MANILA — The Philippine government is conducting “clearing operations” to round up and detain hundreds of homeless people, including children, so that they will not be visible during this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, the group Human Rights Watch said on Monday.

More than 3,000 visiting government officials, business leaders and journalists are in the Philippine capital this week for a meeting of the APEC forum that will include President Obama, President Xi Jinping of China, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, and more than a dozen other national leaders.

The Philippine government denied that people were being held against their will or that the homeless were taken off the street only for the APEC forum.

Thousands of police officers and other security officials have been deployed across Manila in preparation for the gathering. Many of the main roads through the city have blocked lanes or are completely closed. Residents of high-rise buildings near where the world leaders will pass have been told to close their curtains and stay off balconies. Most government offices and many private companies have closed for the week.