Amnesty International’s recent attack on Ukraine raises yet again the issue of how the size, governance, and influence of the largest human rights organizations may damage the cause of human rights.

Blog Post by Elliott Abrams, Council on Foreign Relations

August 16, 2022 10:55 am (EST)

The cause of human rights is now at risk from the largest organizations dedicated to its protection.

Earlier this summer I wrote, here at the CFR web site, an article entitled “Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?” and a blog entry of the same title. There I argued that “the issues of oversight, governance, and bias at the two largest NGOs, which dominate the field globally, cannot be overlooked.” Those two organizations are Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. As I wrote,

In 2021, Human Rights Watch had $256 million in assets and revenue of $130 million. It employs more than 500 staff members in 105 locations globally and has an annual budget of $97 million. Amnesty International is even larger, raising $436 million in 2020 and spending $376 million.

Continue reading Amnesty International’s Attack on Ukraine →

CFR Daily Brief 

Daily News Brief August 18, 2022

Top of the Agenda

Turkish, Ukrainian Leaders Hold First Face-to-Face Meeting Since Start of War

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is meeting (AFP) with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UN Secretary-General António Guterres in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. They are expected to discuss diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine, as well as a deal that Turkey and the United Nations brokered to resume grain exports from the country. Continue reading Council on Foreign Relations: Daily News Brief Aug. 18, 2022 →

afritechnews – by Angeline Mbogo

July 7, 2020

The fact that several African countries have been under the influence of the French for about 75 years now is stunning. Unable to let its colonies go, France continues to exploit African countries with unfair obligations, one of which has raised a raging debate over the years.

Dubbed the colonial tax, the infamous obligation on CFA Franc Zone members requires them to “keep 50 percent of their foreign exchange reserves in an operations account held at the French Treasury.”

Continue reading What is the French Colonial Tax? →