In a discussion co-hosted together with the Bard College Human Rights Initiative, the former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch Kenneth Roth was joined by a panel of experts to reflect on the state of human rights in the world today.
More than 160 people filled the Henrik Enderlein Forum on Friday, 16 May 2025 to hear from Kenneth Roth, the former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch. Roth, who oversaw the international NGO from 1993 to 2022, was joined on stage by Wolfgang Kaleck, founder and General Secretary of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), Katrin Sandmann, journalists and managing partner at Kobalt Documentary and Arshak Makichyan, climate and anti-war activist of Armenian origin, for a discussion moderated by Violeta Moreno-Lax, Visiting Professor at Hertie School. Alluding to Roth’s newly published book Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments panel speakers posed questions to him about his experiences and insights.
Katrin Sandmann questioned the approach to human rights advocacy employed by Human Rights Watch, which relies on fact-finding and publicly exposing government abuses. He noted that in today’s climate - where facts are easily manipulated and often lose their power to shape public opinion - this method faces significant challenges.
In response, Roth emphasised the continued power of "naming and shaming" as a tool for holding governments accountable. "Governments do care" he stressed. One example is China: given the lack of domestic legitimacy, the Chinese government is particularly sensitive to its international reputation being undermined and goes to great lengths to silence external criticism. Of course, Roth added, the stance of the international community is crucial - the ability to exert pressure depends on governments being willing to stand up for their principles.
Wolfgang Kaleck challenged the often-invoked idea of a "decline" in the international legal order, urging Roth to question whether that order ever truly served all. “Was the world ever in order,” he asked, “or was it only an order for those who profited from it over the past decades?” Drawing on decades of legal and advocacy work, Kaleck pointed to long-standing contradictions in the application of international human rights law, from colonial wars in the mid-20th century to US support for Latin American dictatorships and the systematic use of torture during the Iraq War.
“If you are a human rights defender, you can never declare victory and go home,” countered Roth. He then went on to illustrate the enduring relevance of international pressure by recounting Human Rights Watch’s reporting on Rwanda’s involvement in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He described how the Rwandan government, under President Paul Kagame, backed the M23 rebel group to gain control over mineral-rich areas in eastern Congo. Only after sustained pressure from Human Rights Watch did the US and UK intervene, leading to the rapid collapse of M23 and a brief reprieve for the region. However, he warned against complacency, noting that Kagame spent the following years strengthening his position and eventually reactivated the M23. Roth also critiqued Western complicity, pointing to deals like the EU’s mineral agreement with Rwanda, “a country that doesn’t have minerals”, as examples of how economic interests often override human rights concerns. The lesson he argued, is clear: sustained, coordinated pressure works, but only if the will to apply it remains consistent.
Turning to Germany’s position on the war in Gaza, Kaleck challenged its foreign policy stance and questioned its consistency in upholding international law. Referring to the ICC’s arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Roth in response criticised Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s statement suggesting that Germany might not enforce the warrant if Netanyahu were to travel to Berlin. “This is a huge step backwards,” Roth said, describing it as part of a broader trend of creating an "Israel exception" to international accountability. He recalled Germany’s instrumental role in the collation of governments joining efforts in founding the International Criminal Court, against the resistance of powerful governments like the USA, China, Russia and India.
Referring to Germany’s Staatsräson (English: ‘matter of state’ or ‘reason of state’; French: raison d’état) Roth called for the German government to urgently reexamine its interpretation of this principle: “The way to defend Jews is by defending strong human rights standards, that protect everyone,” he said. “You can't have a Palestinian exception to human rights today and pretend that Jews are going to be safe tomorrow.”
Arshak Makichyan, a climate activist who was stripped of his only citizenship by Russia for protesting the war in Ukraine, challenged what he described as the silence of major human rights organisations in the face of atrocities committed in Azerbaijan against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Do Western human rights organizations remember Armenians? asked Makichyan.
Roth noted that the term ‘genocide’ should not be used lightly and may not be applicable to the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh—though this does not diminish the fact that there was a large-scale forced displacement, war crimes, and possible crimes against humanity committed. These are being overlooked by other governments, as Azerbaijan is currently serving as a replacement supplier for Russian gas said the former HRW Director, adding “This is a tradeoff in which Europe is downgrading respect for human rights because of its economic concerns.”
Following the conversation with the panellists, Prof. Moreno-Lax opened the floor to questions from the large audience of students, researchers, and civil society representatives.
One of the most powerful questions posed to Roth was about the persistent silence surrounding atrocities in Africa from mass displacement in Sudan to ongoing ethnic cleansing in Ethiopia. Roth was blunt in his acknowledgement that geopolitical apathy, racism, and a failing media model had enabled the indifference. “You have to add several zeros to the numbers before people pay attention when it’s in Africa.”
He cited the atrocities in Darfur, Tigray, and eastern Congo as examples of grossly under-covered crises, despite their severity. Roth pointed to the role of Western geopolitical interests in shaping attention, mentioning, for instance, how the UAE’s arms support for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, or Rwanda’s alignment with Western asylum deals, can occasionally trigger concern only because they offer a “Western hook.” But, he added, “it shouldn’t take that.”
Watch the full conversation with Roth: