Human Rights Watch
student task force
MISSION
Implementing HRW’s mission to defend human rights, STF helps youth build a foundation for human rights, raises awareness about children’s rights violations, and develops young leaders and advocates to become instrumental voices for social justice around the world.
VISION
To equip the next generation of decision-makers with the human rights knowledge, advocacy experience, and communication skills needed to make the future of our world more just.
How We Work
STF staff guide and mentor participants to implement a shared human rights advocacy action plan across campuses. Through these action plans, STF members learn how to evaluate problems and independently discover ways to address them, harnessing the leadership skills they work on each week. STF leaders enter the program with varying levels of public speaking, project coordination, and presentation experience. The ongoing leadership training provides students with the skills and confidence needed to lead their classmates.
Watch this video from October 2022 explaining how the STF program works with students across the United States and beyond.
(Click to watch, 3:17)
Impact
Since 1999, STF has provided opportunities for students to raise their voices for human rights, educate their communities, and engage in meaningful advocacy. Many alumni have reported that their participation in STF compelled them to prioritize human rights in their careers, including in the public, private and government sectors.
Students Reached During STF Events
Participating Schools Over the Years
Cities Around the World With STF Chapters
Human Rights Advocacy Action Plans
Recent Blog Posts
STF Leader Spotlight: Geneva H.
Please meet Geneva H., President at Mira Costa HS. Geneva has combined her passion for journalism with STF by using storytelling to advocate for human rights and writing impactful pieces for STF’s newsletters. Continue reading to learn how Geneva’s experience with STF has shaped her leadership…
Learning As We Go
Santa Monica HS became the most recent STF Chapter to host a screening of “Swept” and Q&A discussion with Human Rights Watch’s John Raphling…
Building a Movement
March 6 – March 11, 2025: STFers from Ánimo Venice, Wildwood, and New Roads schools mobilized their communities through events, including film screenings, panel discussions with housing activists, and myth-busting trivia…
STF Leader Spotlight: Ilan and Roz L.
Santa Monica High School STFers Ilan and Roz L. are sibling activists leading the charge in student human rights advocacy. Though they hold different roles in STF, both Roz and Ilan are committed to making an impact, bringing their unique perspectives to the cause…
Educating for Impact
February 10 – February 27, 2025: STFers across chapters are turning advocacy into action, educating their peers, and building coalitions to amplify their impact. Through in-class presentations, film screenings, and panel discussions, students are deepening their understanding of the criminalization of the unhoused and encouraging their campus communities to take a stand…
Uplifting Voices and Taking Action
Dedicating time to learning and strategizing for human rights advocacy, Human Rights Watch Student Task Force leaders came together for their 2025 Winter Leadership Workshop…
WHAT OUR ALUMNI SAY
“STF changes the world, one outspoken/headstrong student at a time. STF was a cause worth skipping lunch and lying in the grass for; a cause worth the ridicule; a cause worth losing points on a test for, because I spent time strategizing instead of studying. A cause worth anything I could give.”
“The Student Task Force taught me how to be an effective activist while remaining passionate and unafraid. STF taught me to be persistent, even when people didn’t hear us the first, second, or third time. We persevere through our campaigns.”
“STF pushed me to become a more comfortable public speaker and activist. I went from being an introverted and shy freshman to being an outspoken and confident advocate for human rights and environmental justice by the end of my senior year, in large part due to the leadership of the the STF community.”
GET INVOLVED
Empower yourself and make a difference by joining our community of passionate advocates. Click below to learn how you can contribute to advancing human rights and become a voice for justice.