Human Rights Watch mourns the loss of our dear colleague Ian Gorvin, who died on November 15, 2010. Ian had battled colon cancer - with great courage and dignity - since January.
Ian first came to work for Human Rights Watch in 2002 and joined the staff full-time in 2004. He was the guardian of Human Rights Watch's written standards. A meticulous editor, with extraordinary attention to detail, he made countless reports better and more compelling than they might have been. An experienced human rights activist, Ian brought substantive judgment as well as linguistic savvy to his editing and never lost sight of our mission: to tell the stories of the victims of human rights violations in an effort to bring them justice and end the abuses.
Ian was an expert on human rights issues in Europe, having led Amnesty International's work on Europe and Central Asia. He also worked in several countries of the region for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
Ian was deeply committed to helping make Human Rights Watch staff better writers and editors and his training sessions were always well-received. As an editor, he went to great efforts to keep the voice of the writer. "It's not my report," he would say, "it's the researcher's."
With great professionalism, Ian oversaw the production of Human Rights Watch's signature publication, the World Report, juggling more than 90 country chapters and editorial input from across the organization.
In his quiet, unassuming way, he was a voice of calm, sensible advice and his dry, understated sense of humor was widely appreciated.
His death, at the age of 48, is a great loss to Human Rights Watch and to the human rights movement. But even more so to his partner, Roberto, who cared for Ian with great love and devotion to the very end of his life, and to his parents, family and many friends. All of us at Human Rights Watch extend our deepest condolences to those who loved Ian. We will miss him.
