[News] Human Rights Watch’s Revolving Door to US Government

[Anti-Imperialist News]

*/(At least this discredits them once again. Reforms are hardly the 
point! - Ed)/*

May 14, 2014
*http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/05/14/human-rights-watchs-revolving-door-to-us-government/*



*A Letter from Nobel Peace Laureates*


  Human Rights Watch’s Revolving Door to US Government

by ALFREDO PEREZ ESQUIVEL and MAIREAD MAGUIRE

/The following letter was sent this week to Human Rights Watch’s Kenneth 
Roth on behalf of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Adolfo Pérez Esquivel and 
Mairead Maguire; former UN Assistant Secretary General Hans von Sponeck; 
current UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian 
Territories Richard Falk; and over 100 scholars./

Dear Kenneth Roth,

Human Rights Watch characterizes itself <http://www.hrw.org/about> as 
“one of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to 
defending and protecting human rights.” However, HRW’s close ties to the 
U.S. government call into question its independence.

For example, HRW’s Washington advocacy director, Tom Malinowski, 
previously served 
<http://web.archive.org/web/20120401220538/http://www.hrw.org/en/bios/tom-malinowski> as 
a special assistant to President Bill Clinton and as a speechwriter to 
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. In 2013, he left HRW after being 
nominated 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/in-the-loop/post/white-house-taps-tom-malinowski-for-human-rights-post/2013/07/09/1395416e-e8a3-11e2-a301-ea5a8116d211_blog.html> as 
Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights & Labor under 
John Kerry.

In her HRW.org biography, Board of Directors’ Vice Chair Susan Manilow 
describes <http://www.hrw.org/bios/susan-manilow> herself as “a longtime 
friend to Bill Clinton” who is “highly involved” in his political party, 
and “has hosted dozens of events” for the Democratic National Committee.

Currently, HRW Americas’ advisory committee 
<http://www.hrw.org/node/105587> includes Myles Frechette, a former 
<http://web.gc.cuny.edu/bildnercenter/events/2003.03.31.1.shtml> U.S.ambassador 
<http://waysandmeans.house.gov/legacy/trade/107cong/5-8-01/record/napbc.htm> to 
Colombia, and Michael Shifter, one-time Latin America director 
<http://www.ned.org/research/research-council/michael-shifter> for the 
U.S. government-financed National Endowment for Democracy. Miguel Díaz, 
a Central Intelligence Agency analyst in the 1990s, sat on HRW Americas’ 
advisory committee from 2003 
<http://web.archive.org/web/20030813103615/http://www.hrw.org/about/info/board.html>-11 
<http://web.archive.org/web/20110501152051/http://www.hrw.org/en/node/76172#_Americas>. 
Now at the State Department 
<http://careers.state.gov/ff/meet-the-fellows/franklin-fellows/miguel-diaz>, 
Díaz serves 
<http://www.worldpittsburgh.org/programsCalendarListDetail.jsp?restrictids=nu_repeatitemid&restrictvalues=0500280840951363019236777> as 
“an interlocutor between the intelligence community and non-government 
experts.”

In his capacity as an HRW advocacy director, Malinowski contended 
<http://articles.latimes.com/2009/feb/01/nation/na-rendition1> in 2009 
that “under limited circumstances” there was “a legitimate place” for 
CIA renditions—the illegal 
<https://www.aclu.org/national-security/fact-sheet-extraordinary-rendition> 
practice 
<http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2009/03/10/63693/un-report-says-us-rendition-policy.html> of 
kidnapping and transferring terrorism suspects around the planet. 
Malinowski was quotedparaphrasing 
<http://articles.latimes.com/2009/feb/01/nation/na-rendition1> the U.S. 
government’s argument that designing an alternative to sending suspects 
to “foreign dungeons to be tortured” was “going to take some time.”

HRW has not extended 
<http://nacla.org/news/2014/2/4/hypocrisy-human-rights-watch> similar 
consideration to Venezuela <http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/4051>. 
In a 2012 letter 
<http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/11/09/letter-president-chavez-venezuelas-candidacy-un-human-rights-council> to 
President Chávez, HRW criticized the country’s candidacy for the UN 
Human Rights Council, alleging that Venezuela had fallen “far short of 
acceptable standards” and questioning its “ability to serve as a 
credible voice on human rights.” At no point has U.S. membership 
<http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/CurrentMembers.aspx> in the 
same council merited censure from HRW, despite Washington’s secret, 
global assassination program 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/world/obamas-leadership-in-war-on-al-qaeda.html>, 
its preservation 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/world/obamas-leadership-in-war-on-al-qaeda.html?pagewanted=all> of 
renditions 
<http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/reports/globalizing-torture-cia-secret-detention-and-extraordinary-rendition>, 
and its illegal detention 
<http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/04/25/guantanamo-bay-and-indefinite-detention-hunger-strike-continues> of 
individuals at Guantánamo Bay.

Likewise, in February 2013, HRW correctly described as “unlawful 
<http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/02/26/syria-unlawful-missile-attacks-kill-more-140>” 
Syria’s use of missiles in its civil war. However, HRW remained silent 
<http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/08/30/dispatches-syria-protecting-civilians-should-be-top-priority> on 
the clear violation 
<http://www.democracynow.org/2013/9/11/chomsky_instead_of_illegal_threat_to> of 
international law constituted by the U.S. threat of missile strikes on 
Syria in August.

The few examples above, limited to only recent history, might be 
forgiven as inconsistencies or oversights that could naturally occur in 
any large, busy organization. But HRW’s close relationships with the 
U.S. government suffuse such instances with the appearance of a conflict 
of interest.

We therefore encourage you to institute immediate, concrete measures to 
strongly assert HRW’s independence. Closing what seems to be a revolving 
door would be a reasonable first step: Bar those who have crafted or 
executed U.S. foreign policy from serving as HRW staff, advisors or 
board members. At a bare minimum, mandate lengthy “cooling-off” periods 
before and after any associate moves between HRW and that arm of the 
government.

Your largest donor, investor George Soros, argued 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/business/07gift.html> in 2010 that 
“to be more effective, I think the organization has to be seen as more 
international, less an American organization.” We concur. We urge you to 
implement the aforementioned proposal to ensure a reputation for genuine 
independence.

Sincerely,

   1. Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
   2. Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
   3. Joel Andreas, Professor of Sociology, Johns Hopkins University
   4. Antony Anghie, Professor of Law, S.J. Quinney College of Law,
      University of Utah
   5. John M. Archer, Professor of English, New York University
   6. Asma Barlas, Professor of Politics, Director of the Center for the
      Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity, Ithaca College
   7. Rosalyn Baxandall, Professor Emeritus of American Studies, State
      University of New York-Old Westbury
   8. Marc Becker, Professor of Latin American History, Truman State
      University
   9. Jason A. Beckett, Professor of Law, American University in Cairo
  10. Angélica Bernal, Professor of Political Science, University of
      Massachusetts-Amherst
  11. Keane Bhatt, activist, writer
  12. William Blum, author, Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA
      Interventions Since World War II
  13. Audrey Bomse, Co-chair, National Lawyers Guild Palestine Subcommittee
  14. Patrick Bond, Professor of Development Studies, Director of the
      Centre for Civil Society, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban
  15. Michael Brenner, Professor Emeritus of International Affairs,
      University of Pittsburgh
  16. Jean Bricmont, Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of
      Louvain; author, Humanitarian Imperialism
  17. Renate Bridenthal, Professor Emerita of History, Brooklyn College,
      CUNY
  18. Fernando Buen Abad Domínguez, Ph.D., author
  19. Paul Buhle, Professor Emeritus of American Civilization, Brown
      University
  20. David Camfield, Professor of Labour Studies, University of Manitoba
  21. Leonard L. Cavise, Professor of Law, DePaul College of Law
  22. Robert Chernomas, Professor of Economics, University of Manitoba
  23. Aviva Chomsky, Professor of History, Salem State University
  24. George Ciccariello-Maher, Professor of Political Science, Drexel
      University
  25. Jeff Cohen, Associate Professor of Journalism, Ithaca College
  26. Marjorie Cohn, Professor of Law, Thomas Jefferson School of Law
  27. Lisa Duggan, Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis, New York
      University
  28. Carolyn Eisenberg, Professor of History, Hofstra University
  29. Matthew Evangelista, Professor of History and Political Science,
      Cornell University
  30. Richard Falk, Professor Emeritus of International Law, Princeton
      University
  31. Sujatha Fernandes, Professor of Sociology, Queens College, CUNY
      Graduate Center
  32. Mara Fridell, Professor of Sociology, University of Manitoba
  33. Frances Geteles, Professor Emeritus, Department of Special
      Programs, CUNY City College
  34. Lesley Gill, Professor of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University
  35. Piero Gleijeses, Professor of American Foreign Policy and Latin
      American Studies, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns
      Hopkins University
  36. Jeff Goodwin, Professor of Sociology, New York University
  37. Katherine Gordy, Professor of Political Science, San Francisco
      State University
  38. Manu Goswami, Professor of History, New York University
  39. Greg Grandin, Professor of History, New York University
  40. Simon Granovsky-Larsen, Professor of Latin American Studies,
      Centennial College, Toronto
  41. James N. Green, Professor of Latin American History, Brown University
  42. A. Tom Grunfeld, Professor of History, SUNY Empire State College
  43. Julie Guard, Professor of Labor Studies, University of Manitoba
  44. Peter Hallward, Professor of Philosophy, Kingston University;
      author, Damming the Flood
  45. John L. Hammond, Professor of Sociology, Hunter College, CUNY
      Graduate Center
  46. Beth Harris, Professor of Politics, Ithaca College
  47. Martin Hart-Landsberg, Professor Economics, Lewis and Clark College
  48. Chris Hedges, journalist; author, War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning
  49. Doug Henwood, journalist; author, Wall Street
  50. Edward Herman, Professor Emeritus of Finance, University of
      Pennsylvania; co-author, The Political Economy of Human Rights
  51. Susan Heuman, Ph.D., independent scholar of history
  52. Forrest Hylton, Lecturer in History & Literature, Harvard University
  53. Matthew Frye Jacobson, Professor of American Studies and History,
      Yale University
  54. Jennifer Jolly, Co-coordinator of Latin American Studies, Ithaca
      College
  55. Rebecca E. Karl, Professor of History, New York University
  56. J. Kehaulani Kauanui, Professor of Anthropology and American
      Studies, Wesleyan University
  57. Ari Kelman, Professor of History, University of California, Davis
  58. Arang Keshavarzian, Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic
      Studies, New York University
  59. Laleh Khalili, Professor of Middle East Politics, School of
      Oriental and African Studies, University of London
  60. Daniel Kovalik, Professor of International Human Rights,
      University of Pittsburgh School of Law
  61. Rob Kroes, Professor Emeritus of American Studies, University of
      Amsterdam
  62. Peter Kuznick, Professor of History, American University
  63. Deborah T. Levenson, Professor of History, Boston College
  64. David Ludden, Professor of History, New York University
  65. Catherine Lutz, Professor of Anthropology and International
      Studies, Brown University
  66. Arthur MacEwan, Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of
      Massachusetts-Boston
  67. Viviana MacManus, Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies,
      University of Maryland, Baltimore County
  68. Chase Madar, civil rights attorney; author, The Passion of
      [Chelsea] Manning
  69. Alfred W. McCoy, Professor of History, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  70. Teresa Meade, Professor of History, Union College
  71. Thomas Murphy, Professor of History and Government, University of
      Maryland, University College Europe
  72. Allan Nairn, independent investigative journalist
  73. Usha Natarajan, Professor of International Law, American
      University in Cairo
  74. Diane M. Nelson, Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Duke University
  75. Joseph Nevins, Professor of Geography, Vassar College
  76. Mary Nolan, Professor of History, New York University
  77. Anthony O’Brien, Professor Emeritus of English, Queens College, CUNY
  78. Paul O’Connell, Reader in Law, School of Law, School of Oriental
      and African Studies, University of London
  79. Christian Parenti, Professor of Sustainable Development, School
      for International Training Graduate Institute
  80. David Peterson, independent writer and researcher
  81. Adrienne Pine, Professor of Anthropology, American University
  82. Claire Potter, Professor of History, The New School
  83. Margaret Power, Professor of History, Illinois Institute of Technology
  84. Pablo Pozzi, Professor of History, Universidad de Buenos Aires
  85. Gyan Prakash, Professor of History, Princeton University
  86. Vijay Prashad, Edward Said Chair of American Studies, American
      University of Beirut
  87. Peter Ranis, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, CUNY
      Graduate Center
  88. Michael Ratner, human rights attorney; author, The Prosecution of
      Donald Rumsfeld
  89. Sanjay Reddy, Professor of Economics, New School for Social Research
  90. Adolph Reed, Jr., Professor of Political Science, University of
      Pennsylvania
  91. Nazih Richani, Director of Latin American Studies, Kean University
  92. Moss Roberts, Professor of Chinese, New York University
  93. Corey Robin, Professor of Political Science, Brooklyn College,
      CUNY Graduate Center
  94. William I. Robinson, Professor of Sociology, University of
      California, Santa Barbara
  95. Patricia Rodriguez, Professor of Politics, Ithaca College
  96. Andrew Ross, Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis, New York
      University
  97. Elizabeth Sanders, Professor of Government, Cornell University
  98. Dean Saranillio, Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis, New
      York University
  99. T.M. Scruggs, Professor Emeritus of Music, University of Iowa
 100. Ian J. Seda-Irizarry, Professor of Political Economy, John Jay
      College of Criminal Justice
 101. Denise A. Segura, Professor of Sociology; Chair, Department of
      Chicana and Chicano Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
 102. Mark Selden, Senior Research Associate, East Asia Program, Cornell
      University
 103. Falguni A. Sheth, Professor of Philosophy and Political Theory,
      Hampshire College
 104. Naoko Shibusawa, Professor of History, Brown University
 105. Dina M. Siddiqi, Professor of Anthropology, BRAC University,
      Dhaka, Bangladesh
 106. Francisco Sierra Caballero, Director of the Center for
      Communication, Politics and Social Change, University of Seville
 107. Brad Simpson, Professor of History, University of Connecticut
 108. Nikhil Pal Singh, Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis and
      History, New York University
 109. Leslie Sklair, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, London School of
      Economics
 110. Norman Solomon, author, War Made Easy
 111. Judy Somberg, Chair, National Lawyers Guild Task Force on the Americas
 112. Jeb Sprague, author, Paramilitarism and the Assault on Democracy
      in Haiti
 113. Oliver Stone, filmmaker; co-author, The Untold History of the
      United States
 114. Steve Striffler, Professor of Anthropology, Chair of Latin
      American Studies, University of New Orleans
 115. Sinclair Thomson, Professor of History, New York University
 116. Miguel Tinker Salas, Professor of History and Latin American
      Studies, Pomona College
 117. James S. Uleman, Professor of Psychology, New York University
 118. Alejandro Velasco, Professor of History, New York University
 119. Robert Vitalis, Professor of Political Science, University of
      Pennsylvania
 120. Hans Christof von Sponeck, former United Nations Assistant
      Secretary General (1998-2000)
 121. Hilbourne Watson, Professor Emeritus of International Relations,
      Bucknell University
 122. Barbara Weinstein, Professor of History, New York University
 123. Mark Weisbrot, Ph.D., Co-director, Center for Economic and Policy
      Research
 124. Kirsten Weld, Professor of History, Harvard University
 125. Gregory Wilpert, Ph.D, author, Changing Venezuela by Taking Power
 126. John Womack, Jr., Professor Emeritus of Latin American History and
      Economics, Harvard University
 127. Michael Yates, Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of
      Pittsburgh at Johnstown
 128. Kevin Young, Ph.D., Latin American History, State University of
      New York-Stony Brook
 129. Marilyn B. Young, Professor of History, New York University
 130. Vazira Fazila-Yacoobali Zamindar, Professor of History;
      Co-Director, South Asian Studies, Brown University
 131. Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and Coordinator of Middle
      Eastern Studies, University of San Francisco

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