Human Rights Watch

(HRW)
By-Vidhi Sewani
 What is HRW?
Human Rights Watch investigates and reports on abuses happening in
all corners of the world. It is roughly 450 people of 70-plus nationalities
who are country experts, lawyers, journalists, and others who work to
protect the most at risk, from vulnerable minorities and civilians in
wartime, to refugees and children in need. It direct our advocacy
towards governments, armed groups and businesses, pushing them to
change or enforce their laws, policies and practices. To ensure their
independence, it refuse government funding and carefully review all
donations to ensure that they are consistent with their policies, mission,
and values. They partner with organizations large and small across the
globe to protect embattled activists and to help hold abusers to account
and bring justice to victims.
What they do?
• Investigate: Their researchers work in the field in 100 some countries,
uncovering facts that create an undeniable record of human rights
abuses.
• Expose: They tell the stories of what they found, sharing them with
millions of social media and online followers each day. News media
often report on their investigations, furthering their reach.
• Change: They meet with governments, the United Nations, rebel
groups, corporations, and others to see that policy is changed, laws are
enforced, and justice is served.
 They work on some of the world's biggest crises, such as:

• •
SYRIA'S CIVIL WAR COVID-19 WORLDWIDE

• •
ROHINGYA CRISIS MASS KILLINGS IN THE PHILIPPINES
 Their Story
• Human Rights Watch was founded in 1978 as “Helsinki Watch,” when they began
investigating rights abuses in countries that signed the Helsinki Accords, most notably
those behind the Iron Curtain. Since then, our work has expanded to five continents.
They investigated massacres and even genocides, along with government take-overs of
media and the baseless arrests of activists and political opposition figures. At the same
time, they expanded our work to address abuses against those likely to face
discrimination, including women, LGBT people, and people with disabilities. When
families victimized by war crimes found no justice at home, they championed
international justice and international courts. While they rely on in-person interviews,
our research methods have also changed with the times, and today we use satellite
imagery to track the destruction of villages and city blocks, and we mine big data for
patterns in arrest rates or the deportation of immigrants. Everything we do circles back
to our commitment to justice, dignity, compassion, and equality.
Together, we can
use our influence –
from advocating
with world leaders to
sharing the truth of
what’s happening on
the ground – to
help stop repression
around the world. 
Ken Roth
Executive Director
 From left, Human Rights Watch's Tamara Taraciuk, Human Rights Watch's Fred Abrahams testifying in the
Executive Director Kenneth Roth and America's war crimes trial of Slobodan Milosevic. Screen-grab
Director Jose Miguel Vivanco at a report launch in from the movie E-TEAM
Mexico. 

Human Rights Watch's Nisha Varia shows Senolia Sayeni a Human Rights Watch's Meenakshi Ganguly
Human Rights Watch video in which she was featured.
Sayeni was one of thousands of Mozambicans resettled to
in Indian Kashmir.
make way for coal mines, with negative impacts on their
access to food, water, and work.
 About their research
• Introduction
Initial Research
Interview Research
Locations
Who We Interview
How We Conduct Interviews with Victims/Witnesses
Non-Interview Research
Specific Methodological Challenges
 Mission Statement

• Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide.

They scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely,
and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure
justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international
organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to
uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human
rights for all.
• Their work is guided by international human rights and
humanitarian law and respect for the dignity of each human
being.
 Introduction
• All their researchers come to Human Rights Watch with a powerful
commitment to human rights and an existing expertise in their countries or
issues of focus, and from backgrounds as diverse as law, journalism, local- or
national-level civil society activism, and academic research. Many are
seasoned professionals drawn from peer organizations.  Across Human Rights
Watch their researcher staff is organized both geographically and
thematically: Five geographic divisions - Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe &
Central Asia, and Middle East & North Africa, plus a separate program on the
United States - give us our global spread. Thematic divisions and programs
add to our  depth and focus on specific issues within countries and regions:
Arms; Business & Human Rights; Children's Rights; Disability Rights,
Environmental Health Rights, Terrorism & Counterterrorism; Health & Human
Rights; International Justice; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual &Transgender Rights;
Refugees; and Women's Rights. The researchers work under the supervision
of divisional or program directors, and core departments such as the Legal &
Policy Office and the Program Office, which ensure the highest organizational
standards of accuracy, balance, and persuasiveness are consistently met.
 Initial Research
• Human Rights Watch develops its research strategies and selects its research topics
based upon the guiding principles of the organization.
• The initial stages of research can differ greatly when researching an emergency or
rapidly developing rights violation as opposed to a long-running violation or longer-
term human rights issues.  During an emergency, their researchers attempt to
document the violations or abuses that are occurring as quickly and thoroughly as
possible; this requires researchers to be on location immediately, and they may
deploy their specialists in the country or issue in question, or our dedicated
emergencies researchers. For longer-term issues, their researchers deploy their
existing specialization in the country or issue to conduct extensive background
research, familiarizing themselves with the context and subtleties of their subject
before conducting interviews with victims and witnesses.
Interview Research: Who We Interview
• Human Rights Watch researchers conduct interviews when
investigating reported human rights abuses in order to understand
accurately what occurred. Human Rights Watch seeks to interview
those directly involved with the abuses: victims and witnesses. In
addition to understanding the reality of what has occurred, Human
Rights Watch interviews victims and witnesses in order to give them
an opportunity to have their voices and stories reach a wider
audience. Interviewing victims and witnesses also helps Human
Rights Watch develop the recommendations we address to
authorities for cessation and redress of human rights abuses. 
 Interview Research: How We Conduct
Interviews with Victims/Witnesses
• Every human rights violation or incident that Human Rights Watch investigates, and
every victim or witness a researcher interviews, is unique.  Therefore there is no
uniform interview methodology that is universally used by the organization. But the
principles by which Human Rights Watch researchers conduct interviews with victims
and witnesses are standard: though interview techniques may be varied or adapted
for each situation, the guiding principles, such as the need to ascertain the truth, to
corroborate the veracity of statements, to protect the security and dignity of
witnesses, and to remain impartial, are consistent throughout the organization.  
Some of the most commonly employed techniques used for interviewing witnesses
and victims are to conduct interviews in private settings, one-on-one with the
researcher, and to focus the interview on the details of what occurred. 
 Non-Interview Research
• Interviews are not the only form of evidence that Human Rights Watch uses during
research and reporting. They conduct extensive reviews of media reports, domestic
legislation, international law, policy papers, academic reports, and civil society reports
during the initial stages of, and throughout, the research process.  Trial materials,
government reports, conviction and sentencing materials are all often used to make
cases in Human Rights Watch reporting.  Data collected from sources such as the UN,
regional intergovernmental bodies, and domestic government agencies are also often
analyzed to prove the existence and extent of human rights abuses.  Examples of this
include using US criminal sentencing data to prove racial discrepancies in the sentencing
of juveniles to life without parole or using patient payment records from hospitals in
Burundi to prove inequitable and unethical treatment of patients.  There have also been
instances where Human Watch Researchers have collected and analyzed primary data,
such as in a report enumerating war crimes in Kosovo that contains their own analysis of
trends in the data.
 Detailed specific methodological challenges
• Human Rights Watch conducts research in many countries and regions that can be
defined as "closed societies."  Some of these countries, such as Iran or North Korea,
completely close their borders to our researchers.  Other "closed regions" may be in
countries that are technically "open" but are regions closed to researchers due to
insecurity or restrictions put in place by the authorities.  Conducting research in
these regions presents many challenges including identifying rights violations,
gaining a thorough understanding of the local context, identifying victims and
witnesses, and identifying suitable recommendations and advocacy opportunities.  
Security is Human Rights Watch's greatest concern, not only for their researchers,
but for those with whom researchers speak.  In these closed regions there is often
an ongoing security threat to their contacts and to those we speak with, and
maintaining their security, long after researchers have left, is their highest priority.
 Where is it located?

Human Rights Watch has its

headquarters in New York City.  We also
have offices in Amsterdam, Berlin,
Brussels, Chicago, Geneva,
Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles,
Moscow, Nairobi, Paris, San Francisco,
Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Washington
D.C., and Zurich. Our researchers are
based in these offices or live in or near
the country on which they work.
 How do they research human rights abuses?

• Their on-the-ground researchers constantly monitor human

rights conditions in some 80 countries around the world. These
researchers create the foundations of our work by talking with
people who were either abused or who witnessed abuse. Human
Rights Watch also speaks with local human rights advocates,
journalists, country experts, and government officials. They
publish our findings in more than 100 reports and hundreds of
news releases each year. In times of crisis, they are at the
forefront, releasing up-to-the-minute information and advocating
for action.
 How do they achieve change?
Because of their insider access and careful
fact-checking, international media and
concerned governments frequently reference
our research. They partner with local human
rights groups, making detailed
recommendations to governments, rebel
groups, international institutions, corporations,
policymakers, and the press to adopt reforms.
By exposing their actions,they put pressure on
human rights abusers to stop violating rights.
Their efforts lay the legal and moral
groundwork for deep-rooted changes in
policy, law, and public opinion.
 How do they decide which countries to focus on?
• They try to strike a balance between working in countries where the most atrocious
human rights violations occur and those where they can bring about the most change.
In assessing trouble spots, they take into consideration the severity of the crimes
being committed, the numbers of those affected, and their potential to have impact.
Their thematic divisions, such as those working on women's rights and children's
rights, typically look at specific problems in one or more countries that reflect global
concerns. They consider whether our researchers will be able to obtain current and
accurate information, either by going to the site of the abuse or by interviewing
refugees, exiles, and other knowledgeable sources. They also are in constant
communication with reliable local organizations. Although we outline a plan of action
each year, they stay flexible, knowing that unforeseen crises will unfold and that we
will sometimes need to quickly deploy emergency researchers. The more resources
we have, the more trouble spots we cover.
 Does Human Rights Watch address social,
cultural, and economic rights?
• While Human Rights Watch and most other international human
rights organizations have historically focused on civil and political
rights, they have increasingly taken on social, cultural, and
economic rights in their research and reporting. They have given
particular attention to health, education, and housing. As their
strength lies in pressuring policymakers to change their practices,
their approach has been to target arbitrary or discriminatory
government policies that result in the violation of economic,
social, or cultural rights.
 How can You & I make a difference?
• They rely on the generosity of individuals, and by donating money,
you help us send researchers into the field, apply pressure on
governments, rebel groups, corporations and other influential
groups, and encourage the media to raise awareness about
human rights. Knowledge is power, so sign up for their newsletter
and stay informed. Assist their advocacy efforts by going to the
Action Center link on their website and sending e-mails to
important policymakers, pressuring them to make changes
important to you. If you'd like to get more deeply involved,
contact their Membership Desk at [email protected].