Time Magazine names Yemeni human rights activist Radhya Al-Mutawakel, Co-Founder of Mwatana Organization for Human Rights and former HRI Practitioner-in-Residence, among 100 Most Influential People

Yemeni human rights activist Radhya al-Mutawakel Named One of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People

June 25, 2019, New York – Radhya al-Mutawakel, a leading human rights activist and co-founder of Mwatana Organization for Human Rights was recognized as one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2019.

Al-Mutawakel is a Yemeni human rights defender and the Chairperson of Mwatana, which she co-founded with her husband Abdulrasheed Al-Faqih. Together, they have led groundbreaking investigations and advocacy related to serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law in Yemen. Their work has addressed the international community’s complicity in the war in Yemen, U.S. and other governments’ military support to the Saudi/UAE-led Coalition, immediate need to respond to the humanitarian crisis, and priorities to achieve peace and justice in the country.

Radhya Al-Mutawakel, Co-Founder of Mwatana Organization for Human Rights

Al-Mutawakel has carried out advocacy around the global in an effort to end the war in Yemen and promote accountability and justice for abuses. She is the recipient of the Roger N. Baldwin Medal of Liberty and has presented her work at numerous international events and fora, including in front of the European Parliament and at the UN Security Council.

In an address to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, al-Mutawakel urged the U.S. Congress to take action. "[The situation in Yemen] is a man-made humanitarian crisis, and one which cannot be addressed without stopping human rights violations; neither of these challenges can be resolved unless this inhuman war is brought to an end and the parties held accountable," al-Mutawakel said. "Peace is possible in Yemen; there just needs to be the will to pursue it."

In his Time Magazine nomination, Senator Bernie Sanders shared that al-Mutawakel’s perspective on the Yemeni conflict has been critical. “When I met Yemeni human-rights defender Radhya al-Mutawakel last year, just before the Senate’s historic vote to end U.S. support for the Yemen war, I was struck by the clarity she brought to a conflict that too few have noticed,” wrote the Vermont senator and U.S. presidential candidate.

The Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute was honored to host Al-Mutawakel and Al-Faqih in 2016-2017 as part of the Practitioner-in-Residence program, in which leading activists conduct
research and writing at Columbia. Mwatana is also a partner with the Columbia Law School Human Rights Clinic.

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