Under its leadership, the organization documented war crimes and crimes against humanity in Liberia, in the former Yugoslavia, Peru, and played “an important role in the creation of the International Criminal Court in 2001 “.
Le Monde with AFP
After thirty years at the head of the human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW), the American Kenneth Roth will leave in August the management of the NGO, announced HRW, Tuesday 26 April.
“It’s time to transmit the torch,” said Director of HRW, 66, without giving any precise reason or detailing his future projects. He welcomed, with his teams, “built a leading force in the defense of the rights of people around the world”.
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Under the direction of this American lawyer, “HRW went from a team of around 60 people with a budget of $ 7 million to a workforce of 552 people covering more than 100 countries and equipped with a budget for Almost 100 million dollars “, writes HRW in a press release .
peace Nobel in 1997
In 1997, the organization was a Colauréate of the Nobel Peace Prize for its action against anti -personnel terrestrial mines. Under its leadership, written HRW, the organization documented war crimes and crimes against humanity in Liberia, in the former Yugoslavia, Peru, and played “an important role in the creation of the International Criminal Court ( CPI) in 2001 “, despite the strong resistances of the United States. Mr. Roth also “globalized the advocacy” activities “by HRW by establishing offices in Brussels, London, Tokyo, Sydney, Johannesburg … After the September 11, 2001 attacks, HRW documented and revealed the use of” black sites ” (“black sites”), where American officials questioned and tortured individuals suspected of terrorism.
In 30 years, “Kenneth Roth has inevitably made a lot of enemies,” said the press release. “Although being Jewish (and having a father who fled Nazi Germany at the age of 12), he was attacked for the criticisms issued by Human Rights Watch with regard to the abuses committed by the Israeli government “, Recalls HRW.
Rwanda also strongly criticized HRW after the organization reported repression under President Paul Kagame, and the Chinese government “sanctioned” Mr. Roth and expelled him from Hong Kong in 2020, recalls the ‘Organization.
Tirana Hassan, director of the HRW programs division, was appointed acting director.