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Netherlands Strategic Plan Beleidsplan Human Rights Watch Beleidsplan FY20 – 2019/2020 Updated March 2020 INDEX I. Introduction 2 II. Mission Statement 2 III. Core Values 2 IV. Objectives 3 V. Methodology 3 VI. Achievements 4 VII. Evaluation 4 VIII. Beneficiaries 5 IX. Human Rights Watch in The Netherlands 5 X. Fundraising 6 XI. Managing Funds 6 I. INTRODUCTION Human Rights Watch is a non-profit, nongovernmental human rights organization made up of around 493 staff members around the globe, representing 78 nationalities, based in 78 cities. Our staff includes experts on some 90 countries we cover – human rights lawyers, journalists, and academics from a wealth of backgrounds and nationalities. Established in 1978, Human Rights Watch is known for its accurate fact-finding, impartial reporting, and targeted advocacy, often in partnership with local human rights groups. Watch a video about Human Rights Watch and how we work. II. MISSION STATEMENT Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. III. CORE VALUES Human Rights Watch is: • Committed to our mission of defending human rights worldwide. Our work is guided by international human rights standards, humanitarian law, and respect for the dignity of each human being. • Independent. To ensure our independence, we do not accept government funds, directly or indirectly, or support from any private funder that could compromise our objectivity and independence. We do not embrace political causes and are strictly non-partisan. We maintain neutrality in conflict situations, refraining from commenting from who should be in power, but pushing all parties to uphold human rights and obey the rule of law. • Factual, accurate, and ethical in our fact-finding. We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of accuracy and fairness. We seek out multiple perspectives to develop an in-depth, analytic understanding of the situations we report on. We carry a sense of responsibility for the victims and witnesses who have shared their experiences with us. • Focused on impact. We consider our work a success only when our actions lead to positive and lasting change. We are always on the lookout for new opportunities to advance our cause. We also are committed to working on difficult situations, where long-term attention is required to bring about justice. • Dedicated to amplifying the voices of local partners and being part of a vibrant international human rights movement. We work closely with a broad range of local and international civil society actors to maximize our joint impact. We speak out against attacks on civil society and defend the political space within which the broader human rights movement operates. We work to complement the role of humanitarian aid groups, who often cannot raise systemic rights abuses without compromising access to those who need their help. 2 IV. OBJECTIVES By investigating human rights violations, exposing them in the media, and advocating for improvements, we seek to make a positive change in the world. In order to achieve this, we must be responsive and nimble and able to leap into action quickly to respond to breaking events and document human rights abuses as they are occurring. Our ultimate goal is to protect and promote human rights for all people, especially those most vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. We elevate the voices of those who do not have the power to speak for themselves. We fight for the vulnerable, and we engage the powerful in their defense. V. METHODOLOGY Human Rights Watch investigates wrongdoing. Deep and careful research in 90 countries brings an unparalleled lens on human rights to the public. We stake our credibility on the facts we report, devoting great effort to ensuring the accuracy and fairness of every word we publish. Our researchers go to the site of violations to interview victims and witnesses, examine physical evidence, identify those responsible, and develop the most effective interventions. They use witness testimony paired with photos, video, forensic tools, technological evidence, statistical analysis, and satellite imagery—everything they can to piece together as complete and accurate a picture as possible. Human Rights Watch exposes the facts widely, often as events unfold. Our reach is extensive, so that our research goes directly to people with the power to make a difference. We often collaborate with global outlets; there are daily some 140 media stories citing Human Rights Watch. We have a sophisticated in-house team that creates some 6,000 products annually in 60 languages with wide distribution, including to our more than 7 million social media followers. Human Rights Watch presses those in and with power for rights respecting change. Our data and investigations are a means to an end. With advocates in key capitals across four continents, we have access to influential policymakers worldwide and convince them to use their influence to curb abuses. We focus on issues strategically, selecting projects where we can secure concrete change in people’s lives. 3 VI. ACHIEVEMENTS Our methodology has yielded significant impact: • In addition to our Nobel-prize winning coalition work on the international landmine ban, we built political support for an international treaty banning cluster munitions, which are indiscriminate weapons that frequently maim or kill civilians. • We wrote the definitive history of the genocide in Rwanda and testified as expert witnesses at the international tribunal where those responsible for atrocities are being tried. • We made a strong case for establishing a permanent court to prosecute the most heinous crimes in the world. We played a lead role in the founding of the International Criminal Court. We have earned a reputation as a leading human rights defender because of our ability to take on a broad spectrum of human rights concerns—from discrimination to genocide. We work to mainstream the rights of marginalized people and include them in the larger human rights framework, including women; children; lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual people; people with disabilities; and victims of abuses related to the environment. VII. EVALUATION Human Rights Watch is committed to rigorous, transparent, and consistent self-evaluation. When looking at our own impact, we determine whether or not we have met our goals to bring about positive change for those facing human rights violations. We consider input on our progress from key interlocutors, local human rights partners, and critics. We gauge how effectively we have allocated our resources. To ensure that we reach the highest standards of accuracy and objectivity in our research and achieve the greatest impact from our advocacy, we engage in self-evaluation throughout the year. If abuses we have investigated and reported decrease, our work has been successful. Often, since it takes a great deal of time to bring entrenched human rights abuses to an end, we consider interim criteria for evaluation. These include: • Whether we have succeeded in generating prominent press coverage about the government’s abuses. • Whether other governments and institutions have acted on these revelations by protesting the abuses or exerting diplomatic or economic pressure on the abusive government. • Whether we have succeeded in building or protecting outspoken indigenous opposition to the abuses. • Whether the abusive government has seen it necessary to engage with us—ideally by beginning a constructive dialogue but even, ironically, by denouncing us (since that shows that we have hit a raw nerve and are being taken into account). • Whether the abusive government adopts and implements new policies aimed at ending abuses. • Whether the abuses we have investigated and reported on decrease or come to an end. 4 VIII. BENEFICIARIES The primary beneficiaries of Human Rights Watch’s work are victims of human rights abuses or those at risk of abuse. Local non-profit organizations and civil society actors also benefit from our work as we seek to protect their rights to operate freely and to improve the human rights environment in which they work. We use our reputation as an internationally respected human rights organization to amplify the voices of local and regional civil society actors by connecting them with policymakers or funders to whom they may not otherwise have access. As one of our target audiences, policymakers are well served by our timely reporting and advocacy. They often call on us for analysis in complex and fast-moving situations such as the refugee crisis in Europe. Our work elucidates complex situations from a human rights perspective, bringing to light little-known rights abuses and providing policymakers with concrete, realistic recommendations to address abuses. Media outlets also frequently turn to us for our analysis and insight on human rights stories. Our increasing use of multimedia plays a helpful role for media outlets, many of whom have had their foreign reporting budgets cut, by providing pre-packaged products—such as video, audio clips and photo essays—that can be easily incorporated into their programming. IX. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH IN THE NETHERLANDS Stichting Human Rights Watch Nederland was founded in November 1996. It has ANBI charity status in the Netherlands and is part of the international Human Rights Watch organization. The general goal of the Stichting is to defend human rights and support the work of Human Rights Watch, as follows: a. Protecting human rights around the world in times of war and peace by documenting violations, publishing the findings, and using this information to stop the violations and prevent violations in the future; and b. Undertaking any other educational, humanitarian, literary, or scientific activities in this context. In January 2009, the Netherlands Committee of Human Rights Watch was founded, a group of volunteers who support the office through fundraising, outreach, and advocacy initiatives.
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