Human Rights Watch Executive Director to Step Down

Addis Ababa, April 27, 2022 (Walta) – Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth has announced that he plans to step down at the end of August 2022.

Roth has led the organization since 1993, transforming it from a small group of regional “watch committees” to a major international human rights organization with global influence.

“I had the great privilege to spend nearly 30 years building an organization that has become a leading force in defending the rights of people around the world,” Roth said. “I leave Human Rights Watch with confidence that a highly talented and dedicated staff will carry on that defense with great energy, creativity, and effectiveness.”

Following the news of Roth’s resignation, the reaction of the individuals signals mixed feelings. Some praised him as a champion of human rights while others blame him as a Trojan horse safeguarding western interests.

Not long after Roth joined Human Right Watch that popular uprisings toppled governments across Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union collapsed. When Roth was appointed executive director in 1993, Yugoslavia had split apart, and Bosnia was in the throes of a war marked by ethnic cleansing shortly followed by the Rwandan genocide.