ındex

 General information about HRW

 History of HRW
 Founders of organization
 Who runs the HRW Europe Committee
 Structure of organization
 How do they working,operating
 GENERAL TOPİCS
 WHO ARE THEY????
 METHODS
 Research Methodology
 Introduction
Initial Research
 Interview Research: Locations
Interview Research: Who they Interview
 Interview Research: How they Conduct Interviews with Victims/Witnesses
 Non-Interview Research
 How do they decide what reports to translate into
other languages
 WORLD REPORTS
 News about HRW in media
 Critisism
 Summury
 General information about HRW

 . Human Rights Watch, is an independent a

United States-based international non-
government organisation that conducts research
and advocacy on human rights, has been
criticised in the form of commentaries from
various organisations, journalists, and bloggers.
History of HRW
They pay particular attention
to situations in which their
methodology of investigation
and reporting is most
effective, such as when
arbitrary or discriminatory
governmental conduct lies
behind an economic, social
and cultural rights violation.
Since its formation, HRW has
focused mainly on upholding civil
and political rights.
HRW began in 1978 with the
founding of its European division,
Helsinki Watch (now Human Rights
Watch/Helsinki).
This was in response to a call for
support from groups in Moscow,
Warsaw, and Prague, which had
been established to monitor
compliance in Soviet Bloc countries
with the human rights provisions of
the landmark Helsinki accords.
A few years later, the Reagan
administration contended that human
rights abuses by certain right-wing
governments were more tolerable than
those of left-wing governments.
Thus, to counter charges of maintaining
 In the 1980's, Americas
Watch was set up to
counter the notion that
human rights abuses
by one side in the war
in Central America
were somehow more
tolerable than abuses
by the other side.

 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.
 By 1987, HRW had developed a powerful set of
techniques for pursuing its agenda: painstaking
documentation of abuses and aggressive advocacy in
the press and with governments, and it employed these
techniques all over the world. Over time, the
organization grew to cover other regions of the world.
Eventually, all the "Watch" committees were united in
1988 to form Human Rights Watch.

Between 1993 and 2003, HRW has

increasingly addressed economic, social,
and cultural rights as well. It is
particularly attuned to situations in which
its methods of investigation and
reporting are most effective.

Today, HRW comprises seven major

divisions: Africa, the Americas, Arms,
Asia, Children, Women, the Middle East
and North Africa, and Europe and Central
Asia.
 
 Founders of organization

 Robert L. Bernstein was a president of the organization and is

one of the original founders, along with Jeri Laber, and several
others
 Roth started working on human rights
after the declaration of martial law in
Poland in 1981, and later became
engaged in Haiti issues

PS.. Martial law is the system of

rules that takes effect when the
military takes control of the normal
administration of justice.
 The current executive
director of Human
Rights Watch is Kenneth
Roth 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.
Who runs the HRW Europe
Committee?
 Who runs the HRW Europe Committee?

 Human Rights Watch is organised

approximately by continent.

 HRW was one of these 'private'

organisations: in other words, it
began as a Cold War propaganda
instrument.
 The committee is now called the
Europe and Central Asia Advisory
Committee.
 It is still affiliated with the
International Helsinki Federation for
Human Rights, which co-ordinates
the "Helsinki committees".
 The membership now includes fewer
ex-diplomats than in the 1990's,
more academics, and a few HRW
donors
 The list of committee members
below is as of March 2004.
Structure of
organization

 .
 Human Rights Watch (HRW)
investigates Human Rights
abuses throughout the
world, publishing its findings
in books and reports every
year. These activities often
generate significant
coverage in local and
international media.

 This publicity helps to

embarrass abusive
governments in the eyes of
their citizens and the world.
to change their policies and
practices
How do they
working,operating
 How do they working,operating
 HRW examines
the human rights
practices of
governments of
all political
stripes, of all
geopolitical
alignments, and
of all ethnic and
religious
persuasions.
HRW documents
and denounces
murders,
disappearances,
torture, Arbitrary
imprisonment,
discrimination,
and other abuses These reports are used as the basis
of internationally for drawing international attention to
recognized
human rights. abuses and pressuring governments
and international organizations to
reform.
They investigate and expose human
rights violations and hold abusers
accountable.
 Human Rights Watch is dedicated to
protecting the human rights of people
around the world.

 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 to protect people from
inhumane conduct in wartime,,
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.

 PS... Each year, Human Rights Watch awards

Hellman/Hammett grants to writers punished
by their governments for expressing
opposition views, criticizing government
officials or actions, or writing about topics
that the government does not want reported.
A special emergency grant is awarded to
writers who need to flee for their safety or
need immediate medical treatment for injury
caused by torture, assault or harsh prison
conditions. Hellman/Hammett grants, which
range from US$1,000 to US$10,000
 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
Land mines 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.
 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 has more than 230 paid staff,
and a budget of over US$30 million a year.
 . Human Rights Watch,, supported by contributions
from private individuals and foundations worldwide
 HRW has a full-time staff of 190 employees
worldwide and a budget of approximately $22
million per year. The organization has received
funding from many foundations, including the
Ahmanson Foundation; the Carnegie Corporation
of New York;the Columbia Foundation; the Ford
Foundation; the William and Flora Hewlett
Foundation;
 the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation;
 the Nathan Cummings Foundation;
 the JEHT Foundation;
 the Joyce Foundation; the J.M. Kaplan Fund;
 the Open Society Institute;
 the David and Lucile Packard Foundation;
 the Righteous Persons Foundation;
 the Rockefeller Brothers Fund;
 the Rockefeller Foundation;
 and the Scherman Foundation.
GENERAL TOPİCS
 Not only does HRW encompass the
entire globe for its activities, but
HRW is interested in enormously
complex and diverse issues.
 For example, HRW follows
developments worldwide in women's
rights, children's rights, and the flow
of arms to abusive forces.
 Other HRW projects include
Academic Freedom, the human
rights responsibilities of
corporations, international justice,
prisons, drugs, and Refugees.
 The unique and independent nature
of this international organization
enables it to target any and all
parties to conflict.
GENERAL TOPİCS
 Arms
 Business
 Children's Rights
 Counterterrorism
 ESC Rights
 Health
 International Justice
 LGBT Rights
 Migrants
 Press Freedom
 Refugees
 Terrorism
 Torture
 United Nations
 Women's Rights
Topics
 Issues and campaigns
 Traffic in small arms
 Land mines
 Legalisation of abortion
 Gay rights
 Rights of AIDS patients
 Safety of civilians in war;
opposes use of cluster bombs
 Child labor
 Child soldiers
 Street children
 Genocide war crimes and
crimes against humanity
 Torture
 Extrajudicial killings and
abductions
 Legal proceedings against
human rights abusers
 Trafficking in women and girls
 Abolition of capital punishment
worldwide
WHO ARE
THEY????
  HRW is the largest human
rights organization based in
the United States. HRW
employs lawyers,
journalists, academics, and
country experts of many
More than 240 dedicated nationalities and diverse
professionals work for Human Rights backgrounds, and often
Watch around the world. leverages the force of allied
human rights organizations
by joining forces with them
They often join forces with human to achieve shared human
rights groups from other countries to rights goals.
further our common goals

 .
 As of February 2002,
Human Rights Watch
employed 189 permanent
staff plus short-term fellows
and consultants.
 . It gains most of its support
from contributions from
private individuals and
foundations worldwide.
 It accepts no government
funds, directly or indirectly,
from the United States or
any other government
 . HRW is not an agency of the
U.S. government, nor was it
founded by the U.S.
government.
 Although HRW frequently
calls on the United States to
support human rights in U.S.
foreign policy, the
organization also reports on
human rights abuses inside
the United States.
 HRW has made negative
reports against the United
States in areas such as
prison conditions, police
abuse, the detention of
immigrants, and the
imposition of the death
penalty.
HRW maintains its headquarters in
New YorkBrussels, Bujumbura,
Freetown (Sierra Leone), Kigali,
Geneva, London, Los Angeles,
Moscow, San Francisco, Santiago
de Chile, Tashkent, Tbilisi, and
Washington.
often set up temporary offices
in regions where we're
conducting intensive
investigations, and their
researchers regularly travel to
the countries they cover,
unless security concerns
prevent it.
Human Rights Watch tracks developments in
more than 70 countries around the world.
METHODS
METHODS
 HRW pursues active investigations of human rights
abuses in more than 70 countries.
 Its methods for obtaining human rights information has
made it a credible source of information for individuals
and governments concerned with human rights.
 To conduct research, Human Rights Watch sends
members of its staff to interview people who have
firsthand experience with alleged abuse.
 Researchers work with local activists and other
specialists. Their findings are written up in reports.
 HRW reports categorize and describe human rights
violations, detail probable causes for the abuses, and
make recommendations for ways to end the abuses.
 HRW has published more than a thousand reports
dealing with human rights issues in more than one
hundred countries worldwide.
 HRW has used its investigations to examine human
rights violations associated in the following cases:
Taliban massacres in Afghanistan;
 trafficking of Thai women in Asia;
 rape in U.S. prisons; refugees in Sierra Leone;
 and conflicts in Indonesia, Macedonia, Colombia, Russia,
and the Congo.
 Research
Methodology
 Introduction

 Initial Research

 Interview Research

 Locations

 Who They Interview

 How We Conduct Interviews with

 Victims/Witnesses

 Non-Interview Research

 Specific Methodological Challenges

Introduction
 they choose their countries of focus, and
the issues they address, based on where
they think their attention is needed, and
where they can make a difference. 
 they respond to emergencies, but they
also challenge entrenched, longstanding,
or steadily deteriorating human rights
problems.
 At the heart of the work are more than 80
researchers on staff.
 Many are seasoned professionals drawn from peer
organizations. 
 Across Human Rights Watch our researcher staff are
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 their global spread.
 Thematic divisions and programs add
to their  depth and focus on specific
issues within countries and regions:
 Arms; Business
 & Human Rights;
 Children's 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  our
specialists in the country or issue in
question, or our dedicated emergencies
researchers.
 For longer-term issues, our 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.
 Human Rights Watch researchers rely heavily on communication with a network of contacts from
the outset, and throughout all stages of research.

 also confer with other contacts such as lawyers, journalists, doctors, student groups, government
officials, diplomats, representatives of international nongovernmental organizations and
international experts, to exchange/solicit information and to help identify witnesses, victims,
recommendations, and advocacy targets.
 In addition to preliminary communication with contacts, researchers will conduct extensive
background research before beginning witness or victim interviews. 
 They examine international humanitarian law and international human rights law, domestic or
local law, data from the United Nations and other international organizations, academic or policy
studies, nongovernmental organization reports, and relevant media stories to gain understanding
and context.
Interview Research: Locations
 Human Rights Watch's goal with any
research mission is to gain enough
information about an incident, or
about repeated rights violations, to
create an accurate picture of what
happened. 
 This requires not only interviewing
victims but also attempting to gain
the other multiple sides of the story.
 To do this, researchers always try to
get to specific locations where
violations are known to have
occurred, or are ongoing.
 Security conditions and time
limitations can greatly affect where
researchers can conduct
investigations.
 Before every research mission, they
evaluate the security risks  and
develop communications and
security protocols.
 In cases of major armed conflict,
researchers attempt to remain on
location for as long as security will
allow. 
         
 Extensive literature reviews,
media reports, and background
interviews with experts on the
topic are used to guide
potential research.

 
 Often, witnesses and victims of
human rights abuses can be
found grouped together in
single locations such as refugee
camps or hospitals. 
        
Interview Research: Who they Interview
 .
 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 they
address to authorities for
cessation and redress of
human rights abuses. 
Interview Research: How they 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.

   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. 
         
 One of the most commonly employed
interview techniques for confirming the
veracity of a statement is to focus
interview questions on details.
 By focusing on details such as ages,
names, locations, times and other
descriptions, Interviews are always
conducted in-person when possible. 
 On the occasion where it is absolutely
impossible to conduct an in-person
interview, Human Rights Watch
researchers have conducted interviews
with witnesses or victims via telephone
and other modes of communication.
   The setting or mode of the interview is
always correctly noted in the published
Human Rights Watch report. 
Non-Interview Research
 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. 
Detailed specific methodological challenges
Closed-Society Research
 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 their
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 our researchers, but for
those with whom researchers speak. 
 In these closed regions there is often an
ongoing security threat to our contacts and to
those they speak with, and maintaining their
security, long after researchers have left, is our
highest priority.
 There are many methods that Human
Rights Watch researchers employ to
gather information from closed regions.  
 Even without entering the region,
researchers are still able to conduct
interviews with victims and witnesses. 
 Interviews are often conducted via
telephone and, at times, through online
communication. 
 These interviews are usually used to
gather background information and
identify rights violations but occasionally,
Human Rights Watch will use witness or
victim testimony which has been gathered
remotely in reports. 
 Recently, Human Rights Watch has
begun to use satellite technology to
expose rights abuses in closed
regions. 
 Satellite imagery is extremely
effective for showing the before and
after effects of major conflict, such
as the destruction of villages, or
mass movements of people, such as
the displacement of refugees
 .  Satellite imagery has been used
when Human Rights Watch has
received reports of specific
locations being attacked but has
not had the opportunity to enter the
region to confirm these reports. 
 Using previously taken GPS
coordinates from villages reported
to have been attacked, researchers
have been able to purchase a series
satellite images of these villages
taken over a period of time. 
 These time-stamped images give
clear evidence of the before and
after effects of an attack.
How do they decide what
reports to translate
into other languages?
 Their reports are
produced in English, but
they recognize the
great value in issuing
their reports in other
languages.

 Most of their translation

budget is dedicated to
translating reports into
languages where there
is a large and
interested readership.

 Their staff members,

all experts in their field,
come from over 40
countries around the
world and speak over
50 languages.
WORLD REPORTS
 The 19th annual World Report
summarizes human rights conditions
in more than 90 countries and
territories worldwide.
 It reflects extensive investigative
work undertaken in 2008 by Human
Rights Watch staff, usually in close
partnership with human rights
activists in the country in question.
  
 Sixty years after the adoption of the
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the governments
demonstrating the clearest vision on
international rights protections, sadly,
are those seeking to undermine
enforcement.
 In their foreign policies and in
international fora, they invoke
sovereignty, non-interference, and
Southern solidarity to curb criticism
of their human rights abuses and
those of their allies and friends.
 Governments that champion human
rights need urgently to wrest back
the initiative from these human rights
spoilers.
Rain of Fire
 Israel’s Unlawful Use of White
Phosphorus in Gaza
 March 25, 2009
 This 71-page report provides witness
accounts of the devastating effects that
white phosphorus munitions had on
civilians and civilian property in Gaza.
 Human Rights Watch researchers in Gaza
immediately after hostilities ended found
spent shells, canister liners, and dozens of
burnt felt wedges containing white
phosphorus on city streets, apartment
roofs, residential courtyards, and at a
United Nations school.
 The report also presents ballistics
evidence, photographs, and satellite
imagery, as well as documents from the
Israeli military and government.
 Barred from Treatment
 Punishment of Drug
Users in New York State
Prisons
 March 24, 2009
 In this 53-page report,
Human Rights Watch found
that New York prison
officials sentenced inmates
to a collective total of 2,516
years in disciplinary
segregation from 2005 to
2007 for drug-related
charges.
 At the same time, inmates
seeking drug treatment face
major delays because
treatment programs are
filled to capacity.
 When sentenced to
segregation, known as "the
box," inmates are not
allowed to get or continue
to receive treatment.
 Conditions in the box are
harsh, with prisoners locked
down 23 hours a day and
contact with the outside
through visitors, packages,
and telephone calls
severely restricted.
 Detained and Dismissed
 Women’s Struggles to
Obtain Health Care in
United States Immigration
Detention
 March 17, 2009
 This 78-page Human Rights
Watch report documents
dozens of cases in which the
immigration agency's medical
staff either failed to respond
at all to health problems of
women in detention or
responded only after
considerable delays.
Recent Features

 Rain of Fire: White Phosphorus in

Gaza
 March 25, 2009
 During Israel's 22-day military
operations in Gaza, from December
27, 2008 to January 18, 2009, named
Operation Cast Lead, the Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) repeatedly
exploded white phosphorus munitions
in the air over populated areas, killing
and injuring civilians, and damaging
civilian structures, including a school,
a market, a humanitarian aid
warehouse and a hospital.
 Senior Military Analyst Marc Garlasco
discusses Human Rights Watch's on
the ground investigation and findings.
 Two brothers aged and 4 or 5 were killed and 14 others
were wounded when white phosphorus
 Shells burst above this UN school in Beit Lahiya on
January 17 2009
 An ısreal soldıer attaches fuses to amerıcan manufactured M825A1 155MM
whıte phosphorus artilery shells prior to firing them into Gaza ın january
2009
 A burning wedge of white phosphorus in Khuza a village
ten days after it hit the town the spend wedges
 Usually contain enough phosphorus after burning out
that they reignite when kicked
 At least theree white phosphorus shells struckt the main compound of
the united nations relief and welfare agency UNRWA in central Gaza
city on january 15 wounding three and starting fires that guted four
buıldings and destroyed more than us $ 3.7 million worth of medical
supplies
 Aya al- Najjar 7 in Khuza a village where she was suffered a broken arm and burns from a white
phosphorus shell in her hause
 Her mother Hannan 47 was killed in the atackt on january 10 2009
Sri Lanka: War on the Displaced

 February 19, 2009

 Abuses against
civilians in the Vanni.

 More than 200 000

people are trapped in
apocket of less than
100 square km in the
vanni area northen sri
lanka as a result of
recent fighting
between government
forces and the
separatist liberation
tigers of tamil eelam
LLTE the sri lanka
army has repeatly
shelled safe areas
crowded with civilians
while the LTTE
prevents civilians
from fleeding to
government*held
arreas away from the
fighting
 An injured woman is rushed away after an artilery attack in front of tharmapuram hospital
 Sri Lanka: War on the Displaced
 An injured child controlled in the area vanni
The Christmas Massacres: LRA attacks on Civilians in Northern
Congo
February 13, 2009

 Cords used to tie up victims found at

one massacre site.
 HRW researchers and local civil
society members vent to the
massacre sites to document the
location of graves and collect
remaining evidence.
 The team found the cords used to tie
of the victims the blood stained bats
and items of clothing all of which
were moved to a secure location
 A grandfather abducted along
with his four grandchildren in
Dungu by the Lords residance
army LRA on november 1
2008
 He was kept for four days and
forced to carry heavy loads
 The LRA killed a man beside
hm who refused to carry his
load.
 He was later released but his
grandchildren were not
 A victim of the christmas day attacts in Faradje He
said the LRA beat him and cut off his ear
 A headmaster from a local scholl
 near Dungu who narrowly escaped being killed by the LRA
 The LRA abducted 65 of his students many of whom havenot
returned
 A woman
whose husband
was killed by
the LRA
 inAligi suburb
on the outkirts
of Faradje on
Chistmas Day
Unspeakable Things: Migrant Workers in
Russia
 Woman walk through a construction site in moskow
 Millions of migrant workers work in Russia s
construction sector
Sakhoba
holds her
child at
their
home in
the village
of Lyakan
in
northerm
Tajikistan
 Sakhoba s husband left his family to work in Russiia in hopes of
earning a decent salary and saving money
 To support his family
 Khujand,Tajikistan
 Kakhramon Musabaev,a
former migrant worker from
Tajikistan,lost a portion of
both legs from frostbite after
fleeing an abusive employer.
 Musabaev s ecured a job in
Russia through an
employement agency in
Tajikistan but the agency
later confiscated his passport
and placed him with an
employer who forced him to
work without wages and beat
him
 Migrant workers from Central Asia
 Build a Mosquie in Central Moskow
 Migrant workers from
Tajikistan wait along the
highway on the edge of
Moskow hoping to be
hired as day lobores on
construction sites around
Moskow
 January 23, 2009
 Ethnic Chin of Burma's far-flung western Chin State
have long borne the brunt of abusive military rule.
Ongoing repression and abuses by the Burmese
military, combined with policies and practices of the
military government have caused thousands of ethnic
Chin to flee the country. Most go across the border to
India, and some to Malaysia and Thailand.
 Ethnic chin of burma
s far flung westem
chin state have long
bome the brunt of
abusevi military rule
 Ongoing repsession
and abuses by the
Burmese military
combined with
polices and practices
of the military
government have
caused thousands of
ethnic Chin to flee the
country
 Most go across the
border to india and
some to Malaysia and
Thailand
 Ethnic Chin of Burma s far flung westerm chin statehave long bome the brunt of
abusive military rule
 Ongoıng repression and abuses by the burmese military combined with policies and
practices of the military government have caused thausands of ethnic chin to flee the
country
 Most go across the border to india and some to Malasia and Thailand
 A prisoner in chains is forced to construct a road in
northern chin state Burma June 2007
Red Hand Campaign

 February 12, 2009

 Former child soldiers and other youth
from around the world have gathered
more than 250,000 “red hands” as part
of a campaign to demand stronger
action by international leaders to end
the use of child soldiers.
 World Report 2008
 Events of 2007
 January 30, 2008
 In its World Report 2008, Human Rights
Watch surveys the human rights situation
in more than 75 countries. Human Rights
Watch identified many human rights
challenges in need of attention, including
atrocities in Chad, Colombia, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia’s
Ogaden region, Iraq, Somalia, Sri Lanka,
and Sudan’s Darfur region, as well as
closed societies or severe repression in
Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Libya, Iran,
North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam.
Abuses in the “war on terror” featured in
France, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and
the United States, among others.
A BETRAYAL OF TRUST
violonce against
children
CHANNGES FOR A
RESPONSİBLE POWER
DESPOTS MASQUERADING AS
DEMOCRATS
TWO NOWEMBERS
movemets rights and the
Yogyakarta Principles
KENYA;Justice vital to
stabilty…
 Kenyans registered to vote in record
numbers for the presidential and
parliamentary elections on December 27,
2007
,
 the country's first multi-party polls since
the 24-year presidency of Daniel Arap Moi
ended in 2002. Mwai Kibaki, the incumbent
and a former minister in Moi's government,
led the Party of National Unity (PNU) and
Raila Odinga, a former political prisoner,
led the Orange Democratic Movement
(ODM).

 In opinion polls the ODM was widely

predicted to prevail. Turnout was higher
than Kenya had ever seen.
 Counting of votes started on the
evening of December 27 and carried
on throughout the following day.
 The parliamentary elections proceeded
smoothly. In the presidential race Raila
Odinga of the Orange Democratic
Movement took an early lead in the
count.
 But then the counting and tallying was
beset by delays and the governmental
Electoral Commission of Kenya was
besieged with complaints
Vote counting was
tense and when news
spread of the delays,
riots erupted in
Nairobi and Kisumu,
the ODM stronghold.
Police responded with
excessive force
against the protesters
and a general
The delays continued and on
December 30 counting
resumed only to show the
gap between Kibaki and
Odinga narrowing
considerably.

Mobs formed quickly and

began demonstrating against
what they saw as the
rigging of the election.

The government outlawed

public gatherings and
police responded to the
demonstrations across the
country with excessive
force
Russia
Used needles are returned to a needle
exchange point in St. Petersburg, Russia
Injection drug users at a needle
exchange point
A young woman uses
sex work to support
her drug use….
 This report is Human Rights Watch's fifteenth annual review of
human rights practices around the globe. It summarizes key
human rights issues in sixty-four countries, drawing on events
through November 2004.
 Each country entry identifies significant human rights issues,
examines the freedom of local human rights defenders to
conduct their work, and surveys the response of key
international actors, such as the United Nations, European Union,
Japan, the United States, and various regional and international
organizations and institutions.
 The volume begins with four essays addressing human rights
developments of global concern in 2004. The lead essay
examines far-reaching threats to human rights that emerged
during the year: large-scale ethnic cleansing in Darfur in western
Sudan, and detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq,
symptomatic of a broader problem of torture and mistreatment
of detainees by U.S. forces. It argues that the vitality of human
rights defense worldwide depends on a firm response to both of
these threats.
 International indifference and inaction in the face of continuing
atrocities in Darfur have cost the lives of tens of thousands of
people and damaged the human rights principle that sovereignty
should not stand in the way of protecting people from mass
atrocities. The U.S. government’s use of torture at Abu Ghraib,
though affecting far fewer people directly, reflects a larger
pattern of disregard for human rights law and standards by the
world’s sole superpower.
 While the lead essay focuses on Abu Ghraib and its
repercussions, the second essay, a companion piece to the first,
details what has taken place in Darfur and the continuing
reluctance of the U.N. Security Council and other powerful
international actors to mount a decisive response. 
 From July to December
2005, greater emphasis
was placed on reporting
human rights abuses in
Tunisia (29 points),
Morocco (33 points),
 Iran (49 points), Iraq (53
points),
 Egypt (48 points),
 Jordan (19 points),
 Saudi Arabia (21 points)
Syria (13 points),
 than on claims regarding
Israel (7 points).

War in Iraq: Not a Humanitarian
Intervention    
Africa on its Own: Regional Intervention and
Human Rights  
Losing the Peace in Afghanistan
Sidelined: Human Rights in Postwar Iraq
“Glad to be Deceived”: the International
Community and Chechnya
Above the Law: Executive Power after
September 11 in the United States    
Drawing the Line: War Rules and Law
Enforcement Rules in the Fight against
Terrorism
Beyond the Hague: The Challenges of
International Justice
Children as Weapons of War
Cluster Munitions: Toward a Global Solution
Weapons and War Crimes: The Complicity
of Arms Suppliers
Engine of War: Resources, Greed, and the
Predatory State
In War as in Peace: Sexual Violence and
Women’s Status
Legacy of War: Minority Returns in the
Balkans
Right Side Up: Reflections on the Last
Twenty-Five Years of the Human Rights
Movement 
Children’s Drawings from Darfur, Sudan

Above drawing by Mahmoud, Age 13

Human Rights Watch: What’s
happening here?
Mahmoud: These men in green are
taking the women and the girls.

Human Rights Watch: What are they

doing?
Mahmoud: They are forcing them to
be wife.

Human Rights Watch: What’s

happening here?
Mahmoud: The houses are on fire.

Human Rights Watch: What’s

happening here?
Mahmoud: This is an Antonov. This is
a helicopter.
These here, at the bottom of the
page, these are dead people.
News about HRW
in media
Iran Killing Kids? Juvenile Death Penalty in the
Spotlight

 Iran's president has blocked efforts to

stop juvenile executions in Iran, according
to Human Rights Watch. 
 Two teenagers in Iran narrowly escaped
the death penalty last month for crimes
committed when they were minors. The
incident, Human Rights Watch says,
highlights Iran's status as the "world
leader in juvenile executions."
 Sina Paymard, 18, and Ali Alijan, 19, were
facing death by hanging for a murder
committed when they were under the age
of 18.  They were spared after the victim's
family granted a pardon. Under Iranian
law, the victim's survivors can grant
clemency, sometimes taking "blood
money" or financial compensation for the
crime committed. 
World NewsLatest global news and top
international
Human Rights Watchstories
says Israeli military's
use of white phosphorous in Gaza was
indiscriminate
by Karin Laub / Associated Press
Wednesday March 25, 2009, 9:00 PM
Associated PressIn this
Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2009,
photo, Palestinian
Mohammed Al Haddad is
seen in a hospital bed
suffering what doctors say
are burns from white
phosphorous fired during
Israel's military offensive,
as he recovers at Shifa
Hospital in Gaza City.
Human Rights Watch
issued a report Wednesday
March 25 2009 that Israel
fired white phosphorous
shells indiscriminately over
densely populated Gaza,
and that this is evidence of
war crimes.
 Saudi women "treated like legal minors "
Submitted by Sahil Nagpal on Mon, 04/21/2008 - 15:51. Riyadh
Saudi Arab  Riyadh - Saudi women are prevented by
World News male guardians from enjoying their basic
rights, including travelling, working and
getting married, the Human Rights
Watch group said Monday.
 "Saudi women often must obtain
permission from a guardian (a father,
husband, or even a son) to work, travel,
study, marry or even access health
care," the New York-based group said.
 A report, entitled Perpetual Minors:
Human Rights Abuses Stemming from
Male Guardianship and Sex Segregation
in Saudi Arabia, draws on over 100
interviews with Saudi women to
document the effect of discriminatory
policies on women's basic rights.
 "The authorities essentially treat adult
women like legal minors who are not
entitled to authority over their lives and
well-being," the 50-page report said.
 April 7, 2008 - 6:16 PM
 Rights' records come under UN gaze
 Image caption: Human Rights Watch says severe
overcrowding and institutionalized violence are
chronic and widespread in Brazilian
prisons (Reuters)
 The Geneva-based United Nations Human
Rights Council has started its first-ever
Universal Periodic Review (UPR),
scrutinizing the human rights records of all
UN members.
 Observers are warning the council's credibility
depends on the success of the new mechanism.
Switzerland is due to go before the review on
May 8.
 Over the next two weeks, the first 16 countries
will have their human rights records examined
by a UPR working group, including Bahrain,
Britain, India, Brazil, Algeria, South Africa, and
Argentina.
 This is the first time the records of all 192 UN
member states, regardless of their size, wealth,
military or political importance, will be examined
using a common mechanism.
 The review, which began on Monday, is seen as
a major move away from the selectivity that so
often afflicted the council's predecessor, the
much-maligned and highly politicised Human
Rights Commission.
criticisms

 Human Rights Watch has been criticized for

perceived anti-Western, anti-China, anti-Serb and
anti-Israel bias while others have criticized it for
having a pro-Western and pro-Israel bias.
 According to a report in the Egyptian press, "the
government often accuses human rights groups
[including Human Rights Watch] of importing a
Western agenda that offends local religious and
cultural values.
SUMMURY
 Human rights are not the only ideology of intervention. The 'civilising
mission', which justified 19-th century colonisation, is another example.
 The point is that human rights can serve a geopolitical purpose, which
is unrelated to their moral content.
 It is not possible to show that 'human rights' exist, and most moral
philosophers would not even try.
 It might not be a very important issue in ethics anyway - but it is
important in politics and geopolitics.
 And geopolitics is what Human Rights Watch is about - not about
ethics. HRW itself is an almost exclusively US-American organisation
 . Its version of human rights is the Anglo-American tradition.
 It is 'mono-ethical' - recognising no legitimate ethical values outside its
own.
 However, the human-rights tradition is not, and can never be, a
substitute for a general morality. Major ethical issues such as equality,
distributive justice, and innovation, simply don't fit into rights-based
ethics.
 Human Rights Watch is one of the
world’s leading independent
organizations dedicated to
defending and protecting human
rights.
 By focusing international attention
where human rights are violated,
they give voice to the oppressed
and hold oppressors accountable
for their crimes.
 their rigorous, objective
investigations and strategic,
targeted advocacy build intense
pressure for action and raise the
cost of human rights abuse.
 For 30 years, Human Rights Watch
has worked tenaciously to lay the
legal and moral groundwork for
deep-rooted change and has
fought to bring greater justice and
security to people around the
world.
Dziekuje…MELIKE AYDIN
  