Human Rights Watch's German web site contains background information on countries from Colombia to China, and subjects from arms to women's rights. Major thematic issues covered include topics such as international justice, children's rights, prisoners, refugees, and HIV/AIDS. In addition to the breaking news releases on topics such as mass graves in Iraq, or suicide bombings in the middle east, Human Right Watch’s in-depth research reports are also available online.

“Our web site reflects our philosophy, vision and the impact of our work. It is therefore one of the most important resources we can make accessible to the public,” said Roth.

Founded in 1978, Human Rights Watch is an independent, non-governmental organization, that monitors and documents human rights abuses worldwide. Human Rights Watch researchers conduct on-site investigations and, by publishing findings widely, expose the perpetrators of human rights violations. The publicity generated from this work not only embarrasses abusive governments and educates the international community but also leads to changes in the policy and practice of human rights. Human Rights Watch closely monitors and provides policy recommendations to the United Nations, the World Bank, the European Union and many other international organizations.

With offices in Brussels, London, Moscow, Geneva, New York and Washington, Human Rights Watch is supported wholly by contributions from private individuals and foundations. We accept no government funds, directly or indirectly. Human Rights Watch's major achievements in recent years include:

• Adoption of a treaty banning the use of child soldiers. Currently, as many as 300,000 children are serving in armies and rebel forces around the world. The treaty raises the minimum age for participation in armed conflict to eighteen.
• Leadership of the International Campaign to Ban Land mines, which won the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize. The mine-ban treaty was approved more quickly than any big multilateral treaty in history.



• Six of the seven counts on which the tribunal finally indicted Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in 1999 were cases that Human Rights Watch had documented in Kosovo.
• Providing extensive evidence of human rights abuses to the war crimes tribunal for Rwanda, where the genocide in 1994 killed more than half a million people. Human Rights Watch’s expert testimony and legal analysis have helped convict several genocidaires.
• Playing a leading advocacy role seeking justice against former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. The "Pinochet precedent" has established that dictators who block their prosecution at home can be tried anywhere in the world.
• Leading the global campaign to establish the International Criminal Court, to prosecute those accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

In addition to the original English version of the web site, Human Rights Watch also publishes in French, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and Russian.

Features of the new German site include:
The ability to sign up for daily or weekly email updates on the most recent human rights developments; photo galleries and links to all English language publications.