Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch is an international nongovernmental organization that investigates and reports on human rights abuses and advocates for their prevention.

Human rights investigation: The systematic gathering and assessment of evidence about alleged violations of human rights. Investigations provide the factual basis for Human Rights Watch reports and advocacy.
Helsinki Watch: A nongovernmental organization founded in 1978 to monitor compliance with the Helsinki Accords. Human Rights Watch began as Helsinki Watch, focused on abuses in the Soviet bloc.
Children's rights: The human rights and protections recognized as belonging to every person under eighteen. Human Rights Watch documents abuses affecting children, including recruitment and barriers to education.
Amnesty International: An international nongovernmental organization that campaigns against human rights abuses. It shares Human Rights Watch’s watchdog role but has a distinct institutional history and campaigning approach.
Human rights report: A publication documenting alleged human rights violations, evidence, and recommendations. The organization presents much of its research through detailed public reports.
Helsinki Accords: A 1975 agreement among European and North American states that included commitments on human rights. Monitoring governments’ human-rights commitments under the Accords inspired Helsinki Watch.
Women's rights: The human rights and freedoms that belong equally to women and girls. Its research addresses discrimination and violence against women and girls.
International Federation for Human Rights: An international federation of human rights organizations founded in 1922. Its federation of member groups contrasts with Human Rights Watch’s centralized research organization.
Human rights advocacy: Efforts to influence public opinion, institutions, or policy in support of human rights. Human Rights Watch uses findings to press governments and other influential actors.
Americas Watch: A monitoring group founded in 1981 to investigate human rights abuses in the Americas. It became one of the regional organizations incorporated into Human Rights Watch.

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