructure. Like a typical urban area, Dadaab contains public service buildings such as schools and hospitals. The Ifo II camp, for example, includes religious spaces,
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#17328512842176200-453: The conflict zones of southern Somalia and a scaling up of relief operations had by early December 2011 greatly reduced the movement of migrants into Dadaab. By 2024, more than 380,000 people lived at Dadaab. Before the UNHCR base was opened, the local town population traditionally consisted of nomadic ethnic Somali pastoralists, who were mainly camel and goat herders. However, since the 1990s, an influx of refugees has dramatically shifted
6300-471: The current edition, World Report 2020 , was released in January 2020, and covers events of 2019. World Report 2020 , HRW's 30th annual review of human rights practices around the globe, includes reviews of human rights practices and trends in nearly 100 countries, and an introductory essay by Executive Director Kenneth Roth, "China's Global Threat to Human Rights". HRW has reported extensively on subjects such as
6400-521: The demographics of the area. Most of the people living in Dadaab have fled various conflicts in the broader Eastern Africa region. The majority have come as a consequence of the civil war in southern Somalia as well as due to droughts. According to Human Rights Watch , most of these displaced persons belong to the Bantu ethnic minority population as well as the Rahanweyn clan. Most of the latter have migrated from
6500-534: The destruction". Besides Ahmed's Latin script, other orthographies that have been used for centuries for writing the Somali language include the long-established Arabic script and Wadaad's writing . According to Bogumił Andrzejewski , this usage was limited to Somali clerics and their associates, as sheikhs preferred to write in the liturgical Arabic language. Various such historical manuscripts in Somali nonetheless exist, which mainly consist of Islamic poems ( qasidas ), recitations and chants. Among these texts are
6600-402: The earliest written attestation of Somali. Much more recently, Somali archaeologist Sada Mire has published ancient inscriptions found throughout Somaliland . As much for much of Somali linguistic history the language was not widely used for literature, Dr. Mire's publications however prove that writing as a technology was not foreign nor scarce in the region. These piece of writing are from
6700-431: The economy as a whole. CARE is also working to create more inclusive markets that refugees are able to participate in to profit off of their newly acquired skills and business ventures. In November 2013, the Foreign Ministries of Somalia and Kenya and the UNHCR signed a tripartite agreement in Mogadishu paving the way for the voluntary repatriation of Somalia nationals living in Dadaab. Both governments also agreed to form
6800-476: The effectiveness of these efforts has been questioned, and following an analysis by Dr. Aubone at St. Mary's University, more research and data is required to identify the best ways to prevent gender-based violence at the complex. Operations at the complex are financed by foreign donors. Despite this, public perception in Kenya is that refugees in general cause a strain on the economy. Research, however, has found that many refugees are economically self-sufficient for
6900-441: The flap [ɽ] . Some speakers produce /ħ/ with epiglottal trilling as / ʜ / in retrospect. /q/ is often epiglottalized . The letter ⟨dh⟩ is a retroflex flap when it is pronounced intervocalically, hence becoming the phoneme ( ɽ ): for example, Qu r aanjo (Ant) from Qu dh aanjo; But however, more often than not is the pronunciation of ɽ to the unretained-retroflex ɾ . The letter ⟨kh⟩
7000-400: The focused element to occur preverbally, while waxa(a) may be used following the verb. Somali loanwords can be divided into those derived from other Afroasiatic languages (mainly Arabic), and those of Indo-European extraction (mainly Italian). Somali's main lexical borrowings come from Arabic, and are estimated to constitute about 20% of the language's vocabulary. This is a legacy of
7100-471: The fricatives. Two vowels cannot occur together at syllable boundaries. Epenthetic consonants, e.g. [j] and [ʔ], are therefore inserted. Somali is an agglutinative language, and also shows properties of inflection . Affixes mark many grammatical meanings, including aspect, tense and case. Somali has an old prefixal verbal inflection restricted to four common verbs, with all other verbs undergoing inflection by more obvious suffixation. This general pattern
7200-454: The funds were set aside for refugees at the complex, and 25% were reserved for local constituencies in Lagdera and Fafi. The camps schools had over 70,000 students in 2024. Schools are built of stone, and use long white tents for additional space. The German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) provides basic healthcare. On a typical day, around 1,800 refugees get outpatient treatment in hospitals inside
7300-402: The government's rationale for closing the camps, dismissing the claims of terrorist elements as baseless and refusing to depart. The three-month ultimatum passed without Dadaab being closed. The Federal Government of Somalia and UNHCR confirmed that the repatriation would continue to be voluntary in accordance with the tripartite agreement, and that eight districts in Somalia from where most of
7400-558: The governments of Kenya and Somalia signed a tripartite agreement facilitating the repatriation of Somali refugees at the complex. The Dadaab camps Dagahaley, Hagadera and Ifo were constructed in 1992. In 2011 and 2013, two new refugee camps were opened when 164,000 new refugees from Somalia arrived, due to severe drought. The Ifo II camp extension was originally constructed in 2007 by the Norwegian Refugee Council , in response to major flooding that destroyed over 2,000 homes in
7500-417: The individuals had come had officially been designated as safe for repatriation. However, the Kenyan government has intermittently threatened to close down the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps. In May 2016, it declared that it had already disbanded the local Department of Refugee Affairs as part of the move, citing national security interests as the primary reason behind the forced repatriations. The UNCHR regards
7600-587: The international spotlight on human rights violations in the Soviet Union and its European partners, it contributed to the region's democratic transformations in the late 1980s. Americas Watch was founded in 1981 while bloody civil wars engulfed Central America. Relying on extensive on-the-ground fact-finding, Americas Watch not only addressed perceived abuses by government forces but also applied international humanitarian law to investigate and expose war crimes by rebel groups. In addition to raising concerns in
7700-608: The issues surrounding violence against these populations. As of August 2015, 60% of Dadaab's total population is under the age of 18, and there are equal numbers of men and women, so women and children make up a significant portion of the camps' demographics. Specifically, the VWC department has identified orphans, widows, divorcees, rape victims and the disabled as the most vulnerable among all women and children. They offer counselling, additional food rations and supplies, and advice on how to earn an income and be financially self-sufficient. However,
7800-491: The legalization of abortion . HRW has documented and reported various violations of the laws of war and international humanitarian law , most recently in Yemen. Human Rights Watch also supports writers worldwide who are persecuted for their work and in need of financial assistance. The Hellman/Hammett grants are financed by the estate of the playwright Lillian Hellman in funds set up in her name and that of her longtime companion,
7900-406: The lives of Dadaab's residents. Although they are typically required to remain in the camp, residents often have to venture out in search of firewood and water. They are thus obliged to travel farther due to deforestation in nearby areas. This leaves women and girls vulnerable to violence as they journey to and from the complex. In 2006, flooding severely affected the region. More than 2,000 homes at
8000-511: The majority of countries it reports on. Cuba , North Korea , Sudan , Iran , Israel , Egypt , the United Arab Emirates , Uzbekistan and Venezuela are among the handful of countries that have blocked HRW staff members' access. HRW's former executive director is Kenneth Roth , who held the position from 1993 to 2022. Roth conducted investigations on abuses in Poland after martial law
8100-414: The maximum four as of 2016. The Better Business Bureau said HRW meets its standards for charity accountability. Some notable current and former staff members of Human Rights Watch: Human Rights Watch publishes reports on many different topics and compiles an annual World Report presenting an overview of the worldwide state of human rights. It has been published by Seven Stories Press since 2006;
8200-475: The most part. In order to try to further increase the economic independence of refugees living in Dadaab, CARE has initiated microfinance programs, which are particularly important for encouraging women to start their own businesses. However, recent scholarly research has identified some flaws with microfinance, arguing that it has unintended negative consequences. Microfinance typically requires borrowers to pay very high interest rates, which can be detrimental to
8300-542: The most sustainable results. Rainfall had also surpassed expectations and rivers were flowing again, improving the prospects of a good harvest in early 2012. Refugees at the UNHCR centre are not protected by the Government of Kenya (GOK). This has contributed to dangerous living conditions and outbreaks of violence. Because they are not protected under the law and are unable to possess a Kenyan national identification card, refugees are constantly at risk for arrest. Additionally,
8400-616: The novelist Dashiell Hammett . In addition to providing financial assistance, the Hellman/Hammett grants help raise international awareness of activists who have been silenced for speaking out in defence of human rights. Each year, Human Rights Watch presents the Human Rights Defenders Award to activists who demonstrate leadership and courage in defending human rights. The award winners work closely with HRW to investigate and expose human rights abuses. Human Rights Watch
8500-512: The only Cushitic languages available on Google Translate . The Somali languages are broadly divided into three main groups: Northern Somali , Benadir and Maay . Northern Somali forms the basis for Standard Somali. It is spoken by the majority of the Somali population with its speech area stretching from Djibouti , and the Somali Region of Ethiopia to the Northern Frontier District . This widespread modern distribution
8600-483: The organization has to be seen as more international, less an American organization." He continued, "Human Rights Watch is one of the most effective organizations I support. Human rights underpin our greatest aspirations: they're at the heart of open societies." The donation, the largest in HRW's history, increased its operating staff of 300 by 120 people. Charity Navigator gave HRW a three-star rating for 2018. Its financial rating increased from three stars in 2015 to
8700-453: The plural of the masculine noun dibi ("bull") is formed by converting it into feminine dibi . Somali is unusual among the world's languages in that the object is unmarked for case while the subject is marked, though this feature is found in other Cushitic languages such as Oromo. Somali is a subject–object–verb (SOV) language. It is largely head final , with postpositions and with obliques preceding verbs. These are common features of
8800-428: The poorest if any unexpected problems or crises arise. Living in a community with other economically disadvantaged individuals can also make it difficult to make a profit from a business venture since potential customers are not able to afford the service or product that is being sold. Others have argued that this is beneficial to individuals as a short-term economic solution, but that over the long-term it does not improve
8900-561: The press . It seeks to achieve change by publicly pressuring governments and their policymakers to curb human rights abuses, and by convincing more powerful governments to use their influence on governments that violate human rights. Human Rights Watch publishes research reports on violations of international human rights norms as set out by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and what it perceives to be other internationally accepted human-rights norms. These reports are used as
9000-526: The rest of the world. According to a 2008 financial assessment, HRW reports that it does not accept any direct or indirect funding from governments and is financed through contributions from private individuals and foundations. Financier George Soros of the Open Society Foundations announced in 2010 his intention to grant US$ 100 million to HRW over ten years to help it expand its efforts internationally: "to be more effective", he said, "I think
9100-599: The southern Jubba Valley and the Gedo region, while the remainder have arrived from Kismayo , Mogadishu and Bardera . In 2005, around 97% of registered refugees at Dadaab were Muslims from Somalia. The remainder mainly consisted of Muslims from the Somali Region ( Ogaden ) in Ethiopia , Ethiopian Christians and Sudanese Christians, totalling 4,000 individuals. While the Muslim minorities did not face any persecution, tensions with
9200-550: The state. The script was developed by a number of leading scholars of Somali, including Musa Haji Ismail Galal , B. W. Andrzejewski and Shire Jama Ahmed specifically for transcribing the Somali language, and uses all letters of the English Latin alphabet except p , v and z . There are no diacritics or other special characters except the use of the apostrophe for the glottal stop , which does not occur word-initially. There are three consonant digraphs : DH, KH and SH. Tone
9300-434: The tools to contend with such complex issues, there have been few innovations to improve Dadaab. Opportunities remain such as upgrading and expansion processes for communications infrastructure, environmental management and design. Aside from the infrastructure, some of the factors affecting quality of life for refugees are health-care and diet, education, environment, security, and their economic and legal status. According to
9400-752: The top leaders in Sudan who oversaw a killing campaign in Darfur . The group also called for human rights activists who had been detained in Sudan to be released. HRW's documentations of human rights abuses often include extensive analyses of conflicts' political and historical backgrounds, some of which have been published in academic journals. AI's reports, on the other hand, tend to contain less analysis, instead focusing on specific abuses of rights. In 2010, Jonathan Foreman wrote that HRW had "all but eclipsed" Amnesty International. According to Foreman, instead of being supported by
9500-408: The verb and do not take nominal morphology. Somali marks clusivity in the first person plural pronouns; this is also found in a number of other East Cushitic languages, such as Rendille and Dhaasanac. As in various other Afro-Asiatic languages, Somali is characterized by polarity of gender , whereby plural nouns usually take the opposite gender agreement of their singular forms. For example,
9600-706: The world. The archive was transferred from the Norlin Library at the University of Colorado, Boulder . It includes administrative files, public relations documents, and case and country files. With some exceptions for security considerations, the Columbia University community and the public have access to field notes, taped and transcribed interviews with alleged victims of human rights violations, video and audiotapes, and other materials documenting HRW's activities since its founding in 1978 as Helsinki Watch. Some parts of
9700-469: Was co-founded by Robert L. Bernstein , Jeri Laber , and Aryeh Neier as a private American NGO in 1978, under the name Helsinki Watch , to monitor the then- Soviet Union 's compliance with the Helsinki Accords . Helsinki Watch adopted a practice of publicly " naming and shaming " abusive governments through media coverage and direct exchanges with policymakers. Helsinki Watch says that, by shining
9800-459: Was declared 1981. He later focused on Haiti , which had just emerged from the Duvalier dictatorship but continued to be plagued with problems. Roth's awareness of the importance of human rights began with stories his father had told about escaping Nazi Germany in 1938. He graduated from Yale Law School and Brown University . Tirana Hassan became the group's executive director in 2023. Hassan
9900-449: Was first settled by refugees from the civil war in Somalia. The UNHCR subsequently made efforts to improve the premises. As the population of the camps in Dadaab grew, UNHCR commissioned the German architect Werner Schellenberg to draw the original design for Dagahaley Camp. Swedish architect Per Iwansson, designed and initiated the establishment of Hagadera camp. People first began arriving at
10000-648: Was one of six international NGOs that founded the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers in 1998. It is also the co-chair of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines , a global coalition of civil society groups that successfully lobbied to introduce the Ottawa Treaty , which prohibits the use of anti-personnel landmines. Human Rights Watch is a founding member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange ,
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