Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is fighting for human rights worldwide. The organization exerts its influence by promoting transparency and accountability. Its ultimate goal is to ensure that companies adopt sound human rights practices and that governments are accountable to their citizens so that they invest natural resource revenues in their societies instead of squandering or stealing their countries’ wealth.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is a non governmental organization committed to monitoring and defending human rights. By demanding worldwide attention to human rights abuses the organization gives the oppressed a voice. HRW advocates transparency and makes corrupt leaders accountable. In-depth research and sophisticated advocacy puts pressure on abusive leaders, which eventually can lead to change. The organization is active in more than eighty countries to make justice possible and to seek greater protection for their inhabitants.
In 1998 HRW established the Business and Human Rights Program. It seeks to change the practices of corporations, reform institutions and hold governments accountable when their business practices or economic policies adversely affect human rights. It also develops effective standards for business and human rights to prevent future abuses. Special attention is being paid to extractive industries.
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Activities
HRW has hitherto published 20 reports on extractive industries and other commodity industries. Based on in-depth research the organization exposed how the government of Angola mismanaged some 4.2 billion US dollars in revenue between 1997 and 2002. This is an amount roughly equal to all of the social and humanitarian spending in the country during the same period. As a result of HRW’s advocacy, donors refused new aid to Angola until the government accounted for its oil revenue, encouraging Angolan officials to direct oil revenues to health care, education and other basic services for the people.
HRW also reported on the corrupt and abusive gold mining industry in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Subsequent to HRW’s advocacy on this issue, gold refiners and traders stopped making payments to armed gold-vending groups.
HRW continues to focus on countries with substantial problems in the extractive industries, including Angola, Burma, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Sao Tomé and Principe and Sudan. Staff experts at HRW undertake fact-finding missions to each country and investigate government and corporate abuses. HRW reports on its findings and conducts international advocacy to press for change. It presses companies in the extractive industries adopt standards to safeguard human rights, and it pushes governments to have effective rules to ensure that companies act responsibly.
Support
Adessium Foundation supports the Business and Human Rights program of HRW from 2009 until 2011.
Results
The overall objective of this program is to ensure that companies in the extractive industries act responsibly and that governments invest natural resource revenues in public programs to support the people. Given the level of poverty and low living standards in the above mentioned countries, this is a critical step towards more stability and social justice.