Photo Exhibition
ON THE FRONTLINES
In The Field with Human Rights Watch

For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has been on the frontlines of the struggle to defend the human rights of people around the world. We conduct on-site investigations of human rights abuses in some 80 countries worldwide and publish our findings in reports that are known for uncompromising accuracy.

We use these reports in high-level policy discussions and in the media to shape the public agenda, shame abusers, and press for change.

Human Rights Watch relies on the power of the media to project our findings to the widest possible audience. Now, we are making a concerted effort to join forces with some of the most respected and experienced photojournalists in the world to broaden the reach and impact of our information.

We partnered with Susan Meiselas to expose the heartbreaking stories of domestic migrant workers in Asia. Tim Hetherington and Kadir van Lohuizen joined Human Rights Watch investigators to help document the spillover of violence from the conflict in Darfur, Sudan, across the border into Chad. Kadir also documented the plight of migrant workers inside China in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics. Marcus Bleasdale continued to collaborate with Human Rights Watch in Congo, exposing the link between natural resource exploitation and widespread human rights abuse. He also worked with Human Rights Watch in the Caucasus in August 2008 covering the Georgia-Russia conflict. Robert Nickelsberg joined Human Rights Watch on assignment in Jammu and Kashmir to reveal the plight of civilians trapped between abusive Indian government forces and armed militant groups backed by the Pakistani government. Abbas documented the abusive conditions faced by construction workers building glittering skyscrapers in the United Arab Emirates.

The visual work of these photojournalists helped to reveal the human faces behind our reporting, and joined our research and advocacy on the web and in hard copy, in public outreach events, and in journalistic publications and broadcast media worldwide. Together, we will continue to work on the frontlines of the human rights struggle so that no government can say “it never happened” or “we didn’t know.”

On display March 2 to March 27, 2009 at the Frontline Club
13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1QJ www.frontlineclub.com

Frontline Club
Frontline is a media club that uniquely combines eating, drinking and thinking. A three-minute walk from Paddington Station, spread over three stripped wooden floors, it has a private clubroom for members, and a restaurant and forum space open to the public.

During the day, light streams through huge windows onto the exposed brickwork and photographic exhibitions in the loft-style restaurant and members’ room. At night the emphasis shifts to enlightenment through the Forum, with its screenings and discussions on media issues.

The Frontline Club is committed to social entrepreneurship—profits from the restaurant and efforts from Club members help the work of the Frontline Charitable Trust and its events programme.