Chicago

Carlos Hernandez Vazquez, a 16-year-old Guatemalan teenager, died in a Border Patrol shelter in Texas last week, making him the third child to die in Customs and Border Protection custody in six months. There were 56 deaths in ICE custody during the Obama administration. And next month will mark one year since President Trump issues an executive order to end his administration's policy of separating families at the border — though a similar scheme may soon be initiated, wherein immigrant parents will choose either to be separated from their children or to waive their children’s rights so they can be sent to jail together. These are the issues to which Clara Long, a senior researcher with the US Program at Human Rights Watch, dedicates her work. Long focuses on U.S. immigration and border policy and wrote in February about ICE force-feeding detainees who were on a hunger strike in Texas. She joins Worldview to provide an update on the human rights abuses that immigrants to America continue to endure at the border and beyond.

Listen to the interview here.

Phil Robertson, Deputy Director, Asia Divison, sat down with Steve Bynum on Chicago's WBEZ radio station to give an update on Human Rights in East Asia. Their talk covered issues and current cases of dentention, asylum, and capital punishment. Tune in here to take a listen!

(New York) – Thirty landmarks across the globe will shine bright blue on December 10, 2018, to celebrate Human Rights Day and the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Human Rights Watch said today. From New York to Beirut and Santiago to Sydney, the global lighting will highlight the fundamental principles of human dignity that the Universal Declaration affirms and that Human Rights Watch works to defend each day.

“This is a challenging moment for human rights, but while the autocrats and rights abusers are capturing the headlines, they are spawning powerful resistance,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “We are proud to be playing a leading role in this reinvigorated defense of rights and the principles of truth, dignity, and justice that underpin them.”

Each year on December 10, countries across the globe celebrate the adoption in 1948 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The milestone document proclaims inalienable rights to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion, expression and religion, the right to work and education, and many more protections to which everyone is entitled, without discrimination.

Since 2013, the world-famous Empire State Building – home to the Human Rights Watch global headquarters – has been illuminated in the organization’s signature blue to commemorate Human Rights Day. This year, the following landmarks will shine blue:

Flinders Street Station, Melbourne (Australia)
State Library of NSW, Sydney (Australia)
International Towers at Barangaroo, Sydney (Australia)
Brussels City Hall and Grand Place, Brussels (Belgium)
Montréal Tower, Montréal (Canada)
CN Tower, Toronto (Canada)
3D Toronto Sign, Toronto (Canada)
BC Place Stadium, Vancouver (Canada)
Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver (Canada)
Gran Torre Santiago, Santiago (Chile)
Danish Foreign Ministry, Copenhagen (Denmark)
Paulskirche, Frankfurt (Germany)
Tollwood Festival, Munich (Germany)
Beirut National Museum, Beirut (Lebanon)
Peace Palace, The Hague (Netherlands)
Qatar Foundation, Doha (Qatar)
Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel, Doha (Qatar)
Museum of Islamic Art, Doha (Qatar)  
Ministry of Interior, Doha (Qatar)
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Doha (Qatar)
Jet d’Eau, Geneva (Switzerland)
John Hancock Center, Chicago (US)
The Freedom Tower at Miami Dade College, Miami (US)
Empire State Building, New York (US)
San Francisco City Hall, San Francisco, CA (US)
The Capital Wheel, Washington DC (US)
The Coca-Cola London Eye, London (UK)
Somerset House, London (UK)

“Illuminating these iconic landmarks is a powerful symbol that the values of freedom and dignity that inform the human rights cause continue to burn bright,” Roth said. “It is a call to action and a reminder that despite these dark times, defenders of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law are winning key battles that are well worth fighting for.”

October 24, 2018 | Human Rights Watch Annual Dinner Chicago

Our 2018 Voices for Justice Annual Dinner was our most successful yet, with gratitude to the leadership of Dinner Co-Chairs Sheridan Prior and Shalini Sharma, Committee Co-Chair Terri Abruzzo, and Dinner Committee members Snjeza Barrack, Monica Hughson, Sheila Roche, Ragini Shekhawat, Cindy Soper, Dia Weil, and Rachel Zakaria. We are also deeply thankful to the strong support of the Chicago Committee, sponsors, and guests who joined for the event, or supported us from afar.

This year, we heard from Deputy Executive Director for Program Iain Levine, Director of Disability Rights Division Shantha Rau Barriga, Researchers Mike Bochenek (Senior Counsel, Children’s Rights Division) and Megan McLemore (Senior Researcher, Health and Human Rights). We were especially moved to hear from Imran Mohammad, former Manus Island detainee and friend of the Chicago Committee, as he shared his deeply compelling story. We thank you again for your invaluable support as we continue to work towards justice and defend the rights of people worldwide.