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Ha'aretz Daily, April 18, 2001 Universal Standard By Clarisa Bencomo Researcher, Middle East and North Africa Division Human Rights Watch Regarding "A report to watch carefully" by Tom Segev, Ha'aretz, April 13, 2001: Human Rights Watch has conducted research on human rights violations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since 1989, and in that time we have grown accustomed to criticism from both Israelis and Palestinians who disliked our findings. Tom Segev knows our work. Yet his critique of our comprehensive report on Hebron (http://www.hrw.org/press/2001/04/hebron041101.htm) misrepresents our organization and methodology ("A report to watch carefully" April 13). The Human Rights Watch works closely with all the major human rights organizations in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. It is standard practice for human rights activists - like journalists - to use pseudonyms or abbreviated names when reporting publicly information that might put individuals at risk. Just as it is standard practice for human rights organizations - like courts and commissions of inquiry - to reach conclusions based on a combination of eyewitness accounts, site visits, and forensic information. This scrupulous attention to detail may be why Ha'aretz gave such prominent front-page coverage to Human Rights Watch's report. Segev, however, is right on one point: Human rights are frequently politicized. That unfortunately occurs when governments, and others, seek to make excuses so that universal standards don't apply to them. |
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