Philippe Bolopion , a 13-year veteran of Human Rights Watch and a former journalist who has extensively advocated on atrocities in conflict zones, has been named the executive director of Human Rights Watch, the organization announced today. Bolopion rose up through the ranks for more than a decade at Human Rights Watch to hold several senior leadership roles.
"Philippe is a superb choice. He has the strategic vision, the strength of leadership, the ability to represent Human Rights Watch well in all settings, and the values and character around which to build the organization," said Kenneth Roth, former executive director at Human Rights Watch.
Bolopion began his career as a reporter deployed to Kosovo. He covered brutal ethnic violence in the province, the United Nations interim administration mission, and the fall of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who faced war crimes charges. Between 2000 and 2010, he was chief UN correspondent for several French media, including Radio France Internationale (RFI), the French newspaper of record, Le Monde, and the news channel France 24.
"Human Rights Watch has a pivotal role to play in holding perpetrators of crimes to account and promoting peace and justice, and I have no doubt that Philippe will be a vocal and determined advocate on behalf of victims of human rights abuses around the world," said Dr. Denis Mukwege, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and member of the Elders. "Philippe was a well-known voice on African issues for RFI and has effectively advocated on many of the crises that have affected the African continent."
As a journalist, Bolopion covered the most consequential crises of the day, including the run-up to the war in Iraq and was deployed to Darfur, Gaza, Lebanon, Haiti, Sri Lanka, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is the author of the book "Guantanamo: le bagne du bout du monde," a vivid account of his visit to the US military detention site, where few journalists had traveled, and where he concluded early on that the treatment of many of the prisoners had amounted to torture.
"Philippe's work in journalism has been defined by meticulous, unflinching reporting. He is deeply dedicated to exposing injustice and holding power to account," said Natalie Nougayrède, former editor-in-chief of Le Monde. "He is a fearless defender of fundamental principles, and he's got plenty of wit and agility. At the helm of Human Rights Watch, he will bring all that talent and energy to the fight for human rights, an ever more urgent task today."
After a decade of chronicling the UN's efforts to address mass atrocities and conflicts, in 2010 Bolopion brought his commitment to defending rights to the global stage by joining Human Rights Watch, first as UN director and rising to deputy director for global advocacy in 2016. In these roles, he championed the rights of people caught in major crises in Myanmar, Burundi, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Cameroon, and Mali, often contributing to on-the-ground advocacy and research.
He advocated for the deployment of an international peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic, called out Western arms sales to Saudi Arabia in the context of war crimes in Yemen, helped build a coalition together with local and international partners to expose the systematic oppression of Palestinians by the Israeli government, and led a successful campaign to deny Russia a seat at the UN Human Rights Council. During that time, Bolopion was a powerful voice in the media on behalf of victims of human rights violations around the world.
Most recently, Bolopion joined the French asset management firm TOBAM to help launch an investment strategy which exposes the high costs authoritarian regimes exact on investors.
"Philippe's impactful approach to leadership, which I have witnessed on several critical Africa issues, including on the Central African Republic where his advocacy contributed to the International Criminal Court prosecutor's efforts to bring Central African Republic militia leaders to justice, is precisely what Human Rights Watch needs at this moment," said Mausi Segun, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "I am excited about what the organization can accomplish at this moment when the enjoyment of human rights is a distant mirage for many around the world."
Bolopion takes over the direction of Human Rights Watch at a challenging time. Democracy has been in retreat across much of the world for two decades, hard-won human rights norms risk being eroded, and mass atrocities are taking place in Sudan, Gaza, Ukraine, and elsewhere. Some of his priorities will be to marshal new resources and double down on the organization's unique role and path to impact: innovative and rigorous investigations; reporting and communications that affirm facts against propaganda; and pragmatic advocacy campaigns, designed to increase the cost of abuse for powerful actors.
"The human rights movement is facing a perfect storm, with China and Russia growing bolder in their global quest to undermine rights, while the Trump administration is assaulting the pillars of US democracy, with devastating effects for the entire human rights ecosystem," Bolopion said. "Human Rights Watch is uniquely positioned to meet this challenge and cut through the noise by asserting the facts, naming the crimes, alerting the public, and pressuring those in power to hold abusers to account."
