With a profound sense of loss and deep sorrow, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) mourn the passing of a tireless member of their teams, human rights advocate Joe Stork, 81, who died on October 23, 2024.
We have lost a dear colleague who put endless efforts to support human rights in the MENA region and shared with the HRW and GCHR teams some very difficult years during which many human rights defenders, including some of our colleagues, went to prison. They include Ahmed Mansoor, an Emirati human rights defender who is a fellow member of GCHR's Advisory Board and Human Rights Watch's Middle East division, and GCHR's co-founders Nabeel Rajab and Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja in Bahrain.
Joe Stork was one of the founders of the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) in 1971 and served as editor of its "Middle East Report" until 1995. He was deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa division, which he joined in 1996. He joined the GCHR Advisory Board in 2011 and was heavily involved in the development of our work and success, serving as Chair from 2019 until 2022.
Despite the difficult time he faced after the death of his wife Priscilla Norris in March 2024, he continued his human rights work and never doubted that the struggle for freedom and justice would succeed.
His death is an immeasurable loss not only for his family, loved ones, colleagues at HRW and GCHR, but for the entire human rights community. We are forever grateful for his significant work and outstanding commitment to human rights.
Khalid Ibrahim, Executive Director of GCHR said, "It's very sad to lose Joe, a friend and colleague who did his best and put endless efforts to support our human rights work from the very beginning of GCHR's founding in 2011."
We extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and the whole human rights movement.
