Human Rights Watch: “Acting Up: Russia’s Civil Society” and “Gold’s Costly Dividend: The Porgera Joint Venture”

For more than 30 years, Human Rights Watch has been dedicated to protecting the rights of people around the world through rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy. These two arresting and detailed online reports combine photography, video, interviews and written analysis to tell compelling stories. Acting Up: Russia‘s Civil Society marks the historic 20th anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union and documents the stories of Russian dissidents. It includes portraits of Russian activists by the photographer Platon and a series of video interviews by HRW that were repurposed by The New Yorker. The people and issues documented demonstrate the growth and activity of civil opposition in Russia. Gold‘s Costly Dividend: The Porgera Joint Venture exposed the harmful effects of the Porgera gold mine on the local population in Papua New Guinea. As a direct result of HRW‘s reporting, the mining company invested in new mechanisms for oversight and accountability and changed security regulations at the mine. For their ability to identify abuses throughout the world and communicate poignant and significant stories through the use of multimedia storytelling techniques, a Peabody Award goes to Human Rights Watch‘s Acting Up: Russia‘s Civil Society and Gold‘s Costly Dividend: The Porgera Joint Venture.