The 2000 Human Rights Watch Annual Dinners, in New York and Los Angeles, will honor five human rights defenders from around the world. Through their personal triumphs and perseverance these individuals have advanced justice in China, India, Jordan, Russia, and Sierra Leone. Daily, they risk their safety, and often their lives, to defend their fellow citizens from tyrannical governments and abusive armed forces.

Human Rights Watch works with these brave individuals on the ground as part of our defense of human rights in more than 70 countries around the world. Through sheer persistence in collecting information, strategic advocacy at local and international levels, and aggressive follow-up, Human Rights Watch has led the way in building support for human rights principles worldwide.

The Human Rights Watch dinners are fundraisers for the organization. Tickets begin at $500 per person. For more information about the dinner in New York on November 14, please call (212)290-4700 ext. 314. For information about the dinner in Los Angeles on November 16, please call (310) 477-5540.

Human Rights Watch Defenders
Khassan Baiev (Russia/Chechnya): A doctor and surgeon, Khassan organized a hospital in his village in Chechnya when war returned in late 1999. He treated both Chechens and Russians, civilians and soldiers, at one point performing more than 60 amputations in 48 hours. In January, a Chechen warlord threatened to execute him for treating Russian soldiers. Days later, his home was looted and burned by Russian forces. In February, many of his patients were executed by Russian forces, and Khassan had to flee when Russian forces labeled him a terrorist doctor for treating Chechen commander Shamil Basayev. Khassan kept a careful diary of abuses in the war, and provided detailed information on war crimes in Chechnya to Human Rights Watch. More..

Rebiya Kadeer (China): Rebiya Kadeer, honored in absentia, from the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in China's northwest, gained prominence for her successful business ventures that provided employment and training to her fellow Uighurs (an ethnic Turkic group). In August 1999, she was arrested by the Chinese authorities on charges of leaking state secrets and providing information about dissidents to Westerners. She received an 8-year prison term that is now under appeal. Rebiya's son and secretary are also in detention as a result of their connection to her. Her husband, Sidik Rouzi, imprisoned earlier for campaigning against China's treatment of Uighurs, comments on Uighur issues for Radio Free Asia. He will attend the Dinners on Rebiya's behalf.  More..

Martin Chhotubhal Macwan (India): Martin is the Convenor of the National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights and the head of Navsarjan Trust, an organization in India's western state of Gujarat. Navsarjan works with Dalits, or untouchables in over 2,000 villages, providing services ranging from drinking water to legal advice and job training. Under Martin's leadership, the National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights has enlisted grassroots organizations in 14 Indian states and 11 countries to advocate on behalf of the 160 million Dalits who continue to suffer under India's hidden apartheid, living in segregated colonies, performing caste-based occupations, and suffering abuses or even death at the hands of the police and higher-caste groups protected by the state. More..

National Jordanian Campaign Committee to Eliminate Crimes of Honor (Jordan): Consisting of 11 Jordanian men and women, the Committee has launched a campaign to abolish Article 340 of the Jordanian Penal Code, which gives lenient sentences (usually a few months or a few years) to those who kill in the name of honor. Between 25 to 30 women are killed in Jordan this way each year, for marrying someone their family does not approve of, for being raped, or for suspected adultery. The Committee has been gathering national and international support for the campaign, working to break down the silence that has traditionally surrounded violence against women in Jordan. Maha Abu Ayyash and Rana Husseini will be representing the National Jordanian Campaign to Eliminate Crimes of Honor. More..

Abdul Tejan-Cole (Sierra Leone): Abdul is a prominent human rights lawyer in Sierra Leone, representing a range of clients whose human rights and civil liberties have been violated. He is the coordinator of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights in Sierra Leone, an organization that educates and advocates to promote fundamental human rights. The work of Abdul and his colleagues during the recent war was brave, dangerous, and instrumental in bringing to the world's attention the gross human rights violations and atrocities committed by rebel forces under the command of Foday Sankoh.  More..

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