It’s difficult to choose one NGO among the hundreds og NGOs in the world, but I still managed to choose the one I believe is a very good and an important organization.
HumanRightsWatch is an organization made up by around 400 staff members worldwide. What makes this organization so different from most of the other NGOs is that it’s nonprofit and nongovernmental group. The reason why this organization chose to not accept government funds or support from any private funder is to ensure their independence.
its staff consists of human right experts (including journalists, lawyers and country experts). The organization was established as early as in 1978 by the creatoin of Helsinki Watch and it’s especially known for its accurate fact-finding, effective use of media and impartial reporting. HumanRightsWatch publishes over 100 reports each year and highlights on human rights condition in 90 countries.
What they do to bring a change
HumanRightsWatch meets with the United Nations, governments, financial institutions, regional groups (African Union, European Union) and corporations and press for changes in policy that supports human rights and justice worldwide.
In 2011, Peter Bouckaert (staff member/ emergencies director) Interviewed refugees from the war in Syria at the Turkish border.
the goal with researching and interviewing victims is to gain enough information about repeated human rights violations or an incident so they can create a precise picture of what happened. HumanRightsWatch seeks to those who are directly involved with the abuses: victims and witnesses. By doing so, they develop the recommendations they adress to governments for redress of human rights violations.
There are some challenges Human Rights Watch face when it comes to their research.
Many of the countries they have to do research in are so called “closed socities” such as North Korea and Iran. It means that these countries close their borders for their research. Challenges that may arise in these “closed socities” are identifying victims and witnesses, identifying rights violations, and identifying recommentations and solutions.
However, even without crossing the borders, Human Rights Watch are still able to interview with victims and witnesses. These interviews usually happen through phone and online communication.
All in all, Human Rights Watch defines the rights of people in 90 countries around the world and bringing perpetrators to justice. An organization that is standing on it’s on feets without government funds nor any private donation since 1978.
Sources:
Mariam Arfan 