HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Eyrin Kim

YMCA 2020 Southeastern High School Model United Nations YMCA Southeastern High School Model UN

Human Rights Watch “To deny people their rights is to challenge their very humanity” - Nelson Mandela

Introduction The Human Rights Watch (HRW) is a non-governmental organization that amplifies the voices of victims and exposes inhumane actions to the global community. Focused on epicenters of humanitarian crises, members of the Human Rights Watch provide aid, conduct investigations, and push to hold human rights violators accountable for their actions.1 Those under the HRW umbrella are united by the mission to protect the rights of all peoples worldwide. The HRW communicates with governmental bodies, corporations, and rebel groups in urging the replacement or change of adverse policies. On multiple occasions, the Human Rights Watch has partnered closely with the United Nations as well.2 The organization itself currently holds the Platinum Seal of Transparency by GuideStar, a highly reputable nonprofit analysis platform, for its easily accessible and thorough reports on funding and monetary assignment.3 In addition, this NGO refuses funding from government-associated acts and selectively accepts donations from sponsors that harbor the same core values, enabling the Human Rights Watch to further its missions and assist victims without the pressure of bias.4 Thus, the HRW has gained a reputation for holding itself apart from monetary influence, corruption, and mismanagement.5 To best depict humanitarian crises to the international community, the HRW uses both state-of-the-art satellite imagery technology and conducts in-person, on-the-ground interviews with civilians; this way, investigators at the HRW are able to obtain both broad factual data and personalized accounts.6 During interviewing processes, field investigators are professionally trained to extract truthful data by gathering multiple detailed accounts of the same incident.7 This ability to research in diverse ways has proved to be a tremendous advantage as information not only assesses the situation as a whole but also connects with individual victims. Hence, due to its reputation for accurate and compassionate investigation, the HRW’s true power lies in bringing forth facts and data to spotlight specific issues.

1 “About Our Research - Interview Research: Who We Interview,” Human Rights Watch, accessed February 16, 2021, https://www.hrw.org/about/about-us/about-our-research#4. 2 “About Us - Who We Are,” Human Rights Watch, accessed February 16, 2021, https://www.hrw.org/about/about-us. 3 “Human Rights Watch, inc.,” GuideStar, accessed February 16, 2021, https://www.guidestar.org/profile/13-2875808. 4 Ibid 5 “Human Rights Watch,” Charity Navigator, accessed February 16, 2021, https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3845. 6 “About Our Research,” Human Rights Watch, accessed February 16, 2021, https://www.hrw.org/about/about-us/about-our-research 7 Ibid YMCA Southeastern High School Model UN

Today, the Human Rights Watch is composed of around 500 members from over eighty countries that are each active in a specialized field.8 The HRW attracts much attention from the general public as well; in 2019, it recorded 17 million website visits, 11 million social media followers, and 250,000 media mentions.9

Background The mission of the HRW can be broken down into three components: investigate, expose, and change.10 On the field, HRW investigators create an unbiased, evidence-based record of injustices that is shared through various social media platforms and media coverage, typically reaching a broad audience. Following these steps, the HRW meets with numerous organizations (including rebel groups, intergovernmental organizations, and governmental institutions) to encourage changes in policy and enforcement methods with a priority on the well-being of the people. Such policies span a vast expanse of topics, including the rights of civilians, women, children, refugees, persons with disabilities, and members of the LGBT+ community. Other major divisions cover arms, business and human rights, environmental health, terrorism, and international justice.11 The Human Rights Watch was founded in 1978 as the Helsinki Watch was tasked with unmasking human rights violations of the countries behind the Iron Curtain.12 HRW amplified the voices of interest groups in the timid civil societies of former Soviet bloc member states; as a result, the Helenski Watch had a great impact upon the democratization of Europe in the 1980’s. Shortly after, the Americas Watch was founded to hone in on the humanitarian injustices that occurred during the various civil wars of Central America. Through direct contact with civilians impacted by both government forces and rebel networks, the Americas Watch was able to report impartial truths to the global community and bring parties to justice under international law. The next decade witnessed the founding of Africa Watch, Asia Watch, and Middle East Watch, together forming the “Watch Committees.” Eventually, these committees fused in 1988 under the name of Human Rights Watch.13 The Persian Gulf War allowed for breakthroughs in investigation as the HRW employed on-ground members to document the happenings of the war. Unlawful bombing practices and other violations were successfully taped, ultimately allowing hostile groups to be held

8 Kenneth Roth and Amy Rao, Annual Report 2019 (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2019), 9, https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/supporting_resources/hrw_annual_report_2019_en.pdf. 9 Ibid 10 “About Us - Who We Are,” Human Rights Watch, accessed February 16, 2021, https://www.hrw.org/about/about-us. 11 “About Our Research,” Human Rights Watch, accessed February 16, 2021, https://www.hrw.org/about/about-us/about-our-research 12 “History,” Human Rights Watch, accessed February 16, 2021, https://www.hrw.org/about/about-us/history. 13 Ibid. YMCA Southeastern High School Model UN responsible for their abuses following the war.14 This success fueled the HRW to further expose the reality of “ethnic cleansing” in Rwanda and the Balkans. These two involvements led to a new era of evidence presentation in the international legal system; HRW bloomed in the global spotlight and played a crucial role in crafting the Roman Statute, which is still used in the International Criminal Court today.15 Later, in 1997, the HRW (in conjunction with other founding members) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for initiating the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. The success of this initiative has shaped the HRW into a strong advocate for similar treaties such as the Convention on Cluster Munitions of 2008.16, 17 As the prevalence of issues ebbs and flows, HRW has accordingly turned its focus on subjects that are most desperately in need of addressment; for instance, the HRW shifted their priorities to include terrorism following the 9/11 attack in the United States. In recent years, a particular emphasis has been placed on expanding the rights of women, children, and the LGBT+ community.18 Current goals are recentering around the protection of young people from HIV and AIDS as the spread of these diseases have become increasingly prominent. To best express support for specific issues or legislation, the Human Rights Watch actively serves the United Nations as an integral informative body. HRW members regularly submit information regarding a myriad of topics. For example, a recent written statement submitted to the United Nations addressed “Antisemitism and Terrorist Incitement in Palestinian Education,” a topic that HRW investigators had been meticulously examining.19 In addition, the HRW publishes periodical reviews about the humanitarian situations in specific states and offers suggestions about what can be done to improve the conditions in those states.20 Most notably, the Human Rights Watch works closely with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). The HRW publicizes much of the current work being conducted within this UN body as it frequently corresponds with research from the HRW.21 Members also

14 Ibid. 15 Ibid. 16 “Convention On Cluster Munitions,” United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, accessed February 16, 2021, https://www.un.org/disarmament/convention-on-cluster-munitions/. 17 “History,” Human Rights Watch, accessed February 16, 2021, https://www.hrw.org/about/about-us/history. 18 Ibid. 19 United Nations, General Assembly, Antisemitism and Terrorist Incitement in Palestinian Education: Written statement submitted by Human Rights Watch, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status, A/HRC/44/NGO/78 (17 July 2020), available from https://www.un.org/unispal/document/statement-submitted-to-the-human-rights-council-by-human-rights-watch-a-hr c-44-ngo-78/. 20 “Human Rights Watch Submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review of the United States of America,” Human Rights Watch, October 3, 2019, https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/10/03/human-rights-watch-submission-united-nations-human-rights-councils-univer sal 21 “Human Rights Council,” Human Rights Watch, accessed February 16, 2021, https://www.hrw.org/topic/united-nations/human-rights-council. YMCA Southeastern High School Model UN represent the HRW in more specific niches such as the World Health Organization’s Partnership for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health.22 Due to its consistent interaction with the UN and prominence in the global sphere, the HRW wields a considerable amount of influence–in the past, it has even pressured the UNHRC to suspend certain member states for “gross and systematic violations of human rights.”23 Overall, the Human Rights Watch enjoys close collaboration with the United Nations and its internal bodies.

The Human Rights Watch and DISEC The Disarmament and International Security Committee has passed various resolutions condemning the collection of highly dangerous weapons. Such treaties include the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (1968) and the Arms Trade Treaty (2013). While both pieces of legislation have made notable strides in reducing the size of nuclear arsenals and monitoring the utilization of such weapons, specific policies regarding hypersonic missiles have yet to be introduced and widely accepted by the international community. The Arms Division of the Human Rights Watch strives to stimulate progress in disarmament efforts as well as protect civilians from destructive arms.24 As arms races can be of devastating impact to uninvolved civilians, HRW has consistently reported between areas of mounting tension. For example, the Arms Division of HRW extensively covered the local arms race in Rwanda in 1994.25 This firsthand witnessing and collection of data empowered the HRW to call on various governments to rethink their hasty collection of such weapons. But as international tensions escalate, it is difficult for countries to halt the production of such powerful tools; many states find themselves building cutting-edge missiles and other weapons as a defensive measure rather than an offensive act. Thus, the Human Rights Watch first and foremost calls for transparency and communication. Open dialogue offers relief from tensions and heightened accountability. The HRW is well versed in this practice; for instance, Kenneth Roth, the executive director of the HRW, wrote an open letter to Anatoly Isaikin, Director General of Rosoboronexport (Russia’s state-controlled corporation that deals with all weapons), asking for transparency regarding

22 “Human Rights Watch,” World Health Organization - The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, accessed February 16, 2021, https://www.who.int/pmnch/about/members/database/human_rights_watch/en/. 23 Akshaya Kumar, “A Midlife Crisis for the Treaty-Based Human Rights System?,” United Nations - UN Chronicle, accessed February 16, 2021, https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/midlife-crisis-treaty-based-human-rights-system. 24 “Arms,” Human Rights Watch, accessed February 16, 2021, https://www.hrw.org/topic/arms. 25 Frank Smyth et al., “The Arms Trade and Human Rights Abuses in the Rwandan War,” HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ARMS PROJECT 6, no. 1 (January 1994), https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/RWANDA941.PDF. YMCA Southeastern High School Model UN

Russia’s arms exports to Syria.26 This was a direct result of HRW agents’ discoveries that Syrain militants had committed serious humanitarian crimes through Russian arms.27 Similarly, the HRW urged states to engage in “greater transparency in government-sponsored or -approved arms transfers” during a 1999 Workshop on Small Arms in Geneva. Thus, because of these precedents and the current competitive atmosphere in hypersonic missile creation, it is likely that the HRW would push for transparency in regards to the building of hypersonic missiles.28 Hand in hand with transparency is the intentional marking, tracking, and reporting of hypersonic weapons. Under the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) of 2013 (which currently has 104 participating states), countries must publish a minimum of one annual report regarding the quantity, value, model, end-user, and other aspects of all of its arms exports and imports.29 Additionally, initial reports fully disclosing all laws and regulations regarding arms in the country must be made upon the joining of the ATT.30 Subsequently, these reports are released to all state parties committed to the treaty. The Human Rights Watch is supportive of efforts aimed at comprehensively monitoring all weapons. This is partially due to alarming discoveries exposed by HRW over the past few decades. For instance, HRW investigators and field workers have uncovered Chilean cluster bombs and Belgian anti-tank landmines in Sudan through Ethiopian and Saudia Arabia parties, respectively. These unrecorded transnational arms transfers have underscored the criticality of state efforts to monitor their weapons. On the bright side, the HRW believes that such rigorous marking and monitoring efforts will then “ensure that weapons exported for legitimate purposes will also be used legitimately by the recipient marked on the end-user certificate.”31 Thus, the HRW would advocate for similar actions specifically pertaining to hypersonic missiles due to their rising numbers and unprecedented danger. Finally, the HRW has called for “an international code of conduct governing arms exports” since the turn of the century. As such, the HRW would support legislation that promotes strict adherence to established humanitarian standards relevant to hypersonic missiles. This is especially relevant as the United States, Russia, and China significantly struggle to follow such

26 Kenneth Roth, “Letter to Rosoboronexport On Syrian Weapons Supplies,” Human Rights Watch, April 6, 2012, https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/04/06/letter-rosoboronexport-syrian-weapons-supplies. 27“Status,” Rosoboronexport (Russian Defence Export), accessed February 16, 2021, http://roe.ru/eng/rosoboronexport/status/. 28 “State Responsibility in the Arms Trade and the Protection of Human Rights,” Human Rights Watch, February 17, 1999, https://www.hrw.org/news/1999/02/17/state-responsibility-arms-trade-and-protection-human-rights. 29 Arms Trade Treaty Implementation Toolkit - Reporting Requirements (United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, 2015), https://unoda-web.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/2015-12-22-module-3-Reporting.Rev 1_.pdf. 30 Ibid. 31 “State Responsibility in the Arms Trade and the Protection of Human Rights,” Human Rights Watch, February 17, 1999, https://www.hrw.org/news/1999/02/17/state-responsibility-arms-trade-and-protection-human-rights. YMCA Southeastern High School Model UN guidelines. Because these three countries have been the most deeply involved in the building of hypersonic missiles it is doubly important that an international code of conduct is set in place and upheld.32 Overall, such an international code would lay the foundation for future de-escalation and disarmament, protecting the human rights of the people of the world.

32 Ibid.