KENNETH ROTH

Harvard University has rescinded a fellowship it had offered to a leading human rights activist over what he says was his group's criticism of Israel.

Harvard University rescinded a fellowship that it had offered to a leading human rights activist over what he said Monday was his group’s criticism of Israel. Kenneth Roth, who was the executive director of Human Rights Watch, or HRW, until last year, was recruited by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy to become a fellow and he accepted.

The longtime leader of Human Rights Watch announced Tuesday he will step down this summer as executive director after nearly three decades at the helm of one of the world's leading advocacy organizations. Kenneth Roth ran the New York-based group as it shared a Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for its efforts to ban anti-personnel land mines. The group also pushed to establish the International Criminal Court for prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Human rights groups and Western nations led by the United States, Britain and Germany are accusing China of massive crimes against the Uyghur minority and demanding unimpeded access for U.N. experts.

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden should bring fundamental change to U.S. policy on human rights and allow criminal investigations of President Donald Trump, the head of Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday Jan. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)GENEVA – U.S. President-elect Joe Biden should bring “fundamental change” to U.S. policy on human rights and allow criminal investigations of President Donald Trump, the head of Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday. The comments come as Human Rights Watch issued its annual “World Report 2021” that chronicles concerns about human rights in more than 100 countries around the world. But Trump pulled the United States out of the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council more than two years ago, alleging it has an anti-Israel bias and has been too accepting of governments that regularly violate human rights. “The real test of Guterres' effectiveness is, you know, does somebody feel the heat from his commentary on human rights?"

Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth on Sunday was denied entry into Hong Kong, the advocacy group said. So, even though I've been able to enter Hong Kong freely before, this time for the first time they blocked me." "I had hoped to spotlight Beijing's deepening assault on international efforts to uphold human rights," Roth said in a statement. The 2020 edition of the World Report will be the 30th installment for Human Rights Watch. Protests began in Hong Kong in June 2019, initially in response to a bill that would have made it easier for the Chinese government to extradite people in Hong Kong to the mainland.