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Human Rights Watch

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Not to be confused with Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society.

Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo, Toronto, and Washington D.C.[2]

Human Rights Watch
Founded1978 under the name Helsinki Watch
Adopted current name in 1988.[1]
TypeNon-profit
NGO
Location
  • Global
FieldsHuman rights, Activism
Key people
Kenneth Roth, Executive Director
Websitehttp://www.hrw.org

History

 
Current executive Director Kenneth Roth speaking at the 44th Munich Security Conference 2008.

Human Rights Watch was founded under the name Helsinki Watch in 1978 to monitor the former Soviet Union's compliance with the Helsinki Accords. As the organization grew, it formed other "watch committees" to cover other regions of the world. In 1988, all of the committees were united under one umbrella to form Human Rights Watch. Robert L. Bernstein was a president of the organization and is one of the original founders, along with Jeri Laber, and Natan Sharansky who is no longer part of the organization.

Profile

Pursuant to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Human Rights Watch opposes violations of what it considers basic human rights, which include capital punishment and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Human Rights Watch advocates freedoms in connection with fundamental human rights, such as freedom of religion and the press.

Human Rights Watch produces 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 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 and generate coverage in local and international media. Issues raised by Human Rights Watch in its reports include social and gender discrimination, torture, military use of children, political corruption, abuses in criminal justice systems, and the legalization of abortion. Human Rights Watch documents and reports violations of the laws of war and international humanitarian law.

Human Rights Watch also supports writers worldwide who are being persecuted for their work and are 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 long-time companion, the novelist Dashiell Hammett. In addition to providing financial assistance, the Hellman/Hammett grants help raise international awareness of activists who are being silenced for speaking out in defence of human rights.[3]

Each year, Human Rights Watch presents the Human Rights Defenders Award to activists around the world who demonstrate leadership and courage in defending human rights. The award winners work closely with Human Rights Watch in investigating and exposing human rights abuses.[citation needed]

Human Rights Watch 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, a treaty that prohibits the use of anti-personnel landmines.

The current executive director of Human Rights Watch is Kenneth Roth at a salary of $350,000. He has held this position since 1993. Roth is a graduate of Yale Law School and Brown University. His father fled Nazi Germany in 1938. Roth started working on human rights after the declaration of martial law in Poland in 1981, and later became engaged in Haiti. Human Rights Watch is a founding member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange, a global network of non-governmental organizations that monitor censorship worldwide.

Human Rights Watch employs more than 275 human rights professionals comprised of country experts, lawyers, journalists, and academics.[4]

Financing and services

For the financial year ending June 2008, HRW reported receiving approximately US$44 million in public donations.[5] In 2009, Human Rights Watch stated that they receive almost 75% of their financial support from North America, 25% from Western Europe and less than 1% from the rest of the world.[6] 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.[7]

HRW published the following program and support services spending details for the financial year ending June 2008.

Program services 2008 Expenses (USD)[5]
Africa $5,532,631
Americas $1,479,265
Asia $3,212,850
Europe and Central Asia $4,001,853
Middle East and North Africa $2,258,459
United States $1,195,673
Children's Rights $1,642,064
International Justice $1,385,121
Woman's Rights $1,854,228
Other Programs $9,252,974
Supporting services
Management and general $1,984,626
Fundraising $8,641,358

Issues and campaigns

Recent

Human Rights Watch made recent headlines by criticizing the Jordanian government for arresting elected officials who praised Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, at ceremonies held in response to his death. Human Rights Watch also spoke out against the mass killings and government-imposed famines during the last decade of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's rule.[8]

On July 26, 2007 HRW denounced that hundreds of migrant children held in emergency centers in the Spanish Canary Islands are living in squalid, overcrowded conditions and face the risk of abuse from their custodians and other children. The Canary Islands government, which runs the facilities, replied in a statement[9] that the report lacked "rigor" and that "an internal investigation had failed to corroborate" Human Rights Watch's findings.

On February 6, 2009 The Guardian reported the HRW researcher Rachel Reid saying that Colonel Owen McNally had been flown back from Afghanistan to Britain "where he will reportedly be interviewed by military police".[10] It further reported that Britain's Ministry of Defence had told media that Reid was the recipient of secrets, although Reid stated that she had met Col McNally only twice, both times in a purely professional capacity, both times at the NATO military HQ in Kabul. In the same article Reid asked "Why was my name released to the media by the MoD, with a libel that our relationship was "close"? They would know exactly what impression they were creating, and presumably decided that my reputatation was expendable in order to ensure coverage of their "story"".

Human Rights Watch made headlines in September 2009 when its Middle East military analyst, Marc Garlasco was suspended with pay pending an investigation after several media reports highlighted his interest in Second World War artifacts[11] and accused him of collecting Nazi memorabilia .[12]

Publications

File:HRW-WR 2007 Cover.jpg
Human Rights Watch World Report 2007

Human Rights Watch publishes reports on several topics [13] and compiles annual reports ("World Report") presenting an overview of the worldwide state of human rights.[14] Human Rights Watch has published extensively on the Rwandan Genocide of 1994[15] and the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[16]

Comparison with Amnesty International

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are the only two western-oriented international human rights organizations operating worldwide in most situations of severe oppression or abuse. Though close allies, the two groups play complementary roles, reflecting a division of labour[citation needed]. The major differences lie in the groups’ structure 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 lobbies and writes detailed reports, but also focuses on mass letter-writing campaigns, adopting individuals as "prisoners of conscience" and lobbying for their release. Human Rights Watch will openly lobby for specific actions for other governments to take against human rights offenders, including naming specific individuals for arrest, or for sanctions to be levied against certain countries, recently calling for punitive sanctions against the top leaders in Sudan who have overseen a killing campaign in Darfur. The group has also called for human rights activists who have been detained in Sudan to be released.[17]

Its documentations of human rights abuses often include extensive analyses of the political and historical backgrounds of the conflicts concerned, some of which have been published in academic journals. AI's reports, on the other hand, tend to contain less analysis, and instead focus on specific abuses of rights.

There are some small differences in policy: for example, Human Rights Watch believes that women should have the right to wear a veil[18] whereas Amnesty has no policy on this issue.

Criticisms

Main article: Criticism of Human Rights Watch

Criticism of Human Rights Watch may be classified into four major categories: accusations of poor research methods producing inaccurate reports, accusations of selection bias, accusations of ideological bias, and questions regarding their funding practices. In the second category, Human Rights Watch has been criticized for perceived biases that are anti-Israeli[19][20][21], anti-Western, anti-China, anti-Serb,[citation needed] anti-Sri Lankan,[22][23] ignoring anti-semitism,[24][25] anti-Ethiopian government,[26] and pro-USA.[27] In the third category, Human Rights Watch was recently accused of using anti-Israeli sentiment to elicit support while fund-raising in Saudi Arabia.[28][29] In a response to this and the Marc Garlasco incident, the Israeli government is considering restricting the donations made by foreign governments to NGO's in Israel.[30]

In September 2009, NGO Monitor released what the Israeli newspaper Haaretz described as the "first comprehensive study into the activities of the organization." According to Haaretz, the report questioned " the objectivity, integrity and professionalism of the Human Right Watch's work. [31][32]

Notable HRW staff

See also

References

  1. ^ "Our History". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  2. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  3. ^ Hellman-Hammett Grants,Human Rights Watch
  4. ^ "Who We Are". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  5. ^ a b "Financial Statements. Year Ended June 30, 2008" (PDF). Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  6. ^ "Human Rights Watch Visit to Saudi Arabia". Human Rights Watch. 2009-07-17. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  7. ^ "Financials". Human Rights Watch. 2008-09-22. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  8. ^ Middle east and North Africa,Human Rights Watch
  9. ^ Human Rights Watch says migrant children are at risk in Canary Islands,International Herald Tribune
  10. ^ With a nudge and a wink, Mod has dragged me through the mud,The Guardian
  11. ^ Garlasco, Marc (2009-09-11). "Responding to Accusations". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  12. ^ Israelis See Clear Bias in Activist, New York Times, John Schwartz, September 14, 2009
  13. ^ "Publications". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  14. ^ "Previous World Reports". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  15. ^ Rwandan genocide report,Human Rights Watch
  16. ^ Congo report,Human Rights Watch
  17. ^ Human rights group says activists detained in Sudan
  18. ^ http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/02/25/discrimination-name-neutrality-0 Discrimination in the Name of Neutrality
  19. ^ Levy, Daniel (2009-07-20). "The "Swiftboating" of Human Rights Watch". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  20. ^ Keinon, Herb (2009-07-16). "Diplomacy: Israel vs. Human Rights Watch". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  21. ^ Krieger, Hilary Leila (2006-09-19). "HRW slams UN body for anti-Israel bias". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  22. ^ Human Rights Watch hell-bent on attacking Sri Lankan government
  23. ^ Human Right Watch is now trying to block the IMF loan
  24. ^ Anti-Semitism in Europe: Fighting Back,Anti-Defamation League
  25. ^ http://www.ngo-monitor.org/editions/v3n08/HumanRightsWatchNeedsWatching.htm
  26. ^ The government says Human Rights Watch got it Wrong. Really? Economist Feb 7, 2009, p. 41
  27. ^ ZNet |Haiti | Haiti and Human Rights Watch
  28. ^ Keinon, Herb. "Diplomacy: Israel vs. Human Rights Watch." Jerusalem Post. 18 July 2009. 18 July 2009.
  29. ^ Bernstein, David. "Human Rights Watch Goes to Saudi Arabia." The Wall Street Journal. 15 July 2009. 15 July 2009.
  30. ^ 'HRW expert collects Nazi memorabilia', Jerusalsem Post, Herb Keinon, July 9, 2009, [1]
  31. ^ Former HRW analyst said to be avid collector OF Nazi souvenirs , Haaretz, Sept. 10, 2009 [2]
  32. ^ Experts or Ideologues: Systematic Analysis of Human Rights Watch [3]
 
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