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This commentary calls for a more critical relationship with human rights NGOs, specifically, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. I argue that their politics, positionality, and power are often obscured by their conflation as intrinsically imperfect organizations that yield power and influence with the moral principles of human rights and with international human rights law itself, which are popularly perceived as unimpeachable and sacred in a secular ethical way. I contend that this conflation—often a deliberate and strategic one espoused by the organizations themselves—undermines the integrity of their work and the capacity to hold them accountable for their human rights advocacy. I illustrate ways in which both organizations have neglected to respect human rights and, specifically, principles of equality and universality. I further argue that both organizations need to be humbler and more honest about the moral, legal, and practical limitations of their work and ways in which it can be compromised. This is due to the exigencies of donor dependency and the politics of fundraising, the social, cultural, and political contexts in which the organizations operate and the expectations and demands of their supporters, and the nature of human rights as a movement, body of law, and expression of moral idealism that can sometimes obscure its prejudices, assumptions, and pathologies of power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surveillance, China, Uyghurs, democracy, Human Rights Watch, digital repression, techno-authoritarianism, surveillance capitalism, dissent, social credit system In this interview with the I Bulletin i 's Dan Drollette Jr., Wang explains how she learned of what was going on, what technologies are being used, and the thinking behind its implementation on the part of the Chinese government - and how this techno-authoritarianism could be a taste of what is to come. Keywords: Surveillance; China; Uyghurs; digital repression; techno-authoritarianism; surveillance capitalism; democracy; Human Rights Watch; dissent; social credit system EN Surveillance China Uyghurs digital repression techno-authoritarianism surveillance capitalism democracy Human Rights Watch dissent social credit system 239 242 4 09/12/22 20220901 NES 220901 As readers may know from media exposés, the Chinese government has already implemented an authoritarian surveillance state in its province of Xinjiang, where the Uyghur Muslim minority is constantly subject to cameras, facial recognition algorithms, biometrics, abundant checkpoints, big data, and constant screening - making them live inside what some have called a "virtual cage.". [Extracted from the article]

In an autobiographical article, Professor Emerita of Yale University's School of Architecture Peggy Deamer records her experiences at architecture school and the epiphany moments that shifted her perception of the profession. This prompted her to question architects' love of creating 'perfect' form and dwelling in the purely ocular‐centric and the cult of the lone genius. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the headings of promoting human rights and international law, the influential network of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has been a central actor in the political war targeting Israel though allegations of apartheid and racism. In applying these slanders, the NGOs systematically erase the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, including decades of warfare and terrorism, and join in the attempt to delegitimize the nation-state of the Jewish people, regardless of borders, and as distinct from criticism of Israeli policies regarding territory occupied in the 1967 war. This process constitutes the essence of post-Holocaust or 'new antisemitism', as included in the consensus working definition published by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The NGO campaigns are constructed on the foundations established by the Soviet and Islamic blocs culminating in the 1975 UN 'Zionism is racism' resolution. This theme was revived in the NGO Forum of the 2001 Durban Conference, led by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Palestinian groups such as Al-Haq, and used to justify appropriating the methods of the South African anti-apartheid campaign, including boycotts and lawfare. After the Durban conference and for 20 years since, this NGO network continued and expanded the campaign based on the apartheid and racism allegations. Their claims were amplified in media platforms, international bodies, anti-Israel church groups and on university campuses in the form of 'Israel apartheid weeks'. European governments enabled activities of the Palestinian and Israeli NGOs through substantial funding, estimated at 120 million Euros annually. In 2020 and 2021, the NGO emphasis on these themes increased, led by HRW, and supporting the decision of the ICC prosecutor to accept jurisdiction over Palestinian claims and to open investigations against Israel. This context amplified the potency of the allegations of apartheid and racism in attempts to demonise Israel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to show how a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can influence the human rights agenda. This study relies on the advocacy coalition Framework (ACF) assumption that multiple varieties of actors involved in the policy process may combine to form coalitions. This study examines how Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW), and the International Crisis Group (ICG) formed a coalition to advocate for measures to address humanitarian crises in Sri Lanka and Darfur. This study employed qualitative research methods and relied on secondary sources related to the topic. The findings show that a coalition formed by human rights organizations can influence policies adopted by the international community and can also influence actions taken by national communities. This study concludes that just as states need to form a coalition with other states or work as “allies” to promote human rights on a national and global level, NGOs also function in a similar manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1999, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) published an extensive account of genocide in Rwanda, Leave None to Tell the Story. Based on interviews and archival work conducted by a team of researchers and written primarily by Alison Des Forges, Leave None to Tell was quickly recognised as the definitive account of the 1994 genocide. In the ensuing two decades, however, much additional research has added to our understanding of the 1994 violence. In this paper, I assess Leave None to Tell the Story in light of the research conducted since its publication, focusing in particular on three major challenges to the analysis. First, research into the organisation of the genocide disputes the degree to which it was planned in advance. Second, micro-level research into the motivations of those who participated disputes the influence of ideology on the genocide. Third, research has provided increasing evidence and details of violence perpetrated by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). I contend that despite these correctives, much of the analysis continues to hold up, such as the role of national figures in promoting genocide at the local level, the impact of the dynamics of local power struggles on the violence, and the patterns of violence, including the effort after the initial massacres to implicate a wide portion of the population. Finally, as a member of the team that researched and helped write Leave None to Tell, I reflect on the value of this rare sort of research project that engages human rights organisations in an academic research project.

INTRODUCTION AS IN MILITARY CONFRONTATIONS CONDUCTED ON THE BATTLEFIELD, soft-power conflict and political warfare require strategies, tactics, and resources to pay for the weapons and personnel. (1) Instead of funding [...]

The influence of Human Rights Watch (HRW) is reflected in the organisation's intense involvement in institutions that emphasise human rights, including the United Nations and the International Criminal Court. However, HRW and its leaders have been strongly criticised for intense political and ideological bias against Israel and for proliferating unsubstantiated accusations to fit this bias. This article documents the role of Kenneth Roth, Executive Director since 1993, in this politicisation. Roth's direct involvement with Israel-focused activities is fundamentally different from his role on other topics and countries on HRW's agenda, and contrasts strongly with norms of universality and political neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human Rights Watch is one of the international human rights pressure groups. The annual reports address the development of countries' human rights. The pressure groups aim at influencing the policies that governments follow. The reports published by the Human Rights Watch, are to make the states revise their internal and external policies. This study examines the reflection of human rights in the reports, especially during the periods of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), 2002-2017. The main reason why we deal with the reports published between 2002 and 2017 is to reflect on the policies pursued by a party that defends democracy and emancipates and attaches importance to human rights. The reports were analyzed by Nvivo11 qualitative analysis. The reports being exposed to content analysis, it became clear that freedom of expression, Kurdish rights and torture were given more importance. Human Rights Watch has not been objective in Turkey’s fight against terrorism. However, according to the reports, during the JDP government period, there is a decline in the promotion of human rights.

The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 aims to provide for mental health care and services for persons with mental illness in India and to protect, promote and fulfill the rights of such persons during delivery of mental health care and services. Chapter V of the Act enumerates the rights of persons with mental illness, including the right to equality, right to confidentiality, the right to protection from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in any mental health establishment (which includes the right to proper clothing so as to protect such person from exposure of his/her body to maintain his/her dignity, and the right to be protected from all forms of physical, verbal, emotional and sexual abuse), right to community living, etc. This paper analyses the provisions of the Act from the perspective of rights of women with mental illness in need of mental health care, and draws a comparison with the relevant provisions of the United Nation Convention of Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Comparison is also made with the existent reality reported in legal literature, the media and the field work undertaken by the author in India. Keywords: women's rights, women in India, mental illness, healthcare, equality, Introduction The mention of women with mental illness is rarely made in the legal discussions pertaining to human rights. 'Rights of women' and 'rights of differently abled persons including persons [...]

This paper examines limitations in how law enforcement and public health systems respond to domestic violence in Kyrgyzstan. Findings from interviews with domestic violence victims show that these women are subject to ineffectual practices and negative attitudes that tend to minimize domestic abuse and disempower victims. The findings reveal several problematic issues: inconsistencies in the implementation of the law, impunity for abusers because of both personal attitudes and social affinities between the police and abusers, ineffective enforcement of protective orders, and superficial processing of domestic violence cases by the legal system. Additional barriers to help-seeking include a lack of institutional support and guidelines for offering mental health services for victims as well as a scarcity of housing, childcare, and employment opportunities for women seeking to break the cycle of abuse. The findings underscore the need for society-wide changes in attitudes toward domestic violence, stricter mechanisms for enforcing the law, and mandatory training for service providers to facilitate the provision of more accessible and affirmative support to victims., Author(s): Saltanat Childress [sup.1] , Darald Hanusa [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) University of Wisconsin-Madison, 0000 0001 2167 3675, grid.14003.36, , 2458 Sewell Social Sciences, 1180 Observatory Drive, WI 53706-1393, Madison, [...]

The importance of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to China, economically, politically, and strategically, cannot be overstated. Covering 640,000 square miles, Uyghuristan is approximately the size of Iran. Located in the far west, it is Beijing's largest administrative unit encompassing one-sixth of China's territory. Due to an abundance of coal, natural gas, and oil, accounting for roughly a quarter of China's total reserves, Uyghuristan has been described as the country's "national energy strategy base." These energy resources have been indispensable to "growing" the Chinese economy and maintaining the Chinese Communist Party in power. Strategically, Uyghuristan is the vital link for the Chinese economy's increasing need for imported oil from Central Asia and, through the Pakistan pipeline corridor, the Persian Gulf. It is the key to the success of Beijing's ambitious "One Road, One Belt Initiative" to link the economies of Eurasia to China through infrastructure development. The most important strategic value of Uyghuristan, however, resides in its geography. Consisting mostly of mountains and deserts, the sheer vastness of this inhospitable land provides a natural barrier protecting "China Proper", the heavily populated lands in the east of the country lying between the Yellow River in the north and the Xi River in the south, from land invasions. For these reasons, China will not relinquish control over Uyghuristan, its resources or its people. The people are Uyghurs, a Turkic Muslim nation, who have been seeking their political independence for most of the Twentieth Century. The fall of the last imperial dynasty of China, the Qing, in 1911, was followed by the collapse of the Chinese state. In the ensuing political instability, the Uyghurs declared their independence as the East Turkestan Republic - twice. The first time was in 1933 and endured until suppressed by Nationalist Chinese forces under Chiang Kai-shek in 1934. A second East Turkestan Republic was established in 1944 and lasted until it was overthrown by Communist Chinese forces under Mao Zedong in 1949. Since the 1990s, Beijing has initiated measures to permanently secure Uyghuristan to China by colonizing the land with Chinese settlers. These policies have succeeded in reducing Uyghurs from a majority to a plurality. The objective appears to be to make Uyghurs a demographic minority in their own homeland. Chinese colonization has provoked riots by Uyghurs, ethnic clashes between Uyghurs and Chinese migrants, and repeated calls by Uyghurs for their right to self-determination. Beijing's response as reflected in its 2014 "strike hard campaign against terrorism, separatism, and religious extremism" has, itself, been extreme. In the words of a UN human rights panel, Uyghuristan now resembles a "massive internment camp that is shrouded in secrecy, a sort of 'no rights zone'...members of the Uyghur community and other Muslims were being treated as 'enemies of the state' solely on the basis of their ethno-religious identity." This article will examine these issues and the fundamental question they raise -- are Uyghurs victims of genocide as legally defined by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide?. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At about 4 p.m. on August 18, 2016, a police anti-drug raid swept through the neighborhood in Manila's metropolitan Navotas district where Angelo Lafuente, a 23-year-old small appliances repairman, lived [...]

Despite its media reforms designed to democratize the country’s media landscape, the Ecuadorian government has been subject to constant condemnation from major U.S.-based human rights organizations on freedom-of-expression grounds. A close examination of these critiques and the Ecuadorian media reforms to which they correspond and a comparison of the Ecuadorian government’s and critical human rights organizations’ positions with liberal scholarship on the right to freedom of expression leads to the conclusion that Ecuadorian media reform is consistent with liberal social-democratic principles and, by contrast, human rights organizations uphold an early-modern interpretation of liberalism that is marginal within scholarship on freedom of expression.A pesar de su programa de reformas para democratizar el campo de los medios de difusión, el gobierno ecuatoriano ha sido objeto de una condena permanente por parte de las principales organizaciones de los derechos humanos de los Estados Unidos por motivos de la libertad de expresión. Un examen minucioso de estas críticas y de las reformas del gobierno ecuatoriano, así como una comparación de las posiciones del gobierno ecuatoriano y las de las organizaciones de derechos humanos con los estudios liberales sobre el derecho a la libertad de expression, revelan que estas reformas son consistentes con los principios liberales y socialdemócratas y que, en cambio, las organizaciones de derechos humanos defienden una interpretación del liberalismo correspondiente al principio de la era moderna temprana que queda marginal dentro de los estudios sobre la libertad de expresión. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1993 Human Rights Watch, one of the two most influential human rights organizations in the world, launched a major campaign to derail Beijing's bid to host the 2000 Olympic Games. This article situates this highly publicized campaign in the context of Sino–US relations, the end of the Cold War, and the ‘victory’ of human rights as a global moral lingua franca. It argues that Human Rights Watch's decision to oppose Beijing's bid stemmed from its new post-Cold War focus on China combined with the organization's search for new ways to secure media attention and the funding that flowed from publicity. The campaign most likely swayed the International Olympic Committee's close vote in favor of Sydney. It also brought Human Rights Watch a windfall of favorable publicity among new audiences. The article argues that the campaign irrevocably inserted broad-based human rights considerations into the Olympic Games, decisively moving moral claims-making around the Olympics beyond the playing field. It also linked Human Rights Watch's moral legitimacy to US power in problematic ways and triggered a powerful anti-US backlash in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critically and empirically examines the everyday problem of corrupt policing and related abuses in urban Nigeria, with attention to the threat posed to ordinary Nigerians' basic human rights. The analysis, sociohistorically anchored, foregrounds colonial and military policies that have entrenched a culture of predation in the Nigeria Police Force. The article contributes to existing scholarship by directly relating corrupt and abusive policing to complex sociohistorical conditions, rather than seeing it as a purely managerial problem, whose solution lies in simplistic demands for internal reform. The article attempts to fill a gap in empirical scholarship by approaching corrupt and abusive policing from the angle of everyday practice, rather than by taking normative structural approaches and basing suppositions of actual behavior upon these. The article draws on evidence from eight months of ethnographic fieldwork research in Lagos State, southwestern Nigeria. The fieldwork evidence is supported by analyses of public discourse, a review of extant literature, some semiformal interviews, a review of national constitutions and international human rights law, and historical research. These together suggest conclusions pertinent to democratic reform of the Nigerian police., Introduction The corruption and abuse of policing is a serious problem facing many people living in Africa today, especially the poor and marginalized who fall within the lowest quintile of […]

How do human rights groups prevent the normalization of practices they find troubling? Existing international relations research provides insights into how states resist the new norms human rights activists introduce into the global arena. But it tells us less about how governments themselves promote norms and how activists push back against this advocacy. This article explores this issue by examining the interplay between Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the United States around the emerging norm of targeted killing. It argues that Bin Laden’s death opened a window of opportunity for the potential emergence of a targeted killing norm, with the United States as its norm advocate. To prevent its emergence, HRW deployed some of the same strategies states have used to suppress the emergence of norms they dislike. In illustrating these dynamics, this article helps us better understand why some norms rise, why some fall, and why they might change over time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]