Miami

WHAT: Welcome Reception and Henkin Human Rights Lecture with Ken Roth

WHEN: 6:00 - 8:00pm, Sunday, November 16, 2025  

WHERE: University of Miami School of Law, 1311 Miller Drive, Coral Gables, FL

The Human Rights in the Americas Symposium will open with a welcome reception, at the School of Law, and feature remarks by Ken Roth, former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, delivering the Henkin Human Rights Lecture and discussing his new book, Righting Wrongs. This talk will be followed by a discussion between Roth and Pedro José Vaca Villarreal, the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Register HERE.  

WHAT: Reception followed by a Conversation and Q&A 

WHEN: 4:30 - 6:00pm, Saturday, November 15, 2025  

WHERE: Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables, FL

Join us for a conversation with Kenneth Roth, former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch and one of the most influential voices in the global fight for human rights. 

Roth’s new memoir, Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments, draws from investigations in over 100 countries and reveals what it takes to confront tyranny, defend democracy, and protect human dignity.  

Joined by Aaron Rosen, an international affairs specialist and President & Founder of the World Affairs Council of Miami, Roth will share personal stories from the front lines and explore the urgent challenges that define our time. 

This event is open to the public and books will be available for purchase. Register HERE to save your seat.

WHAT: Panel discussion and Q&A followed by a reception 

WHEN: 5:00 - 7:30pm, Sunday, January 26, 2025 

WHERE: Miami Beach Botanical Garden 

Join us for a panel discussion where we will explore the challenges and opportunities in ensuring equitable access to health care across diverse communities regardless of gender or age. Together, we aim to advance the dialogue on health as a fundamental human right for all. The event will include a tour of the garden and welcome drink starting at 5:00pm and will continue with the panel discussion at 6pm, followed by a Q&A and reception. 

Panelists: Tamar Ezer, University of Miami School of Law Faculty; Director of the Human Rights Program; Associate Director of the Human Rights Clinic; Yasemin Smallens, Officer, LGBT Rights, Human Rights Watch; Margaret Wurth, Senior Researcher, Children's Rights, Human Rights Watch. Moderated by: Tara Auclair, Founder The Clearwater Project.

Click HERE to register for this event.

WHAT: Welcome to Chechnya film screening, conversation and reception with HRW's Europe and Central Asia Associate Director, Tanya Lokshina. 

WHEN: Wednesday, November 13, 2024 

WHERE: Gateway Theater in Ft Lauderdale

Join us for a free screening of the award-winning documentary Welcome to Chechnya and a conversation with Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia Associate Director Tanya Lokshina, followed by a reception. As one of the activists featured in the film, Lokshina will speak about HRW’s role and efforts to help LGBTQ survivors escape from Chechnya and find refuge in safe countries. She will also discuss the ongoing human rights abuses against the LGBTQ community in Russia, as well as HRW’s most recent findings on the Russian-led invasion of Ukraine. Click HERE to register for this event. 
 

WHAT: Books & Books Panel Discussion with Nadege Green and Amanda Klasing on the State of U.S. Democracy 

WHEN: Wednesday, November 2, 2022 

On November 2, 2022, HRW Miami partnered with Books & Books to host a discussion on what’s at stake for human rights in the 2022 midterm election with Nadege Green, Director of Community Research and Storytelling for the Community Justice Project, and Amanda Klasing, HRW Director of the Incubator Phase of the United States Democracy Initiative. The conversation focused on the most pressing threats to democratic institutions, as well as local and national strategies to protect human rights and advance racial justice in the U.S. 

WHAT: Private Reception and Briefing on the State of Rights in Latin America with Human Rights Watch Acting Americas Director, Tamara Taraciuk Broner

WHEN: Wednesday, March 30, 2022

On March 30, 2022, HRW Miami hosted two events with Acting Americas Director Tamara Taraciuk Broner on the future of democracy in Latin America. Latin America is experiencing an alarming reversal of basic freedoms and threats to independent civil society, the free press, and judicial independence. Tamara discussed the latest developments impacting democracy in the region, including trends that impact the future rule of law in countries ranging from the extreme examples of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, to cases such as Mexico, El Salvador, and Brazil, where democratically elected leaders have abandoned democratic guarantees when exercising power. She also addressed Russian influence in Latin America and the region’s response to the war in Ukraine.

WHAT: Reception and Briefing on the State of LGBT Rights in Florida and around the world with HRW Senior Researcher Kyle Knight

WHEN: Monday, March 14, 2022

WHERE: Soho Beach House, Miami

On the evening of March 14th, HRW Miami Committee members Norman Aynbinder and Elan Nissenboim hosted a briefing with HRW Senior Health and LGBT Rights Researcher Kyle Knight on the state of LGBT rights around the world. The event coincided with the passing of legislation in the state of Florida that restricts discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, highlighting the ongoing battle for equal rights and treatment for the LGBT community in the US and around the globe.

WHAT: A Committee briefing with Executive Director Ken Roth on the state of human rights around the world

WHEN: Friday, December 10, 2021

On International Human Rights Day 2021, HRW Miami Committee member and Board Emerita Shelley Frost Rubin hosted a luncheon for fellow Miami Committee members, featuring a briefing with HRWs Executive Director Ken Roth on the state of rights across the globe. At the event, Ken recapped the greatest global human rights achievements and challenges of 2021, and outlined Human Rights Watch’s priorities for 2022.

WHAT: A conversation and Q&A with HRW’s Global Women’s Rights Experts

WHEN: Wednesday, October 6, 2021

WHERE: Virtual panel / discussion

On October 6, 2021, HRW Miami hosted a Committee briefing on the state of women’s rights across the globe, featuring expert panelists including Macarena Sáez, HRW Women’s Rights Division Executive Director; Heather Barr, Afghanistan researcher and HRW Women’s Rights Division Associate Director; Amanda Klasing, HRW Women’s Rights Division Associate Director; and Ximena Casas, HRW Women’s Rights Division Researcher.

Committee members were given the latest updates and able to ask questions about the state of women’s rights in Afghanistan following the US withdrawal and Taliban takeover, the decriminalization of abortion in Mexico, and threats to reproductive rights in US states including Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.

WHAT: A conversation and Q&A with Leading Transgender Activists and Allies About Injustices Trans People Face and What’s Being Done

WHEN: Thursday, June 24, 2021

WHERE: Virtual panel / discussion

The fourth installment of HRW Miami’s Salon Series was hosted by Committee Chair Joy Stampler Fishman on June 24th, 2021, and featured a panel discussion with Dee Farmer, legend in the national transgender rights movement and first transgender plaintiff to bring a case before the United States Supreme Court; Arianna Inurritegui-Lint, transgender activist and founder of South Florida’s Arianna Center; Scott Greenberg, Executive Director and founder of the LGBTQ Freedom Fund; and Ryan Thoreson, HRW LGBT Rights researcher.

Participants were able to hear stories of the tireless work that our panelists and other activists have put into bringing transgender rights to the forefront of the LGBTQ+ rights movement, ask questions about their experiences, and learn about ways to be effective allies in this space.