HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Human Rights Watch (HRW) investigates
HUMAN RIGHTS abuses throughout the world,
publishing its findings in books and reports
every year. These activities often generate signif-
icant coverage in local and international media.
This publicity in turn prompts governments to
change their policies and practices. In cases of
extreme human rights abuses, HRW advocates
for the withdrawal of military and economic
support from governments that violate the
rights of their people.
In international conflicts and other crises,
HRW provides current information about
conflicts—focusing on the human rights situa-
tion on the ground—while the conflicts or crises
are underway. The purpose of HRW is to
increase the price of human rights abuse, thereby
helping to decrease the incidents of such abuses.
HRW is the largest human rights organiza-
tion based in the United States. HRW employs
lawyers, journalists, academics, and country
experts of many nationalities and diverse back-
grounds, and often leverages the force of allied
human rights organizations by joining forces
with them to achieve shared human rights goals.
As of February 2002, Human Rights Watch
employed 189 permanent staff plus short-term