The Year in Rights: Syria, the NSA, and More

At the launch press conference in Berlin, Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth spoke on the year's biggest news stories, from the war in Syria to the sweeping surveillance of the US National Security Agency (NSA). He also spoke on two new treaties that will help protect domestic workers and artisanal miners who have traditionally worked with mercury. The report is free for the public -- anyone can view it online or download it. Around the world, media outlets covered the report launch. Many focused on an  essay about privacy in the age of mass surveillance, which detailed how government collection of data endangers our security, dignity, and our privacy. Foreign correspondents tweeted World Report countries chapters relating to where they worked or where they were from.  The most popular World Report article on the website was an essay by Ken Roth that summarized 2013's trends, such as dealing with mass atrocities, like in Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It also discussed to the danger of "abusive majoritarianism" - elected powers who use their position to assert their will over minorities. Our country chapter on Syria garnered heavy web traffic. ...as did our essay on the case for drug reform.