Human Rights Watch is a non­prof­it, non­govern­men­tal human rights orga­ni­za­tion made up of rough­ly 400 staff mem­bers around the globe. Its staff con­sists of human rights pro­fes­sion­als includ­ing coun­try experts, lawyers, jour­nal­ists, and aca­d­e­mics of diverse back­grounds and nation­al­i­ties. Estab­lished in 1978, Human Rights Watch is known for its accu­rate fact-find­ing, impar­tial report­ing, effec­tive use of media, and tar­get­ed advo­ca­cy, often in part­ner­ship with local human rights groups. Each year, Human Rights Watch pub­lish­es more than 100 reports and brief­in­gs on human rights con­di­tions in some 90 coun­tries, gen­er­at­ing exten­sive cov­er­age in local and inter­na­tion­al media. With the lever­age this brings, Human Rights Watch meets with gov­ern­ments, the Unit­ed Nations, region­al groups like the African Union and the Euro­pean Union, finan­cial insti­tu­tions, and cor­po­ra­tions to press for changes in pol­i­cy and prac­tice that pro­mote human rights and jus­tice around the world.