Human Rights Watch - Human Rights and Ethics

1. Human Rights Watch
by Maria Gradisnik and Silvia Hemetsberger
TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
www.hrw.org
1. HISTORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Human Rights Watch (HRW) was started in 1978 as Helsinki Watch in order to monitor the Soviet
Union’s compliance to the Helsinki Accords. The Helsinki Accords is the Final Act of the Conference on
Security and Cooperation in Europe (held in Helsinki) in 1975 between the United States, Canada, the
Soviet Union and European countries including Turkey. The part of the agreement regarding civil rights
provided the basis for the work of Human Rights Watch.
In the following years, other watch organizations were founded to cover other parts of the world (see
table 1).
Table 1: Brief overview of important dates
1978 Human Rights Watch founded as Helsinki Watch
1981 Americas Watch founded
1985 Asia Watch founded
1988 The Watch Committees become Human Rights Watch
The International Film Festival founded; Africa Watch founded
1989 Middle East Watch founded; London office opened
1990 Woman’s Rights Project founded; Los Angeles office opened
1991 Hong Kong office opened
1992 Moscow office opened
1994 Brussels office opened; Rio de Janiero office opened
1995 Rwanda emergency office opened
1996 Sarajevo emergency office opened
1998 Global refugee program founded
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2. These independent regional watch organizations merged in 1988 to form Human Rights Watch. Today
HRW is the largest human rights organization based in the United States and it operates in more than
70 countries. The headquarters are in New York but there are offices in Brussels, London, Moscow,
Hong Kong, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington. The organization also sets up temporary
offices in regions where investigations are conducted.
2. AIMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
HRW is a campaigning and an awareness-raising organization. The mission of the organization is to
protect the human rights of people around the world. Its vision is for human rights, based on
fundamental principles to be equally enjoyed by all people regardless of social class, faith or political
opinion they have. The organization believes that close observation and timely protest can prevent
tragedies. Therefore, HRW investigates and exposes human rights violations and holds abusers
responsible. It challenges governments and those holding power to end abusive practices and respect
international human rights laws. HRW supports victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold
political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice.
HRW is a Non-Governmental Organization, which means that the organization is independent from
governments and their policies. It is a non-profit organization which does not accept financial support
from any government but depends entirely on private contributions from individuals and foundations.
The main focus of HRW has been on civil and political rights in the past; however, it now increasingly
addresses economic, social and cultural rights.
Table 2: Issues of concern to Human Rights Watch
• Academic Freedom
• AIDS and Human Rights
• Arms
• Caste Discrimination
• Child Soldiers
• Children's Rights
• Corporations and Human Rights
• Drugs and Human Rights
• Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Free Expression on the Internet
• Human Rights Defenders
• International Criminal Court
• International Justice
• Labor & Human Rights
• Lesbian and Gay Rights
• Press Freedom
• Prison Conditions & Treatment of Prisoners
• Racism and Human Rights
• Refugees
• Religious Freedom
• United Nations
• Women's Rights
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3. Its aim is to investigate abuses and expose violations. Offenders are held accountable on a political and
judicial level. This preventive strategy should lead to a decrease in the adverse consequences of human
rights abuses. The more accountable offenders are held for human rights abuses, the more they will
think about consequences before committing future human rights violations.
Furthermore, the aim of HRW is not to be a “service-delivery organization”. Instead of handing out
economic assistance, HRW deals with the underlying causes of poverty and presses governments and
international financial institutions to include human rights concerns in their economic development
strategy.
HRW promotes human rights by raising awareness and by cultivating a public sentiment in favor of
human rights. The organization encourages this by advancing human rights education. Teachers and
students are encouraged to get involved by downloading information from the website and visiting
campaigns. The online material includes:
- Up to date information about abuses
- Information about current campaigns
- Publications as the Human Rights Watch World Report
- Information, comments and background information about topical problems
Currently there is also a pilot project being carried out in schools in California. The goal is to meet the
needs of teachers experimenting with complex human rights issues and to support their work in ways
that encourage young people to respond critically. In addition, HRW organizes the Human Rights Watch
Film Festival which spotlights political and social issues around the world.
3. WORKING METHODS
HRW employs around 190 professionals (including lawyers, journalists, academics, country experts)
plus counselors and temporary staff. Around the world the organization is further supported by interns
and volunteers.
HRW can often rely on previous research and contacts in various countries because it has a long
history of involvement. In Kosovo, for example, it began in the early eighties. Especially in the former
communist countries, where HRW worked under the name of Helsinki Watch, the organization has a
good reputation, which makes its work in these countries a lot easier.
However, due to limited resources HRW is required to be selective concerning which countries and
which human rights violations to work on. Therefore, HRW has to consider the severity of the issue, the
number of people affected by it and the likelihood of having an impact.
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4. After choosing in which country to work, a group of HRW workers is send to the specific country in
order to gather accurate facts about human rights abuses. HRW works closely with local activists.
Witnesses, victims and others are interviewed as well. Back home, the staff writes the report with the
help of the information accumulated and publishes it. Extensive coverage in local and international media
helps to focus the world’s attention on the abuse. This awareness mobilizes people to respond. The
whole process, from conducting fact-finding investigations to publishing the report, takes about 6
months to a year.
In times of a crisis such as in 1994 in Rwanda, where many people were killed in a very short space of
time, HRW is forced to work more rapidly. An emergency team is sent to work at the place of crisis
while the catastrophe is happening. The staff has to work full time under poor security conditions.
Several hours are spent each day talking to the media in order to get information out to the world. By
reporting from the place of crisis, in real time, the impact of the facts is even higher and public
responses are quicker, which can prevent the crisis from growing out of control.
By exposing human rights abuse, HRW shames abusers and helps to put pressure on them to change
their actions. Furthermore, HRW seeks dialogue with offending governments in order to encourage
them to change their abusive laws and procedures. In a number of emergency cases HRW sometimes
presses for the withdrawal of military forces and for economic support. HRW reports also help to convict
abusers like the perpetrators of genocide in Rwanda.
4. CONTRIBUTION TO CREATING A CULTURE OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The philosophy of HRW is that human rights apply to all people equally. All people deserve to have their
rights strongly defended. The slogan of HRW, “Together we can make a difference” expresses the
attitude of the organization. Only when people organize themselves to make changes can progress be
achieved.
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