Santa Barbara

Join us on Sunday November 9th at 5:30pm at Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort, Santa Barbara for a silent auction, dinner and the presentation of the Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism to Shin Dong-Hyuk from North Korea and Dr. M.R. Rajagopal from India, in recognition of their unwavering and fealess commitment to human rights

After several months of research, an article by Santa Barbara Committee Co-Chair Susan Rose on the backlog of untested rape kits has been published. It appeared in the online version of The Santa Barbara Independent on Thursday, July 11. The article, titled "To Catch a Rapist," provides an update on the backlog of untested rape kits in Los Angeles and innovative procedures developed in Santa Barbara to test all kits.

On Sunday, November 11, 2012, 350 supporters gathered for the Voices for Justice Dinner at the Doubletree Resort in Santa Barbara to celebrate the courageous work of the 2012 HRW Defender from the Congo, Abbé Benoît Kinalegu. There were also powerful remarks by HRW Executive Director Ken Roth and HRW Children's Rights Senior Advocate Elizabeth Calvin, as well as a moving performance by Santa Barbara High School Madrigal Chorus. This year's dinner in Santa Barbara raised over $400,000 to support the work of Human Rights Watch. 

The 7th Annual Santa Barbara Human Rights Film Festival was held from Monday, April 9th to Wednesday, May 9th at the Pollock Theater on the UCSB campus. This year's festival featured an incredible selection of films, including "The Siege", "Granito", and "The Price of Sex." The Film Festival was Presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures, the Carsey-Wolf Center, Human Rights Watch Santa Barbara Committee, and The Fund for Santa Barbara.

In March, 70 people attended "Holding Human Rights Abusers to Account," a discussion with Richard Dicker, Director of HRW's International Justice Program, at Antioch University. Richard discussed accomplishments in Cote D’Ivoire and Kenya, the challenges currently facing accountability in the Middle East, and the International Criminal Court. The dicussion was moderated by Richard Appelbaum, Santa Barbara Committee Member and MacArthur Chair in Sociology and Global & International Studies at UCSB. 

Approximately 300 youth offenders have been sentenced to die in California’s prisons for crimes committed when they were teenagers, HRW said in a report released on March 1. The U.S. is the only country in the world where people who were under age 18 at the time of their crime serve sentences of life without parole. Nationally, more than 2,500 youth offenders are serving these sentences. The new report draws on six years of research, interviews, and correspondence with correctional officials and youth offenders serving life without parole. 

On November 13, 2011, 350 attended the Voices for Justice Dinner at the Doubletree Resort in Santa Barbara. Human Rights Watch presented its highest honor to Sister Consuelo Morales from Mexico and Sussan Tahmasebi from Iran. The Dinner raised $400,000, and these funds will enable Human Rights Watch to deepen our research and expand our advocacy in the 90 countries we cover.

Peter Bouckaert visited the University of California, Santa Barbara in late April to receive UCSB's Distinguished Alumni Award. Peter also served as a guest lecturer the following day for a two-hour "Master Class" with students in the Master of Arts in Global & International Studies (MAGIS) program.