Human Rights Watch continues to face charges from activists, including Nobel Laureates, who say the group is too close to Washington to criticize U.S. foreign policy.
Is Human Rights Watch Too Close to the U.S. Government?
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Goldstone report
Susan Rice Would Have Been a Bad Secretary of State Anyway
Susan Rice’s announcement that she would withdraw her name from consideration to be the next secretary of state is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it marks yet another example of the Obama administration’s failure to defend its appointees from concerted and misleading Republican attacks. On the other, Rice’s willingness to state demonstrable falsehoods to defend actions by the United States and its allies that violate international norms would have made her a poor choice for secretary of state.
Pressing the Case for Reconciliation in Sri Lanka
In March 2012, the United States led a resolution calling on the government of Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), which examined the breakdown of the truce between the country’s warring factions, and “to take all necessary additional steps” to “ensure justice, equity, accountability and reconciliation for all Sri Lankans.” But is the U.S. more interested in military cooperation than human rights?
The Pentagon Is Ripe for Reduction
Here we are on brink of a major historical moment. We’re beginning to wind down the longest period of war in our history. And we’re about to turn around a 13-year-long surge in Pentagon spending. It’s not just longtime advocates for such changes like me who think so.
Why Did Richard Goldstone Throw the Goldstone Report Under the Bus?
By half-heartedly retracting his report, Richard Goldstone not only won no friends in Israel, but sabotaged his human-rights reputation.
Israel Represses Israelis and Congress Approves
It’s been two years since Israel initiated the “Operation Cast Lead” military assault on the besieged Gaza Strip. Since then, the right-wing Israeli government of Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has launched an unprecedented wave of intimidation against Israeli peace and human rights groups. These groups say they are “working in an increasingly hostile environment,” according to a New York Times report, and that Israeli government leaders are fostering “an atmosphere of harassment” by turning “human rights criticism into an existential threat.”