Human Rights Watch records : Record Group 6: Asia Watch, 1978-1997, bulk 1987-1997
Collection context
- Creator:
- Human Rights Watch (Organization). Asia Watch
- Abstract:
- Record Group 6 documents Asia Watch's (AW) three-branched program of documentation, campaigning, and lobbying in order to promote the observance of internationally recognized human rights norms throughout the region. Utilizing this paradigm, for example, AW tackled such difficult issues as economic aid and democratization efforts; the plight of political prisoners and refugees; the advancement of the freedom of expression, the suppression of political violence in Indonesia and Sri Lanka; and the effect of AIDS and prostitution on women. In the late 1990s, AW expanded its mission by seeking allies within the NGO and business communities in Europe and Japan in order to bring more direct pressure on human rights offenders.
- Extent:
- 152.5 linear feet (122 record cartons)
- Language:
- English , Japanese , Korean , Chinese , Persian , Indonesian , Tamil , Vietnamese , Dutch; Flemish , Filipino; Pilipino .
- Scope and content:
-
Materials include correspondence and e-mail communications, mission reports, testimonies and interviews, addresses and contact lists, confidential interoffice memos, legal and advocacy material, internal planning and policy material, declassified government and United Nations documents, published and unpublished human rights reports from individuals and fellow non-governmental organizations (NGOs), press clippings and news releases, and maps. Another category of documents consists of HRW reports and briefing papers, as well as press releases and open letters to heads of state, governments and various government agencies.
Materials related to missions contain unpublished information on sources, cases, and the state of affairs in various countries. They include professional and personal mission notes taken by AW country researchers during investigative missions, testimonies by and interviews with victims of various human rights abuses, pre-mission and post-mission memos, addresses and contact lists.
Thematically, these documents deal with the various political and social transitions in Asia. The papers comprise such human rights advocacy initiatives as the attempt to alleviate the plight of political prisoners and refugees; the promotion of freedom of expression; the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre; the suppression of political violence in Indonesia and Sri Lanka; and the effect of Aids and prostitution on women.
- Biographical / historical:
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This Record Group contains the records of Human Rights Watch/Asia (AW). Established in 1985, Asia Watch monitors and promotes the observance of internationally recognized human rights norms in Asia. Since its founding, AW has kept refining a three-pronged strategy of documentation, campaigning, and lobbying to expose abuses in the region. By the late 1980s, this strategy came to fruition with regard to China. To illustrate, even before the Tiananmen Square Massacre, AW had been working with Chinese human rights groups to support efforts to record the plight of Chinese political prisoners. In early May 1989, in turn, an AW mission traveled to Beijing in order to speak with pro-democracy demonstrators. These labors were combined with first-hand reports and lobbying campaigns before Congress. Asia Watch China Specialist, Robin Munro, for example, wrote an eyewitness account of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. AW executive staff, in turn, became vocal advocates for sanctions against China on Capitol Hill. Finally, AW set up a branch headquarters in Hong Kong. This office enabled AW to tap into the extensive information-gathering network in Hong Kong. It also facilitated work on behalf of pro-democracy activists who escaped there after the massacre.
Through the 1990s, through their three-pronged model, AW had expanded the number of countries it covered, the issues it addressed and the advocacy techniques it employed in the region. AW, for example, began seeking allies within the NGO and business communities in Europe and Japan in order to bring more direct pressure on human rights offenders in Asia.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
The records of Human Rights Watch are restricted unless they have been vetted and cleared for use by HRW. Specific restriction status is noted in the finding aid for each folder (open, vetted; restricted until ___; unvetted). If you wish to request boxes from this collection that have not been vetted, please send an email to rbml@columbia.edu detailing the collection, series, box, and folder numbers in which you are interested, as well as a brief description of your research needs. Once Human Rights Watch has reviewed the request, the researcher will be contacted with specific instructions. Please submit requests at least two months in advance of your research visit. [unprocessed -- for flag only]
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
- Terms of access:
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Reproductions may be made for research purposes.
Permission to publish, reproduce, exhibit, and create any derivative work, compilation or digitized version based on, or to use for any other purpose than research and photocopying for personal, scholarly and/or other non-commercial purposes, all or part of such materials must be obtained in writing from HRW. Requests should include a detailed description of the proposed publication.
- Preferred citation:
-
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Human Rights Watch Records, Record Group, Box Number; Center for Human Rights Documentation and Research, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
- Location of this collection:
- Before you visit:
- Researchers interested in viewing materials in the RBML reading room must must book an appointment at least 7 days in advance. To make the most of your visit, be sure to request your desired materials before booking your appointment, as researchers are limited to 5 items per day.
- Contact:
- rbml@library.columbia.edu