Kenneth Roth

Kenneth Roth is a former executive director of Human Rights Watch, which he led from 1993 to 2022.

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Articles by Kenneth Roth
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands at the start of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, on May 15, 2017.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands at the start of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, on May 15, 2017.

How Putin and Xi Are Trying to Break Global Human Rights

Analysis
Kenneth Roth
A silhouette of diplomats meeting in Belgrade on Dec. 3, 2015.
A silhouette of diplomats meeting in Belgrade on Dec. 3, 2015.

The U.N. Gave a Quiet Diplomat the Wrong Job

Argument
Kenneth Roth
A World Food Programme convoy of trucks on their way to the Tigray region are seen near the village of Erebti, Ethiopia, on June 9.
A World Food Programme convoy of trucks on their way to the Tigray region are seen near the village of Erebti, Ethiopia, on June 9.

Africa Must Do Its Part to Break Ethiopia’s Abusive Tigray Siege

Argument
Kenneth Roth
Musician turned politician Bobi Wine (C) is joined by other activists on July 11, 2018 in Kampala, Uganda, during a demonstration to protest a controversial tax on the use of social media.
Musician turned politician Bobi Wine (C) is joined by other activists on July 11, 2018 in Kampala, Uganda, during a demonstration to protest a controversial tax on the use of social media.

How Democracy Can Defeat Autocracy

Argument
Kenneth Roth
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden

Biden Can’t Make Washington a Beacon for Human Rights by Returning to Business as Usual

Argument
Kenneth Roth
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at Stanford University in Stanford, California, on July 24, 2018.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at Stanford University in Stanford, California, on July 24, 2018.

Pompeo’s Commission on Unalienable Rights Will Endanger Everyone’s Human Rights

Argument
Kenneth Roth
governments-coronavirus-foreign-policy-brian-stauffer-illustration-authoritarian_3_2
governments-coronavirus-foreign-policy-brian-stauffer-illustration-authoritarian_3_2

The Future of the State

Roundup
James Crabtree, Robert D. Kaplan, Robert Muggah, Kumi Naidoo, Shannon K. O'Neil, Adam Posen, Kenneth Roth, Bruce Schneier, Stephen M. Walt, Alexandra Wrage, Stefan Theil
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok flashes the victory sign during a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the uprising that toppled Omar al-Bashir, in Khartoum on Dec. 25, 2019.
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok flashes the victory sign during a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the uprising that toppled Omar al-Bashir, in Khartoum on Dec. 25, 2019.

Sudan Has a Window of Opportunity. The West Shouldn’t Squander It.

Argument
Kenneth Roth
Venezuelan migrants walk along the border of Peru and Ecuador.
Venezuelan migrants walk along the border of Peru and Ecuador.

Don’t Let Venezuela Join the United Nations Human Rights Council

Argument
Kenneth Roth
A participant holds a banner with photos of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in front of the presidential palace during a demonstration on Dec. 21, 2018.
A participant holds a banner with photos of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in front of the presidential palace during a demonstration on Dec. 21, 2018.

Defenders of Human Rights Are Making a Comeback

Argument
Kenneth Roth
(Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images)
(Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images)

How to Stand Up For Human Rights in the Age of Trump

Argument
Kenneth Roth
Delegates attend a session of United Nations Human Rights Council on June 6, in Geneva. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)
Delegates attend a session of United Nations Human Rights Council on June 6, in Geneva. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)

How Not to Fix the U.N. Human Rights Council

Argument
Kenneth Roth
President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Joseph Kabila looks on during a meeting with South African President Jacob Zuma at Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria on June 25, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Phill Magakoe (Photo credit should read PHILL MAGAKOE/AFP/Getty Images)
President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Joseph Kabila looks on during a meeting with South African President Jacob Zuma at Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria on June 25, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Phill Magakoe (Photo credit should read PHILL MAGAKOE/AFP/Getty Images)

The Jig Is Up for Congo’s Embattled President

Argument
Kenneth Roth, Ida Sawyer
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 7: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley delivers remarks during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council concerning the situation in Syria, at UN headquarters, April 7, 2017 in New York City. On Thursday night, the United States launched airstrikes directed at Syrian government air bases in response to the chemical attack earlier in the week. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 7: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley delivers remarks during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council concerning the situation in Syria, at UN headquarters, April 7, 2017 in New York City. On Thursday night, the United States launched airstrikes directed at Syrian government air bases in response to the chemical attack earlier in the week. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Nikki Haley Should Help Fix the U.N. Human Rights Council, Not Abandon It

Argument
Kenneth Roth
BEAUCAIRE, FRANCE - JANUARY 11: French Front National party president Marine Le Pen takes part in a Unity rally "Marche Republicaine" on January 11, 2015 in Beaucaire, France. The French far-right National Front (FN) held their own rally after being excluded from the Paris unity rally. An estimated one million people have converged in central Paris for the Unity March joining in solidarity with the 17 victims of this week's terrorist attacks in the country. French President Francois Hollande led the march and was joined by world leaders in a sign of unity. The terrorist atrocities started on Wednesday with the attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12, and ended on Friday with sieges at a printing company in Dammartin en Goele and a Kosher supermarket in Paris with four hostages and three suspects being killed. A fourth suspect, Hayat Boumeddiene, 26, escaped and is wanted in connection with the murder of a policewoman. (Photo by Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images)
BEAUCAIRE, FRANCE - JANUARY 11: French Front National party president Marine Le Pen takes part in a Unity rally "Marche Republicaine" on January 11, 2015 in Beaucaire, France. The French far-right National Front (FN) held their own rally after being excluded from the Paris unity rally. An estimated one million people have converged in central Paris for the Unity March joining in solidarity with the 17 victims of this week's terrorist attacks in the country. French President Francois Hollande led the march and was joined by world leaders in a sign of unity. The terrorist atrocities started on Wednesday with the attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12, and ended on Friday with sieges at a printing company in Dammartin en Goele and a Kosher supermarket in Paris with four hostages and three suspects being killed. A fourth suspect, Hayat Boumeddiene, 26, escaped and is wanted in connection with the murder of a policewoman. (Photo by Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images)

We Are on the Verge of Darkness

Argument
Kenneth Roth
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