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Kenneth Roth, Bard College Berlin Board of Governors member and former executive director of Human Rights Watch, was interviewed by Die Zeit on the state of global human rights

Bard College Berlin Board of Governors member and former executive director of Human Rights Watch Kenneth Roth was interviewed by Die Zeit in April 2025 on the state of global human rights, from China, Donald Trump’s presidency in the United States, to Germany’s lack of criticism of Israel’s government.

Roth has over thirty years of experience in human rights activism around the world, and is the son of a Jewish father who escaped Germany in the 1930s. “I grew up with horror stories about what it was like for him to live as a Jewish child under the Nazis,” he says. “This played an enormously important role in the decision to dedicate my career to preventing similar atrocities.”

In the interview, he states, “I have learned a very different lesson from the Holocaust than the German government. For the German government, this seems to be to support the Israeli government regardless of what it does – even if it commits systematic war crimes in Gaza. I think that is the wrong lesson from history. The German government should stand up for human rights wherever they are in danger. This is also the best protection for Jews. But if you make an exception for Palestinians, it's easy to make an exception for Jews tomorrow and someone else the day after.”

Roth also discusses the broader work of Human Rights Watch against authoritarian governments, his thoughts on China as the biggest threat to the global human rights system, and Donald Trump's potential deals with Ukraine.

Roth has recently published the book Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments. On May 16, he will be speaking at a joint event held by The Human Rights Initiative at Bard College Berlin and the Centre for Fundamental Rights at the Hertie School to discuss the book and the state of human rights today. Learn more about the event here.

Read the full interview in Die Zeit here.

Post Date: 05-07-2025
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Bard College Berlin is institutionally accredited at the national level in Germany by the Wissenschaftsrat.

In the United States, Bard College Berlin is accredited through
Bard College by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

Qualifying students receive both a German BA and an American BA. 
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