Miami

The Miami Committee is part of the global Human Rights Watch Council - a network of 1,000 informed and engaged opinion leaders in 33 cities around the globe.

As the Miami Committee of Human Rights Watch, we play a central role in raising awareness in Miami of local and global human rights issues, generating financial support for the organization's mission, and mobilizing the public to defend basic freedoms for all. Together, we play a key role in defending human rights by ensuring that human rights issues remain high on the public agenda in our city. 

News

  • September 20, 2024

    WHAT: Welcome to Chechnya film screening, conversation and reception with HRW's Europe and Central Asia Associate Director, Tanya Lokshina. 

    WHEN: Wednesday, November 13, 2024 

    WHERE: Gateway Theater in Ft Lauderdale

    Join us for a free screening of the award-winning documentary Welcome to Chechnya and a conversation with Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia Associate Director Tanya Lokshina, followed by a reception. As one of the activists featured in the film, Lokshina will speak about HRW’s role and efforts to help LGBTQ survivors escape from Chechnya and find refuge in safe countries. She will also discuss the ongoing human rights abuses against the LGBTQ community in Russia, as well as HRW’s most recent findings on the Russian-led invasion of Ukraine. Click HERE to register for this event. 
     

  • November 8, 2023

    WHAT: Miami 2024 Voices for Justice Annual Dinner
    WHEN: April 9, 2024

    Join us for our Voices for Justice Annual Dinner on April 9, 2024 and become part of our global community dedicated to protecting and defending human rights for all.

    Our annual dinner is a vital opportunity to come together and celebrate some of the most important human rights achievements of the past year and the human rights defenders who make it all possible. 

    Together, we can advocate for justice and stand up in support of freedom and democracy. We hope you will join us and consider supporting our mission by becoming a sponsor. 
     

  • December 19, 2022

    WHAT: Miami 2023 Voices for Justice Celebration Dinner

    WHEN: March 13, 2023

    Join us on the evening of March 13, 2023 for our Voices for Justice Celebration and become part of our global community dedicated to protecting and defending human rights.

    Human Rights Watch’s Voices for Justice Celebration in Miami is an opportunity to celebrate some of the most important human rights achievements of the past year and the human rights defenders who speak out where there is silence.

    We hope you will join us and consider supporting our mission by becoming a sponsor. To learn more or to reserve your tickets or table, please visit www.hrw.org/miamidinner.

     

  • November 8, 2022

    WHAT: Books & Books Panel Discussion with Nadege Green and Amanda Klasing on the State of U.S. Democracy 

    WHEN: Wednesday, November 2, 2022 

    On November 2, 2022, HRW Miami partnered with Books & Books to host a discussion on what’s at stake for human rights in the 2022 midterm election with Nadege Green, Director of Community Research and Storytelling for the Community Justice Project, and Amanda Klasing, HRW Director of the Incubator Phase of the United States Democracy Initiative. The conversation focused on the most pressing threats to democratic institutions, as well as local and national strategies to protect human rights and advance racial justice in the U.S. 

  • April 26, 2022

    WHAT: Private Reception and Briefing on the State of Rights in Latin America with Human Rights Watch Acting Americas Director, Tamara Taraciuk Broner

    WHEN: Wednesday, March 30, 2022

    On March 30, 2022, HRW Miami hosted two events with Acting Americas Director Tamara Taraciuk Broner on the future of democracy in Latin America. Latin America is experiencing an alarming reversal of basic freedoms and threats to independent civil society, the free press, and judicial independence. Tamara discussed the latest developments impacting democracy in the region, including trends that impact the future rule of law in countries ranging from the extreme examples of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, to cases such as Mexico, El Salvador, and Brazil, where democratically elected leaders have abandoned democratic guarantees when exercising power. She also addressed Russian influence in Latin America and the region’s response to the war in Ukraine.

  • April 26, 2022

    WHAT:  Reception and Briefing on the State of LGBT Rights in Florida and around the world with HRW Senior Researcher Kyle Knight

    WHEN: Monday, March 14, 2022

    WHERE: Soho Beach House, Miami

    On the evening of March 14th, HRW Miami Committee members Norman Aynbinder and Elan Nissenboim hosted a briefing with HRW Senior Health and LGBT Rights Researcher Kyle Knight on the state of LGBT rights around the world. The event coincided with the passing of legislation in the state of Florida that restricts discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, highlighting the ongoing battle for equal rights and treatment for the LGBT community in the US and around the globe.

  • April 26, 2022

    WHAT: A Committee briefing with Executive Director Ken Roth on the state of human rights around the world

    WHEN: Friday, December 10, 2021

    On International Human Rights Day 2021, HRW Miami Committee member and Board Emerita Shelley Frost Rubin hosted a luncheon for fellow Miami Committee members, featuring a briefing with  HRWs Executive Director Ken Roth on the state of rights across the globe. At the event, Ken recapped the greatest global human rights achievements and challenges of 2021, and outlined Human Rights Watch’s priorities for 2022.

  • April 26, 2022

    WHAT: A conversation and Q&A with HRW’s Global Women’s Rights Experts

    WHEN: Wednesday, October 6, 2021

    WHERE: Virtual panel / discussion

    On October 6, 2021, HRW Miami hosted a Committee briefing on the state of women’s rights across the globe, featuring expert panelists including Macarena Sáez, HRW Women’s Rights Division Executive Director; Heather Barr, Afghanistan researcher and HRW Women’s Rights Division Associate Director; Amanda Klasing, HRW Women’s Rights Division Associate Director; and Ximena Casas, HRW Women’s Rights Division Researcher.

    Committee members were given the latest updates and able to ask questions about the state of women’s rights in Afghanistan following the US withdrawal and Taliban takeover, the decriminalization of abortion in Mexico, and threats to reproductive rights in US states including Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.

  • April 26, 2022

    WHAT: A conversation and Q&A with Leading Transgender Activists and Allies About Injustices Trans People Face and What’s Being Done

    WHEN: Thursday, June 24, 2021

    WHERE: Virtual panel / discussion

    The fourth installment of HRW Miami’s Salon Series was hosted by Committee Chair Joy Stampler Fishman on June 24th, 2021, and featured a panel discussion with Dee Farmer, legend in the national transgender rights movement and first transgender plaintiff to bring a case before the United States Supreme Court; Arianna Inurritegui-Lint, transgender activist and founder of South Florida’s Arianna Center; Scott Greenberg, Executive Director and founder of the LGBTQ Freedom Fund; and Ryan Thoreson, HRW LGBT Rights researcher.

    Participants were able to hear stories of the tireless work that our panelists and other activists have put into bringing transgender rights to the forefront of the LGBTQ+ rights movement, ask questions about their experiences, and learn about ways to be effective allies in this space.

  • April 1, 2021
      Human Rights Watch Miami, in collaboration with Fellows of the New World Symphony, invites you to join us for a one-of-a-kind musical storytelling performance and discussion.

    Tune in from 7:00 - 8:30pm EST on Thursday, April 22 for the live virtual event, "Being Black in America: An evening of music, storytelling, and real talk about racial inequality and policing in the US," including a conversation between Human Rights Watch Executive Director of US Program, Nicole Austin-Hillery and renowned musician Awadagin Pratt.

    The evening is generously hosted by Human Rights Watch Miami Co-Chair and New World Symphony Trustee, Bill Kleh.

    Click Here to Register!
  • February 19, 2021

    WHAT: Us Kids Film Screening & Live Panel Discussion on Celebrating Youth Changing the Course of History: A Quest for Moral Leadership

    WHEN: Thursday, February 11, 2021

    WHERE: Virtual panel / discussion

    The second installment of HRW Miami’s Salon Series was hosted on February 11th, 2021 and featured a panel discussion following the exclusive film screening of Us Kids, an award-winning documentary by Kim A. Snyder that chronicles the March For Our Lives movement sparked by student activists and survivors of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14th, 2018. The virtual event, hosted by HRW Miami Committee member Shelley Frost Rubin, featured speakers including Parkland shooting survivor and youth activist Samantha Fuentes, mother of Parkland shooting victim Annika Dworet, and Us Kids filmmaker Kim A. Snyder.

    The event included an original poetry reading by Samantha Fuentes and discussion about the power of youth activists’ quest for moral leadership in the US and abroad.

  • February 19, 2021

    WHAT: A celebration of human rights on the eve of Human Rights Day

    WHEN: Wednesday, December 9, 2020

    WHERE: Virtual gathering

    On December 9th, 2020, the eve of International Human Rights Day, the Miami Committee of Human Rights Watch joined in a virtual gathering to celebrate the accomplishments of an extraordinarily consequential year for human rights. Human Rights Day is an internationally recognized time to bring attention to the rights we all share—to live, love, think, speak, work and worship, regardless of how we look, where we were born, or what we believe. Each year on December 10th, countries across the globe light up their monuments and landmarks in observance of how far we’ve come and as a reminder for how much we have left to achieve.

    For over 40 years, Human Rights Watch has been one of the world's leading independent organizations dedicated to protecting human rights. We catalyze momentum for change by conducting rigorous fact finding, proposing effective policy solutions, and broadcasting our message to the world – all in collaboration with our partners and those impacted by abuse. Our supporters make it possible to act as an effective leader in confronting some of the greatest challenges of our time and defend the rights and dignity of people worldwide.  

  • February 19, 2021

    WHAT: Panel discussion on protecting voters' rights in the 2020 Presidential Election

    WHEN: Thursday, October 15, 2020

    WHERE: Virtual panel / discussion

    During a time of social distancing, Human Rights Watch Miami has created a Salon Series to encourage an interactive dialogue inspired by the original salons in 18th century France. Like those salons, our goal is to host events that will ignite learning, debate, and inclusivity, and help to engage the community around important issues of the day.

    Just under a month before Election Day 2020, on October 15th HRW Miami hosted its first event in the newly introduced Salon Series: Protecting Voters’ Rights in Florida. With Florida being a key swing state in a highly contested election, HRW Miami partnered with Engage Miami and LatinoJustice PRLDEF to inform listeners of the challenges faced in protecting the right to vote in Florida and share solutions that our organizations are advocating for.

    The panel featured HRW’s US Program Executive Director Nicole Austin-Hillery, Organizing Director of Engage Miami Gilbert Placeres, and President and General Counsel of LatinoJustice PRLDEF Juan Cartagena.

Contacts