Fortify Rights Welcomes Benedict Rogers As Senior Director

(BANGKOK, April 4, 2025) — Internationally renowned human rights defender and author Benedict Rogers is now a Senior Director at Fortify Rights, the organization announced today. Rogers brings more than three decades of experience advancing human rights throughout Asia, with a particular focus on China, Hong Kong, Myanmar, and North Korea.

“We’re so honored to welcome Benedict to our team of human rights defenders,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Fortify Rights. “Benedict’s principled leadership, deep expertise, and unwavering commitment to human rights are invaluable assets to our work. He will significantly help our ability to strengthen community-based responses to human rights violations and to combat rising authoritarianism.”

Benedict Rogers co-founded and served as Chief Executive of Hong Kong Watch from 2020 to 2024 and remains a trustee of the organization. He is a member of the advisory group of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, an advisor to the Stop Uyghur Genocide Campaign, and a co-founder of the International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea. Rogers previously worked for nearly 30 years with Christian Solidarity Worldwide, including as East Asia Team Leader and Senior Analyst for East Asia.

He is the author of seven books, including The China Nexus: Thirty Years In and Around the Chinese Communist Party’s Tyranny (2022) and Burma: A Nation at the Crossroads (2012), and he has written numerous articles, editorials, and reports on human rights conditions in Myanmar, China, North Korea, and elsewhere.

As Senior Director, Rogers will support Fortify Rights's frontline human rights defenders in Asia and Ukraine and help expand the organization’s reach into new areas, including Hong Kong, China, and North Korea. He will also broaden Fortify Rights’s efforts to advance freedom of religion or belief globally, advocate for political prisoners, and elevate international responses to atrocity crimes.

In line with Fortify Rights’s mandate to strengthen community-based responses to human rights violations, Rogers will work directly with frontline human rights defenders, civil society organizations, and affected communities, sharing his expertise and supporting their efforts to document abuses, advocate for justice, and build resilient movements for change. His decades of experience conducting trainings, mentoring activists, and leading international advocacy initiatives will help amplify the voices of those most affected by rights violations.

It is a great privilege to join Fortify Rights, which is an organization whose frontline investigations, in-depth research, and brave and reliable advocacy have long inspired me,” said Benedict Rogers. “Fortify Rights has built a remarkable reputation for its courage, integrity, and impact. Joining Fortify Rights feels like a natural next chapter in my journey and an important opportunity to contribute—supporting its work in Myanmar, across Asia, and in Ukraine; providing an advocacy voice in London, Europe, and beyond; expanding efforts into China and North Korea; and strengthening the capacity of brave human rights defenders throughout the region. I look forward to contributing to its mission and expanding its important work across Asia and beyond.”

Rogers has led high-level advocacy efforts in capitals around the world, including Washington, D.C., Brussels, London, Tokyo, and Geneva. He has worked and traveled extensively in all of the countries where Fortify Rights is operational in Asia. He has delivered expert testimony before the U.S. Congress, the European Parliament, and other legislative bodies. He regularly contributes to international media, including The Wall Street Journal, The Telegraph, The Spectator, Foreign Policy, The Diplomat, and more.

In addition to strengthening Fortify Rights’s work in Asia and Ukraine, Rogers will help develop the organization’s advocacy presence in the U.K., the European Union, and the United Nations and support its advocacy in Washington, D.C., Ottawa, and beyond. His relationships with policymakers, parliamentarians, and civil society leaders globally will enhance Fortify Rights’s strategic impact.

“Benedict is already strengthening our ability to stand with those on the front lines of repression,” said Matthew Smith. “He brings renewed energy at a difficult time for the international human rights movement, and we are grateful for that.”

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