Editing Human Rights Watch (section)

== Profile ==
{{Primary sources|section|date=September 2017}}
Pursuant to the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] (UDHR), Human Rights Watch opposes violations of what the UDHR considers [[basic human rights]]. This includes [[capital punishment]] and [[discrimination]] on the basis of [[LGBT social movements|sexual orientation]]. HRW advocates freedoms in connection with fundamental human rights, such as [[freedom of religion]] and [[freedom of the press]]. It seeks to achieve change by publicly pressuring governments and their policymakers to curb human rights abuses, and by convincing more powerful governments to use their influence on governments that violate human rights.<ref>''Historical Dictionary of Human Rights and Humanitarian Organizations''; Edited by Thomas E. Doyle, Robert F. Gorman, Edward S. Mihalkanin; Rowman & Littlefield, 2016; Pg. 137-138</ref><ref name="FAQ"/>

Human Rights Watch publishes research reports on violations of [[international human rights law|international human rights norms]] as set out by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and what it perceives to be other internationally accepted human-rights norms. These reports are used as the basis for drawing international attention to abuses and pressuring governments and international organizations to reform. Researchers conduct fact-finding missions to investigate suspect situations, also using diplomacy, staying in touch with victims, making files about public and individuals, providing required security for them in critical situations, and generating local and international media coverage. Issues HRW raises in its reports include social and [[discrimination|gender discrimination]], [[torture]], [[military use of children]], [[political corruption]], abuses in [[criminal justice]] systems, and the legalization of [[abortion]].<ref name="OH"/> HRW has documented and reported various violations of the laws of war and [[international humanitarian law]], most recently in Yemen.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Roth|first=Kenneth|date=October 2021|title=World Report 2021:Yemen|url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/yemen|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113175015/https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/yemen|archive-date=January 13, 2021|access-date=March 27, 2022|website=HRW}}</ref>

Human Rights Watch also supports writers worldwide who are persecuted for their work and 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 longtime companion, the novelist [[Dashiell Hammett]]. In addition to providing financial assistance, the Hellman/Hammett grants help raise international awareness of activists who have been silenced for speaking out in defence of human rights.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/about/info/helham.html Hellman-Hammett Grants] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001004193120/http://www.hrw.org/about/info/helham.html |date=October 4, 2000}}, ''Human Rights Watch''</ref>

[[File:Nabeel Rajab and Abdulhadi Alkhawaja helping an old woman after police attacked a peaceful protest in August 2010.jpg|thumb|[[Nabeel Rajab]] helping an old woman after Bahraini police attacked a peaceful protest in August 2010]]

Each year, Human Rights Watch presents the [[Human Rights Defenders Award]] to activists who demonstrate leadership and courage in defending human rights. The award winners work closely with HRW to investigate and expose human rights abuses.<ref>{{cite web|title=Five Activists Win Human Rights Watch Awards|date=September 15, 2008|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2008/09/14/five-activists-win-human-rights-watch-awards|publisher=Human Rights Watch|access-date=February 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310131735/http://www.hrw.org/news/2008/09/14/five-activists-win-human-rights-watch-awards|archive-date=March 10, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="SocialSciences.in">{{cite web|work=SocialSciences.in|title=Human Rights Watch|url=http://socialsciences.in/article/human-rights-watch|access-date=February 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915100739/http://www.socialsciences.in/article/human-rights-watch|archive-date=September 15, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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 Landmines]], a global coalition of civil society groups that successfully lobbied to introduce the [[Ottawa Treaty]], which prohibits the use of anti-personnel landmines.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

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. It also co-founded the [[Cluster Munition Coalition]], which brought about an international convention banning the weapons. HRW employs more than 275 staff—country experts, lawyers, journalists, and academics—and operates in more than 90 countries around the world. Headquartered in [[New York City]], it has offices in [[Amsterdam]], [[Beirut]], [[Berlin]], [[Brussels]], [[Chicago]], [[Geneva]], [[Johannesburg]], [[London]], [[Los Angeles]], [[Nairobi]], [[Seoul]], [[Paris]], [[San Francisco]], [[Sydney]], [[Tokyo]], [[Toronto]], [[Washington, D.C.]], and [[Zürich]].<ref name="FAQ"/><ref name="WWA">{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/en/node/75136|title=Who We Are|publisher=Human Rights Watch|access-date=July 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090724075720/http://www.hrw.org/en/node/75136|archive-date=July 24, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> HRW maintains direct access to the majority of countries it reports on. [[Cuba]], [[North Korea]], [[Sudan]], [[Iran]], [[Israel]], [[Egypt]], the [[United Arab Emirates]], [[Uzbekistan]] and [[Venezuela]] are among the handful of countries that have blocked HRW staff members' access.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-rights/israel-bans-human-right-watch-worker-accuses-group-of-peddling-pro-palestinian-line-idUSKBN16313N|title=Israel bans Human Right Watch worker, accuses group of peddling... |last=Lewis |first=Ori |work=U.S. |access-date=May 30, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719233752/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-rights/israel-bans-human-right-watch-worker-accuses-group-of-peddling-pro-palestinian-line-idUSKBN16313N|archive-date=July 19, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

HRW's former executive director is [[Kenneth Roth]], who held the position from 1993 to 2022. Roth conducted investigations on abuses in [[Poland]] after martial law was declared 1981. He later focused on [[Haiti]], which had just emerged from the [[Duvalier dictatorship]] but continued to be plagued with problems. Roth's awareness of the importance of human rights began with stories his father had told about escaping [[Nazi Germany]] in 1938. He graduated from [[Yale Law School]] and [[Brown University]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://law.yale.edu/yls-today/yale-law-school-events/national-security-turbulent-world|title=National Security in a Turbulent World - Yale Law School|website=law.yale.edu|access-date=April 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227044547/https://law.yale.edu/yls-today/yale-law-school-events/national-security-turbulent-world|archive-date=December 27, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Tirana Hassan]] was the group's executive director from 2023<ref>{{cite web |title=Tirana Hassan to Lead Human Rights Watch |date=March 27, 2023 |website=Human Rights Watch |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/03/27/tirana-hassan-lead-human-rights-watch |access-date=April 22, 2023 |archive-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328023055/https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/03/27/tirana-hassan-lead-human-rights-watch |url-status=live}}</ref> to February 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-18 |title=Human Rights Watch Board Announces Leadership Transition {{!}} Human Rights Watch |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/02/18/human-rights-watch-board-announces-leadership-transition |access-date=2025-02-19 |language=en}}</ref> Hassan is a qualified social worker who has worked with [[Médecins Sans Frontières]] (MSF), the [[United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund]] (UNICEF), [[Save the Children]], and as director of [[Amnesty International]]'s Crisis Response Program.<ref name="auto">{{cite web | url=https://www.hrw.org/about/people/tirana-hassan | title=Tirana Hassan | access-date=2023-04-22 | archive-date=2023-05-12 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512043122/https://www.hrw.org/about/people/tirana-hassan | url-status=live}}</ref> Hassan holds honors degrees in social work and law from Australia and a master's degree in international human rights law from [[Oxford University]].<ref name="auto"/>

=== Comparison with Amnesty International ===

Human Rights Watch and [[Amnesty International]] are both international non-governmental organizations headquartered in the North Atlantic [[Anglosphere]] that report on global human rights violations.<ref name="SocialSciences.in"/> The major differences lie in the groups' structures and methods for promoting change.

Amnesty International is a mass-membership organization. Mobilization of those members is the organization's central advocacy tool. Human Rights Watch's main products are its crisis-directed research and lengthy reports, whereas Amnesty International lobbies and writes detailed reports but also focuses on mass letter-writing campaigns, adopting individuals as "[[prisoners of conscience]]" and lobbying for their release. HRW openly lobbies for specific actions for other governments to take against human rights offenders, including naming specific individuals for arrest, or [[International sanctions|sanctions]] to be levied against certain countries, such as calling for punitive sanctions against the top leaders in [[Sudan]] who oversaw a killing campaign in [[Darfur]]. The group also called for human rights activists who had been detained in Sudan to be released.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnJOE4AQ00Q.html|title=Reuters.com|website=arquivo.pt|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109190851/http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnJOE4AQ00Q.html|archive-date=January 9, 2009}}{{failed verification|date=June 2022}}</ref>

HRW's documentations of human rights abuses often include extensive analyses of conflicts' political and historical backgrounds, some of which have been published in academic journals. AI's reports, on the other hand, tend to contain less analysis, instead focusing on specific abuses of rights.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Wiley-Blackwell encyclopedia of globalization|date=2012|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|others=Ritzer, George., Wiley-Blackwell (Firm)|isbn=9781405188241|location=Chichester, West Sussex|oclc=748577872}}</ref>

In 2010, [[Jonathan Foreman (journalist)|Jonathan Foreman]] wrote that HRW had "all but eclipsed" Amnesty International. According to Foreman, instead of being supported by a mass membership, as AI is, HRW depends on wealthy donors who like to see the organization's reports make headlines. For this reason, according to Foreman, it may be that organizations like HRW "concentrate too much on places that the media already cares about," especially Israel.<ref>{{cite news|author = Jonathan Foreman | newspaper = [[The Sunday Times]] | date = March 28, 2010 | title = Explosive Territory}}</ref>