Human Rights Watch
Non-profit, NGO | |
Focus | Human rights, activism |
---|---|
Headquarters | New York City, U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
Product | Nonprofit human rights advocacy |
Key people | Tirana Hassan (Executive Director) |
Revenue | $85.6 million (2019)[1] |
Website | www |
Formerly called | Helsinki Watch |
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization headquartered in New York City that conducts research and advocacy on human rights.[2] 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.
In 1997, Human Rights Watch shared the
HRW's annual expenses totaled $50.6 million in 2011,[5] $69.2 million in 2014,[6] and $75.5 million in 2017.[7][needs update]
History
Human Rights Watch was co-founded by
Americas Watch was founded in 1981 while bloody
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.[11][12]
In April 2021, Human Rights Watch released 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.[13][14]
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 the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement in the
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 a permanent access to attend the organization's assemblies. Bahrain held the IPU Meeting from 11-15 March 2023.[17]
Profile
Pursuant to the
Human Rights Watch publishes research reports on violations of
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, 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.[20]
Each year, Human Rights Watch presents the
Human Rights Watch was one of six international NGOs that founded the
Human Rights Watch is a founding member of the
HRW's former executive director is
Comparison with Amnesty International
Human Rights watch and Amnesty International are both international non-governmental organizations headquartered in the North Atlantic Anglosphere that report on global human rights violations.[22] 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 "
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.[29]
In 2010, Jonathan Foreman wrote that HRW had "all but eclipsed" Amnesty International. According to Foreman, instead of being supported by 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.[30]
Financing and services
For the financial year ending June 2008, HRW reported receiving approximately US$44 million in public donations.[31] In 2009, HRW said it received almost 75% of its financial support from North America, 25% from Western Europe and less than 1% from the rest of the world.[32]
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.[33]
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 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."[34][35][36] The donation, the largest in HRW's history, increased its operating staff of 300 by 120 people.[37]
Charity Navigator gave HRW a three-star rating for 2018. Its financial rating increased from three stars in 2015 to the maximum four as of 2016.[38] The Better Business Bureau said HRW meets its standards for charity accountability.[39]
Notable staff
Some notable current and former staff members of Human Rights Watch:[40]
- Robert L. Bernstein, founding chair emeritus
- Neil Rimer, co-chair, international board of directors[41]
- Kenneth Roth, former executive director
- Jan Egeland, deputy director and director of Human Rights Watch Europe
- Minky Worden, media director
- Jamie Fellner, senior counsel for the United States Program
- Brad Adams, Asia Director
- Scott Long, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Director
- Sarah Leah Whitson, former Middle East and North Africa Director
- Joe Stork, deputy director for Middle East and North Africa
- Marc Garlasco, former staff member, resigned due to a scandal involving his Nazi memorabilia collection[50]
- Sharon Hom, member of the advisory board of Human Rights Watch/Asia
- Tae-Ung Baik, former research consultant
- Nabeel Rajab, member of the Advisory Committee of Human Rights Watch's Middle East Division
- Tejshree Thapa, former Senior South Asia researcher[51]
- Habib Rahiab, former field researcher in Afghanistan and Pakistan[52]
- Ben Rawlence, journalist and former researcher
Publications
Human Rights Watch publishes reports on many different topics[53] and compiles an annual World Report presenting an overview of the worldwide state of human rights.[54] It has been published by Seven Stories Press since 2006; the current edition, World Report 2020, was released in January 2020, and covers events of 2019.[55][56] 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 the Rwandan genocide of 1994,[57] the Democratic Republic of the Congo,[58] and the excessive breadth of U.S. sex offender registries and their application to juveniles.[59][60]
In the summer of 2004, the
Criticism
HRW has been criticized for perceived bias by the national governments it has investigated for human rights abuses.
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 the Middle East and North Africa. After The Intercept reported the donation, it was returned, and HRW issued a statement that accepting it was "deeply regrettable".[68]
See also
- Academic freedom in the Middle East
- American Freedom Campaign
- Avocats Sans Frontières
- Freedom House
- Helsinki Committee for Human Rights
- Human Rights First
- International Freedom of Expression Exchange
- US Human Rights Network
- World Coalition Against the Death Penalty
- National Endowment for Democracy
- National Democratic Institute
References
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- ^ Holmes, Oliver (27 April 2021). "Israel is committing the crime of apartheid, rights watchdog says". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
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- ^ Historical Dictionary of Human Rights and Humanitarian Organizations; Edited by Thomas E. Doyle, Robert F. Gorman, Edward S. Mihalkanin; Rowman & Littlefield, 2016; Pg. 137-138
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- ^ "Tirana Hassan to Lead Human Rights Watch". Human Rights Watch. March 27, 2023. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
- ^ a b "Tirana Hassan". Archived from the original on 2023-05-12. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
- ^ "Reuters.com". arquivo.pt. Archived from the original on January 9, 2009.[failed verification]
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- ^ "George Soros to Give $100 Million to Human Rights Watch". Human Rights Watch. September 7, 2010. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ^ Colum Lynch (September 12, 2010). "With $100 million Soros gift, Human Rights Watch looks to expand global reach". Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
The donation, the largest single gift ever from the Hungarian-born investor and philanthropist, is premised on the belief that U.S. leadership on human rights has been diminished by a decade of harsh policies in the war on terrorism.
- ^ "Financial Statements, Year Ended June 30, 2011 (See page 16 for the Open Society Foundation's contribution)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ^ Pilkington, Ed (September 7, 2010). "George Soros gives $100 million to Human Rights Watch". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 16, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
- ^ "Charity Navigator - Rating for Human Rights Watch". Charity Navigator. Archived from the original on May 10, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
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ignored (help) - ^ World Report 2020. November 25, 2019. Archived from the original on January 21, 2020.
- ^ Rwandan genocide report Archived October 31, 2010, at the Wayback Machine,Human Rights Watch
- ^ Congo report Archived September 9, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Human Rights Watch
- ^ "No Easy Answers: Sex Offender Laws in the US". Human Rights Watch. September 12, 2007. Archived from the original on April 11, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ^ "Raised on the Registry: The Irreparable Harm of Placing Children on Sex Offender Registries in the US". Human Rights Watch. May 1, 2013. Archived from the original on July 29, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ^ "Human Rights Watch Archive Moves to Columbia University". lj.libraryjournal.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
- ^ Slezkine, Peter (December 16, 2014). "From Helsinki to Human Rights Watch: How an American Cold War Monitoring Group Became an International Human Rights Institution". Humanity. Archived from the original on 2019-12-27.
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- ^ "Saudi Arabia outraged by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch's criticism". Ya Libnan. July 1, 2016. Archived from the original on 2018-06-20.
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- ^ Friedman, Matti (November 30, 2014). "What the Media Gets Wrong About Israel". Archived from the original on December 10, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
- OCLC 1345216431.
- ^ Emmons, Alex (March 2, 2020). "Human Rights Watch Took Money From Saudi Businessman After Documenting His Coercive Labor Practices". Archived from the original on February 18, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2020.