Profile

Arvind Ganesan has been at Human Rights Watch since 1995. He is the Director of the Business and Human Rights Program for the organization and is involved in research, advocacy, and policy development for the organization on issues involving business and human rights with a primary focus on the energy industry. He has authored and co-authored three books for the organization, The Small Hands of Slavery: Bonded Child Labor in India and Police Abuse and Killings of Street Children in India, and most recently The Enron Corporation: Corporate Complicity in Human Rights Violations. He has also contributed to a short report titled, "Colombia: Human Rights Concerns Raised by the Security Arrangements of Transnational Energy Companies" as well as numerous articles and other publications on the issues of business and human rights. He has worked with governments, companies, multilateral organizations on numerous issues involving business and human rights.

In the last year, his focus has been on energy development in Angola and has published short reports on an agreement between the International Monetary Fund and the government of Angola on its use of oil revenues. In January, he published the report Some Transparency, No Accountability: The Use of Oil Revenue in Angola.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH conducts regular, systematic investigations of human rights abuses in some seventy countries around the world. Our reputation for timely, reliable disclosures has made us an essential source of information for those concerned with human rights. We address the human rights practices of governments of all political stripes, of all geopolitical alignments, and of all ethnic and religious persuasions. Human Rights Watch defends freedom of thought and expression, due process and equal protection of the law, and a vigorous civil society; we document and denounce murders, disappearances, torture, arbitrary imprisonment, discrimination, and other abuses of internationally recognized human rights. Our goal is to hold governments accountable if they transgress the rights of their people.

Human Rights Watch began in 1978 with the founding of its Europe and Central Asia division (then known as Helsinki Watch). Today, it also includes divisions covering Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East. In addition, it includes three thematic divisions on arms, children's rights, and women's rights. It maintains offices in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, London, Brussels, Moscow, Dushanbe, Rio de Janeiro, and Hong Kong. Human Rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization, supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. It accepts no government funds, directly or indirectly.