Rights Watch (UK)

Who we are

Rights Watch (UK) is a leading NGO in the fields of national security and human rights, use of force and international law, and transitional justice. We ensure that measures taken in pursuit of national security and in the context of transitional justice are compliant with human rights and international law. We have close to 30 years of experience of working in these fields: initially in Northern Ireland, and, since 9/11, in Great Britain and abroad. The organisation is working at the forefront of cutting edge contemporary issues including exceptional counter terrorism laws, counter extremism programmes, extrajudicial killings, state complicity at international law in unlawful activities and transitional justice. We mainstream gender throughout all of our programmes of work.

We are a small and dynamic team of committed human rights experts and international law professionals and have a demonstrated track record of effecting meaningful change through rigorous research and strategic advocacy and litigation. We approach our work with rigor and ingenuity.

The work of Rights Watch (UK) has received wide acclaim. The organization has received the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Human Rights Prize for ‘outstanding civil society action in the defence of human rights in Europe’, the Irish World Damien Gaffney Award and the Beacon Prize for Human Rights.