Jo Becker
Jo Becker is the advocacy director of the children’s rights division at Human Rights Watch. As the founding chairperson of the international Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, she helped campaign successfully for an international treaty banning the forced recruitment of children under age 18 or their use in armed conflict. Her advocacy also helped lead to a groundbreaking 2011 treaty ensuring labor rights for domestic workers, which number 50-100 million worldwide. She has conducted field investigations on children’s rights in Burma, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Uganda, and the United States. Based on her expertise on the issue of child soldiers, she has addressed the United Nations Security Council, testified before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, conducted trainings for US and African military officers, and testified as an expert in a Dutch war crimes trial. She has written several Human Rights Watch reports and her op-eds have appeared in the Washington Post, International Herald Tribune, The Guardian, and other major papers. She is also the author of two books, Campaigning for Justice: Human Rights Advocacy in Practice and Campaigning for Children: Strategies for Advancing Children’s Rights. She also teaches human rights advocacy at Columbia University.
Articles Authored
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January 9, 2019
Tiffany and Co. Announces New Diamond Transparency
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December 20, 2018
Ten Good News Stories for Kids in 2018
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November 2, 2018
Jewelers CAN Trace Their Gold
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September 27, 2018
Investors Call on Jewelry Industry for Stronger Human Rights Practices
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September 21, 2018
Report Traces Goods Made with Child Labor to 76 Countries
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June 29, 2018
A Better US List of Countries Using Child Soldiers
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March 22, 2018
Swiss Jeweler Commitment to “Ethical Sourcing” a Mixed Bag
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February 27, 2018
When Students Stand Up
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February 8, 2018
Top Jewellers Don’t Know Enough About The Gems They Sell
Reports Authored
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Trinidad and Tobago: Bring Home Nationals from Northeast Syria
Unlawfully Detained Trinidadians at Risk, Including 56 Children
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“My Son is Just Another Kid”
Experiences of Children Repatriated from Camps for ISIS Suspects and Their Families in Northeast Syria
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US: Failure to Pass Build Back Better Act Imperils Rights
Can Advance Economic Justice, Fix Broken Safety Net, But More Needed
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“They Didn’t Know if I Was Alive or Dead”
Military Detention of Children for Suspected Boko Haram Involvement in Northeast Nigeria
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The Hidden Cost of Jewelry
Human Rights in Supply Chains and the Responsibility of Jewelry Companies
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