Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch, headquartered in New York City, is an international human rights organization.

September 2008 Report
In September 2008, HRW released the controversial report titled: "A Decade Under Chávez: Political Intolerance and Lost Opportunities for Advancing Human Rights in Venezuela". The Acknowledgments of this report note that:


 * "This report was researched and written by Alisha Holland, Princeton Fellow in Latin America, Sebastian Brett, senior researcher, Tamara Taraciuk, researcher, and Daniel Wilkinson, deputy director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch. Leonardo Filippini, consultant with the Americas Division, and James Loxton, Princeton Fellow in Latin America, contributed to the research and writing. The report was edited by Carol Pier, labor rights and trade senior researcher, Anne Manuel, consultant, Aisling Reidy, senior legal advisor, Ian Gorvin, senior program officer, Joe Saunders, deputy program director, and José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. Americas Division associates Paola Adriazola, Kavita Shah, and Danielle Wainer contributed to research logistics, production, and editing. Americas Division consultant Abby Rubinson and interns Marlon Arias, Ignazio de Ferrari, and Anne Goldin provided valuable research support."

From HRW's website

 * Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world.
 * We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice.
 * We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable.
 * We challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law.
 * We enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all.


 * Human Rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization, supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. It accepts no government funds, directly or indirectly.

"The Free Expression Project of Human Rights Watch (formerly the Fund for Free Expression) emphasizes the connection between freedom of expression and global social problems by showing the effect that censorship and information policies have on the treatment of issues such as AIDS, famine, governmental corruption and environmental degradation." 

Funding
On January 1, 2005 they obtained a five-year, $15 million challenge grant from the Sandler Family Supporting Foundation. "The Sandlers and their children will donate $3 million a year for five years through the Sandler Family Supporting Foundation as long as Human Rights Watch raises $6 million annually in matching funds from first-time donors or existing donors who increase their contributions."

Dubious expulsion
Following lobbying by UN Watch, a zionist pressure group, HRW removed Prof. Richard Falk from one of it human rights committees. The founders of HRW were staunchly pro-Israel, and over time they have intervened to temper critical reports about Israeli actions. Falk, a prominent international jurist and profesor at Princeton, was a vocal critic of Israel.

Advisory Committees

 * Human Rights Watch U.S. Advisory Committee
 * Human Rights Watch Africa Advisory Committee
 * Human Rights Watch Americas Advisory Committee
 * Human Rights Watch Asia Advisory Committee
 * Human Rights Watch LGBT Advisory Committee
 * Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia Advisory Committee
 * Human Rights Watch Middle East Advisory Committee
 * Human Rights Watch Arms Advisory Committee
 * Human Rights Watch Children's Rights Advisory Committee
 * Human Rights Watch Women's Rights Advisory Committee

Staff

 * Tom Malinowski - Washington Advocacy Director
 * Human Rights Watch: Staff
 * Human Rights Watch Board of Directors (2005)
 * Human Rights Watch People (2012)

Human Rights Watch Debates Academics (2008-09)

 * Open Letter to HRW signed by Noam Chomsky and 99 other academics
 * HRW's reply
 * The academic's reply
 * HRW replies again
 * Critique of both the academics and Human Rights Watch (by Michael Barker)

Contact details

 * 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor
 * New York, NY 10118
 * USA
 * Phone: (212) 290-4700
 * Email: hrwnyc AT hrw.org
 * Web: www.hrw.org

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Decade of Human Rights
 * Holly J. Burkhalter - 1983-97, she was advocacy director of Human Rights Watch and director of its Washington office
 * International Council on Human Rights Policy
 * Jose Miguel Vivanco
 * Tom Porteous - London Director
 * Joan Platt - board member

Critical articles

 * Edward S. Herman, "The Human Rights Charade", Zmag, January 1998.
 * Ralph McGehee, "CIA's War against China", Friends of Tibet, December 1999.
 * Jim Lobe, "Human Rights Watch Scores U.S. 'Hypocrisy' on 'War on Terrorism", Znet, January 17, 2002. (Inter Press Service)
 * Sara Flounders, Massacre in Jenin, Human Rights Watch and the Stage-Management of Imperialism, CAQ, Fall 2002.
 * Paul Treanor, "Who is behind Human Rights Watch?", 8 May 2004.
 * Al Giordano, "Human Rights Botch: Vivanco & Venezuela", Narcosphere, June 17, 2004.
 * Oleg Popov, "Human Rights Watch as a Political Instrument of Liberal Cosmopolitan Elite of the United States Of America PART 1", www.pravoslavie.ru, November 19, 2004.
 * Oleg Popov, "Human Rights Watch as a Political Instrument of Liberal Cosmopolitan Elite of the United States Of America PART 2", www.pravoslavie.ru, November 26, 2004.
 * Macdonald Stainsby, "Notes on Human Rights Watch", Variant, Winter 2004.
 * Joe Emersberger, "Haiti and Human Rights Watch", Zmag, March 29, 2006.
 * Helena Cobban, Protecting Palestinian females: HRW misses the mark, Just World News, November 7, 2006
 * Jonathan Cook, "How Human Rights Watch Lost Its Way in Lebanon: The Israel Lobby Works Its Magic, Again", Counterpunch, September 7, 2006
 * Sarah Leah Whitson, A Response to Jonathan Cook, Counterpunch, September 22, 2006
 * Jonathan Cook, Human Rights Watch: Still Missing the Point, September 25, 2006
 * Norman G. Finkelstein, "Human Rights Watch Must Retract Its Shameful Press Release", Counterpunch, November 29, 2006.
 * Jonathan Cook, "Would HRW Have Attacked Martin Luther King, Too? Palestinians Are Being Denied the Right of Non-Violent Resistance?", Counterpunch, November 30, 2006.
 * HRW, HRW retracts statement about "human shields", Human Rights Watch Statement on our November 22 Press Release.
 * Edward S. Herman, David Peterson and George Szamuely, "Human Rights Watch in Service to the War Party: Including A Review of “Weighing the Evidence: Lessons from the Slobodan Milosevic Trial” (Human Rights Watch, December, 2006)", Znet, February 25, 2007.
 * Steven Da Silva, "Revisiting the ‘Rwandan Genocide’: Resurrecting Ghosts, or Exorcising Demons?", Global Research, June 1, 2007.
 * Michael Barker, "Hijacking Human Rights: A Critical Examination of Human Rights Watch’s Americas Branch and their Links to the ‘Democracy’ Establishment", Znet, August 3, 2007.
 * Jonathan Cook, "War Crimes Airbrushed from History: Evidence of Israeli "Cowardly Blending" Comes to Light", Counterpunch, January 4, 2008.
 * Joe Emersberger, "The Failure of Human Rights Watch in Venezuela and Haiti", HaitiAnalysis, February 23, 2008.
 * Michael Barker, "Media Manipulation and Human Rights: From Pinochet to Human Rights in China", Center for Research on Globalization, March 29, 2008.
 * Annon, "Rwanda: ICTR 'Disowns' NGO On Which It Has Relied for Past 14 Years", Hirondelle News Agency (Lausanne), April 30, 2008.
 * Nick Rose, “The Need for a Politicized Understanding of Human Rights,” (pdf)Refereed paper presented to Activating Human Rights and Peace: Universal Responsibility, Byron Bay, Australia, July 1-4, 2008.
 * Michael Barker, "Waging Democracy On China: Human Rights and an Endowment for Democracy", Swans, July 28, 2008.
 * James Suggett, "Venezuela Expels Human Rights Watch Director for “Meddling Illegally”", Venezuelanalysis.com, September 19, 2008.
 * Venezuela Information Office, "The Truth Suffers in Human Rights Watch Report on Venezuela", MRZine, September 22, 2008.
 * Joe Emersberger, "Unanswered Phone Calls in Venezuela: Human Rights Watch Exposes Hugo Chavez Yet Again", Venezuelanalysis.com, October 10, 2008.
 * Gregory Wilpert, "Smoke and Mirrors: An Analysis of Human Rights Watch’s Report on Venezuela", Venezuelanalysis.com, October 17, 2008.
 * Mouin Rabbani, "Human Rights Watch Goes to War", normanfinkelstein.com, February 1, 2009.
 * Michael Barker, "Human Rights Watch Brings Neoliberalism To Africa", Swans Commentary, May 3, 2010.
 * Tamara Pearson, "Venezuelan Report Discredits US Government, Advises Regime Change", Venezuelaanalysis.com, August 31, 2011.
 * Mark Weisbrot, "The rights groups that lost the plot on Ecuador and Julian Assange", Guardian, July 21, 2012.
 * Joe Emersberger, "The Latest Howlers From Human Rights Watch on Venezuela", Venezuelanalysis, August 3 2012.
 * Garry Leech, "The Bias of Human Rights Watch", Critical Legal Thinking, 21 March 2013.

External resources

 * Kirsten Sellars, The Rise and Rise of Human Rights, Sutton Publishing, 2002. (Contains an extended description of the origins of HRW and its spin-off organizations.)