Human Rights Watch under fire for 'accepting millions' in Qatar funds: Report

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) is embroiled in yet another donation-related financial issue – this one involves funds from Qatar, according to i24NEWS.

Citing a leaked Qatari government document, the Washington DC-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) published a paper on Tuesday claiming that Qatar’s regime paid 3 million euros to HRW.

MEMRI translated the Qatari Prime Minister’s Office document that declares the matter is “confidential and urgent.”

According to MEMRI’s translation, Abdullah Bin Khalaf Hattab Al Ka’bi, director of Qatar’s Office of the Prime Minister, wrote to Finance Minister Ali Sharif Al-Emadi in January 2018, stating, “His Excellency the Prime Minister has agreed to provide monetary support of 3 million euros to the organization Human Rights Watch, under the Humanitarian Aid section, and that it should be distributed with the knowledge of the Embassy of Qatar in London so that it can be aware of it and take the necessary (steps) with regard to it.”

The subject of the letter notes “providing additional monetary support to the organisation Human Rights Watch.”

MEMRI wrote that the translation of a document in Arabic was leaked as part of Project Raven.

Reacting to the development, Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of the organisation UN Watch, said that these reports are “very disturbing” and demanded an investigation into the case.

“These reports are very disturbing. They need to be fully investigated. There are strong reasons to fear that this may be true. We would need accountability. The money would have to be returned,” i24NEWS quoted Neuer as saying on Thursday.

“Qatar is a human rights abusing regime. They enslave migrant workers…caused thousands of them to die. They support the Taliban. They support Hamas. They support terrorism. They have an egregious human rights record,” Neuer added.

Neuer said that if it’s true, this would be shameful but not inconsistent with their (HRW) actions in the past.

“We have seen, because of their anti-Western ideology and anti-Israel ideology, that they will often cozy up to Islamist regimes, whether it’s Hamas or Hezbollah. There is a corrupt and twisted culture at Human Rights Watch and that needs to be fixed,” he told i24NEWS.

Marc Eichinger, a former French intelligence agent who has written extensively about Qatar’s alleged financing of Islamist terrorist movements, said that many NGOs are being funded by Qatar and there should be international rules concerning these activities.

“They should be regulated like any listed companies raising fund on the stock markets. They should provide full transparency over their funding and their management,” i24NEWS quoted Eichinger as saying.

Eichinger noted that an HRW employee named Natalie Lundgren may have played a role in securing the alleged Qatari donation for HRW.

“HRW employee Natalie Lundgren worked in the past for the Qatar Foundation and was program manager of World Innovation Summit for Education. These entities are closely linked and under the control of Sheikha Moza. Human Rights Watch can always deny any link with Qatar. The fact is that Mrs Lundgren is in charge of fundraising in Paris and comes from WISE,” added Eichinger

Natalie Lundgren started her work for HRW as the Development and Outreach Manager in 2018. Her previous job was for the Qatari-funded WISE initiative.

Meanwhile, i24NEWS said that it has sent a press query to Lundgren asking if she played a role in securing the alleged Qatari donation for HRW.

Neuer noted that Danielle Haas, an Israeli who worked for HRW for over 13 years, just quit HRW due to the institutional bias against the Jewish state.

Qatar’s alleged enabling of Qatar’s terrorism was the focus of a congressional hearing in late October.

Rich Goldberg, a member of then-President Trump’s National Security Council, said at the hearing that “Replacing a Major non-NATO ally designation with a State Sponsor of Terrorism designation would have a destabilising effect on Qatar overnight — rippling through its global investment portfolio, energy sector, national air carrier, and international prestige.”

In 2020, it came out that the head of HRW, Ken Roth, took a big donation with strings attached from a rich person in Saudi Arabia. The condition was that HRW couldn’t use the money to help LGBTQ+ people in the Middle East. When this was exposed, Roth had to give the money back.

The founder of HRW, Robert Bernstein, criticised the organisation in 2009, saying it focused too much on criticising Israel and not enough on other places with bad human rights records.

HRW later admitted to taking money in 2012 with conditions that they wouldn’t use it to support LGBTQ+ rights in the Middle East and North Africa.

i24NEWS asked HRW about taking money from Qatar and got a denial, and HRW admitted to the Saudi donation but said it was a mistake.

With inputs from agencies