Human Rights Watch

Founded in 1978, and one of the world's leading independent, non-political organisations, Human Rights Watch works as part of a vibrant movement to advance the cause of human rights for all.

They address human rights violations in more than 90 countries by

• conducting objective, meticulous investigations,
• exposing abuses widely in the media, and
• enlisting powerful actors to effect change in policies and practices

to improve the human rights of people on the ground.

Time and again, this has yielded results. For instance, they built political support for treaties banning the use of cluster munitions and child soldiers, took the lead in establishing the International Criminal Court, and won a Nobel Peace Prize for their collaborative work to ban landmines.

Human Rights Watch responds quickly and effectively to a broad spectrum of human rights concerns - from discrimination to genocide. They have pioneered the protection of marginalised groups under a human rights framework, including the rights of women, children, lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual people, refugees and people with disabilities. Most recently, they established an Environment Division to address human rights abuses caused by pollution and climate change.

Human Right Watch's overarching goal is to effect concrete, long-lasting and systemic change to policies and practices to ensure they best safeguard the rights of all people.