Human Rights Foundation

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a non-profit organization whose stated mission "is to ensure that freedom is both preserved and promoted" in the Americas. The Human Rights Foundation was founded in 2005 by Thor Halvorssen.

HRF adheres to the definition of human rights as put forth in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1976), believing that all individuals are entitled to the right to speak freely, the right to worship in the manner of their choice, the right to freely associate with those of like mind, the right to acquire and dispose of property, the right to leave and enter their country, the right to equal treatment and due process under law, the right to be able to participate in the government of their country, freedom from arbitrary detainment or exile, freedom from slavery and torture, and freedom from interference and coercion in matters of conscience.

HRF (USA) has a branch in Bolivia: HRF-Bolivia. The two organizations have no overlapping board members and are loosely affiliated.

Activities

 * 1) Provide election observers
 * 2) Advocate "humanitarian intervention" or its analogue: "Responsibility to Protect" doctrines.
 * 3) Fund documentary films
 * 4) Fund books
 * 5) Issue press releases on human rights abuses
 * 6) Declaring select persons to be "political prisoners" or "prisoners of conscience"
 * 7) Organizing the Oslo Freedom Forum
 * 8) Organizing humanitarian appeal campaigns
 * 9) Issue press releases criticizing human rights conferences or initiatives by other organizations, e.g., the United Nations Durban III conference.

From HRF's press releases it is evident that the bulk of its activities deal with condemning or issuing statements critical of the governments of Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia and Cuba. HRF tends to focus on the "human rights" abuses against opposition politicians, journalists, bloggers, and the like, in these countries.

Board of Directors

 * Thor Halvorssen
 * Armando Valladares – former Chairman, resigned on July 2009
 * Václav Havel
 * Ron Jacobs
 * Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr.
 * Robert A. Sirico
 * Javier El-Hage – General Counsel
 * Eduardo Mendoza-Goiticoa – founding director (RIP)

Board of Advisors

 * Charles Hoeflich
 * Michael J. Horowitz
 * Roy Innis
 * Tom G. Palmer

International Council

 * Kenneth Anderson
 * Park Sang-hak
 * Vladimir Bukovsky
 * Mutabar Tadjibaeva
 * Palden Gyatso
 * Alvaro Vargas Llosa
 * Václav Havel
 * Ramón J. Velásquez
 * Garry Kasparov
 * Elie Wiesel
 * Mart Laar
 * James Q. Wilson
 * Jacqueline Moudeina
 * Harry Wu
 * Abdel Nasser Ould Ethmane

Funding
In 2009 HRF received a $35,000 grant from the Bradley Foundation, as it had in 2007. In 2007, HRF received a grant from the John Templeton Foundation for $171,600 toward a program called "The Nobility of the Human Spirit and the Power of Freedom", a grant from the Sarah Scaife Foundation for $100,000 toward general operations and $20,000 from the Shelby Cullom Davis Foundation. In 2009 HRF organised a human rights event in Oslo, Norway, under the name Oslo Freedom Forum. The event was supported by a grant for $34,000 from the government of Norway.

Criticism

 * Joakim Mollersen, "Using Human Rights for Right-Wing Politics", Truthout, 15 July 2013. Althought this article does not mention it the Human Rights Foundation joined with Human Rights Watch in 2013 to propagandize against the U.S. celebrity singer Jennifer Lopez recently, charging her with "serenading crooks and dictators," all of whom, it turns out, are on the U.S. Government's Official Enemies list.

Contact

 * Human Rights Foundation
 * 350 Fifth Avenue, #4515
 * New York, NY 10118
 * Phone: (212) 246-8486
 * info@thehrf.org
 * www.thehrf.org or www.humanrightsfoundation.org


 * HRF Bolivia Blog: hrfbolivia.blogspot.com/

Other SourceWatch Resources

 * Oslo Freedom Forum