The executive director of Human Rights Watch, (HRW) Kenneth Roth, announced on Monday that he would be stepping down at the end of August.

Roth, who has led the organization for the past 30 years, said in a video statement: "Nothing can last forever," and added "It is time to pass the baton."

A baptism of fire

Roth joined HRW in 1987 and served as deputy director. He was appointed executive director of the NGO in 1993, during the bloody conflict in the Balkans and shortly before the horror of the Rwandan genocide of 1994.

During Roth's tenure the organization has grown into a global rights NGO, employing more than 500 people, with the mission of upholding human rights, taking human rights violators to task and attempting to hold governments accountable for their actions.

Over the years HRW staff have helped collate evidence from global flashpoints, which has then been used in international criminal tribunals. Some of those who have been convicted for their crimes include Liberia's former President Charles Taylor and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic.

HRW shared a Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for its efforts to ban antipersonnel landmines. It also played a key role in efforts to establish the International Criminal Court.

Tributes for HRW's outgoing director

HRW acknowledged in its parting comments about Roth that "innevitably he made many enemies." It even suggested that this came with the territory, and that Roth could not be accused of playing favorites in his work.

The NGO said: "Despite being Jewish (and having a father who fled Nazi Germany as a 12-year-old boy), he has been attacked for the organization’s criticism of Israeli government abuses."

HRW's account of the Rwandan genocide and reports on atrocities committed  under the presidency of Paul Kagame, also drew fierce criticism. 

Other rights groups and organizations paid glowing tributes.

"Ken Roth turned Human Rights Watch into a juggernaut for justice," said Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Former International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda described Roth as an inspiration.

"Ken's fearless passion for justice, his courage and compassion towards the victims of human rights violations and atrocity crimes was not just professional responsibility but a personal conviction to him,'' she said.

Deputy executive director Tirana Hassan will serve as an interim executive director while a replacement is sought.

Roth said he had "great confidence" in the team that would continue in his place. "I am leaving Human Rights Watch but I am not leaving the human rights cause," Roth said.

kb/msh (AFP, AP)