London

As the world prepares to celebrate Human Rights Day — and the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — this Monday 10 December, we are happy to share some fun ways to celebrate.

We are excited to announce that 30 landmarks across the globe will shine blue in honor of Human Rights Day. The London Eye and Somerset House will go #Blue4HumanRights. We invite you to visit our HRW.org/HumanRightsDay webpage, which has been translated into French, Spanish, Arabic, German, and Japanese.

In addition, here are ways you can help Human Rights Watch commemorate the day. Please share widely.

Actions for today:

• Wear blue on Monday and post selfies and group photos with staff, friends, and networks on social media, or in front of a building that is going blue. Tag your photo #Blue4HumanRights.  Meet us at 7pm at Radio Rooftop Bar to join in!
• Share our Human Rights Day landing page HRW.org/blue that provides ways for the general public to engage with us on Human Rights Day.  
• Update your profile photo on Facebook for Human Rights Day. The frame is available in 8 languages.
• Use the Human Rights Day social media toolkit to easily post your own messages all day.
• Take a recording of yourself reading your favorite article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. You can post the recordings on your own social media feeds, and tag HRW (@humanrightswatch on Facebook and Instagram, @hrw on Twitter) and the following hashtags: #HumanRightsDay #StandUp4HumanRights

A flag (picture) to represent human rights has been designed by Ai Wei Wei and the unveiling of the flag today will kickstart a year of celebration around human rights in the UK. In June 2019 schools, organisations and individuals from across the country will be invited to ‘fly the flag’ to show their support for human rights. Human Rights Watch is a founding member of a coalition of organisations, including theatres and other human rights organisations, leading this effort.  David Mepham played a key role in shaping this campaign and Steph Hancock and Ben Ward are continuing his legacy by representing Human Rights Watch within the coalition.  More details to follow!

Thank you and Happy Human Rights Day from all at Human Rights Watch!

With profound sadness we share the news that David Mepham OBE, UK director at Human Rights Watch, has died of cancer at the age of 50, after two years of illness. His wife, Charlotte, was at his side. It is a testament to David’s courage and dedication that he insisted on continuing to work as much as he was physically able between difficult treatments and his gradually diminishing health.

“David was a superb advocate, combining a piercing intellect, an extraordinary eloquence, and a deep personal commitment to the human rights cause,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “Our hearts go out to David’s family – Charlotte and their two children, Hannah and Ben. We stand with them at this difficult time.”

David, who came to Human Rights Watch after years working on foreign policy and development issues, did not see human rights as a magic bullet. But he believed they were critical to achieving his aim to make the world a fairer and kinder place. He worked with relentless drive, honesty, and pragmatism to advance the cause of rights for all.

The film was followed by an entertaining panel Q&A and hosted at Norton Rose Fulbright on Thursday 24 May 2018.

12 Days, by renowned filmmaker and photographer Raymond Depardon, explores the legal mental health system in France.

Every year in France, 92,000 people are placed under psychiatric care without their consent. By law, the hospital has 12 days to bring each patient before a judge. Based on medical records and a doctor’s recommendations, a crucial decision has to be made – will the patient stay or leave? 12 days after which lives can change forever. Granted access to these hearings for the first time, celebrated filmmaker/photographer Raymond Depardon captures these extraordinary encounters between justice and psychiatry. Astonishing, enlightening – a film that gives a voice to those who have previously been voiceless.

We were joined by our Senior Legal Advisor, Clive Baldwin, as well as two external mental health experts, Dr. Jed Boardman, Psychiatrist and Senior Lecturer and Aswini Weereratne QC, Barrister, Expert in human rights, mental health and capacity law. The film was screened during our 2018 Human Rights Watch London Film Festival and was being shown in support of the Mental Health Awareness week (14-20 May 2018). 

ON THE MOVE: CAN HUMAN RIGHTS ADDRESS THE GLOBAL REFUGEE AND DISPLACEMENT CRISIS?

The London Board Reception gathered our closest Committee and Board members to discuss about the global refugee and displacement crisis at the Ham Yard Hotel on Monday 12th of February.

The mass movement of people in the world today is one of the biggest human rights crises of our time. The scale of this global refugee crisis is unprecedented, but too often, the world’s response has been shamefully inadequate.

Human Rights Watch is playing a critical and unique role in responding to the global refugee crisis. We are working to expose and overturn the human rights abuses that force people to flee. We are pressuring and persuading host countries to fulfil their legal and moral obligations to treat the desperate and vulnerable arrivals with dignity, to assess their refugee claims fairly, and not to return them to countries where they would suffer further abuse or persecution.

We weere pleased to be joined that evening by Executive Director Kenneth Roth, Women's Rights Researcher Skye Wheeler, Western Europe Researcher Eva Cossé and Emergencies Researcher Jonathan Pedneault for a captivating panel that lead to a Q&A.