Miami

The Miami Committee is part of the global Human Rights Watch Council - a network of 1,000 informed and engaged opinion leaders in 33 cities around the globe.

As the Miami Committee of Human Rights Watch, we play a central role in raising awareness in Miami of local and global human rights issues, generating financial support for the organization's mission, and mobilizing the public to defend basic freedoms for all. Together, we play a key role in defending human rights by ensuring that human rights issues remain high on the public agenda in our city. 

News

  • November 28, 2017

    Thursday May 5, 2016 from 6:00-8:30pm
    National YoungArts Foundation

    Event begins with a cocktail reception at the first floor gallery, followed by the official program at 7:00pm upstairs at Ted’s.

    Human Rights Watch invites you to a cocktail reception and special program on crisis reporting and the impact of digital storytelling with Marcus Bleasdale, Peter Bouckaert, and Shazna Nessa. The event is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

    In 2013, Peter Bouckaert, Emergencies Director, Human Rights Watch, and Marcus Bleasdale, one of the world’s leading photojournalists, began a journey to draw global attention to the humanitarian crisis in the Central African Republic, a country that few people in the world even knew existed. Their images and investigations have become the most important source of information on a crisis that continues today.

    Guests will see original documentary footage and hear how Peter and Marcus used every tool available to put the story on the map and the methods they used to capture photographs, videos and satellite imagery. Peter and Marcus discuss the essentials of international crisis reporting and reveal how powerful imagery and storytelling, combined with new and social media, allowed them to successfully advocate for an international response to the violence. Guests will also hear insights from Shazna Nessa, Director of Journalism, Knight Foundation, on trends and tools in digital storytelling and journalism and learn about the various ways that Knight Foundation is advancing excellence in journalism. Welcome remarks will be delivered by Matt Haggman, Miami Program Director, Knight Foundation. Moderating the conversation will be Andrea Holley, Strategic Director, Human Rights Watch Film Festival. 

  • November 28, 2017

    Florida’s Prosecution of Children as Adults under its “Direct File” Statute

    April 10, 2014 

    The 110-page report, “Branded for Life: Florida’s Prosecution of Children as Adults under its 'Direct File' Statute,” details the harm that results from the state’s practice of giving prosecutors full discretion to decide which children to prosecute in adult courts. More than 98 percent of the 1,500 cases of children charged as adults between 2012 and 2013 were brought by prosecutors under the direct file statute. The law offers no opportunity for a judge to review or reverse the prosecutor’s decision, no matter how unsuitable the case is for criminal court.

    What Florida should do: Prosecutors in Florida are using unfettered power to send children to adult court unfairly and arbitrarily. The state should give that power to independent juvenile court judges.

    Read the report

     

Contacts