Book Summary and Reviews of Righting Wrongs by Kenneth Roth

Righting Wrongs by Kenneth Roth

Righting Wrongs

Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments

by Kenneth Roth

  • Critics' Consensus (2):
  • Published:
  • Feb 2025, 448 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

From the long-time head of Human Rights Watch, the fascinating and inspiring story of taking on the biggest villains and toughest autocrats around the world.

In three decades under the leadership of Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch grew to a staff of more than 500, conducting investigations in 100 countries to uncover abuses—and pressuring offending governments to stop them. Roth has grappled with the worst of humanity, taken on the biggest villains of our time, and persuaded leaders from around the globe to stand up to their repressive counterparts.

The son of a Jew who fled Nazi Germany just before the war began, Roth grew up knowing full well how inhumane governments could be. He has traveled the world to meet cruelty and injustice on its home turf: he arrived in Rwanda shortly after the Genocide; scrutinized the impact of Saddam's invasion of Kuwait; investigated and condemned Israel's mistreatment of Palestinians. He directed efforts to curtail the Chinese government's persecution of Uyghur Muslims, to bring Myanmar's officials to justice after the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims, to halt Russian war crimes in Ukraine, even to reign in the U.S. government. Roth's many innovations and strategies included the deployment of a concept as old as mankind—the powerful tool of "shaming"—and here he illustrates its surprising effectiveness against evildoers.

This is a story of wins, losses, and ongoing battles in the ceaseless fight to rend the moral arc from the hands of injustice and bend it toward good.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"In an expansive behind-the-scenes memoir, Roth now shares his singular insights on how governments can be encouraged to end human rights abuses. In an era when such crimes against humanity are increasing in scope and severity, Roth's candor and clarity provide inspirational wisdom and practical advice for rights advocates everywhere." —Booklist

"As the director of Human Rights Watch for three decades, Roth put public opinion to work in the service of his cause. Given the never-ending assault on human rights, a valuable call to fight back." —Kirkus Reviews

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Author Information

Kenneth Roth

Kenneth Roth is the former executive director of Human Rights Watch. He has extensively investigated human rights abuses around the world, focusing especially on the world's most dire situations, the pursuit of international justice, the major powers' foreign policies, the work of the UN, and the global contexts between democracy and autocracy. He has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New York Review of Books, and other major publications. He spends his time between New York and Geneva.

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