Trump's threat to concoct criminal charges against George Soros, a generous progressive donor who represents the opposite of the violence that Trump pretends he promotes, is the next step in the Autocrat's Handbook that Trump is implementing. I explain: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I am proud to have held a press conference in Manila in 2009 to spotlight the "drug war" death squads of then-Mayor Duterte. www.hrw.org/news/2009/04... Today those summary executions were among the ones the International Criminal Court charged Duterte for. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

No, Netanyahu, recognition of a Palestinian state is not a "prize for terrorism” but a penalty for your genocide. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

The International Court of Justice needs to change its jurisprudence on genocide. It currently treats ethnic cleansing (ridiculously) as a defense rather than, as in the case of Israel in Gaza, a motive. I explain: www.swissinfo.ch/eng/human-ri...

On Open Talk, I explain why Putin and Netanyahu should take heed from the fate of former Philippines President Duterte. They may hope for impunity by becoming president-for-life, but that is hard. Once a leader loses power, he is vulnerable to prosecution. youtu.be/Km0nCZyqcls?...

The timidity of UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres and UN rights chief Volker Turk in addressing certain issues -- China's persecution of Uyghurs, Israel's genocide in Gaza -- impedes the ability of the UN Human Rights Council to do its job. I explain: dialogueinitiatives.org/how-states-a...

This is a terrible time for the International Criminal Court to be headless. The sexual assault accusation against the chief prosecutor should be resolved one way or the other. There are too many important decisions to be made to wait endlessly. foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/11/i...

If Trump's summary killing of 11 alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers becomes normalized, everyone would be at risk of him declaring "war" against a disfavored group and then shooting, rather than arresting and prosecuting, its members. I explain: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Drug traffickers are not combatants who can be summarily shot on sight, which is what the laws of war allow. Rather, they are criminal suspects who must be arrested and prosecuted. By ordering military force against alleged drug traffickers, Trump directed a summary execution, a criminal murder.

On CBC, I discuss how Trump is trying to destroy the International Criminal Court -- and why he will fail. www.cbc.ca/radio/frontb...

“Righting Wrongs is more than a memoir; it is both a history of modern human rights battles and a practical guide to advocacy. Roth writes with the same precision that defined his leadership: unsparing but not cynical, deeply informed yet accessible.” www.middleeasteye.net/discover/ken...

I agree that civil debate about Israel is still possible at Harvard. I held three workshops at the Kennedy School, well attended by students with a range of views, and we civilly discussed the issues of war crimes, apartheid, and genocide. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/o...

Germany should join a European post-ceasefire "reassurance" force in Ukraine to deter Putin from replenishing his forces and reinvading. And Germany should help Trump understand that the stakes in Ukraine aren't mere real estate but Ukraine's democracy. I explain: www.ips-journal.eu/interviews/t...

It may be difficult for a real-estate mogul like Trump to recognize, but Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is not about slices of war-torn land in eastern Ukraine. It is about Ukraine’s democracy. Defending that democracy is key to ending the war. I explain: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Everyone can contribute to the defense of human rights by commenting about government misconduct (with friends, family, work acquaintances, or on social media). That builds the public sense of right and wrong that is key to holding governments accountable. www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkKD...

Because journalists document & help deter war crimes, their deliberate killing deserves special protection. The International Criminal Court prosecutor should bring focused charges when Israel deliberately kills journalists such as Al Jazeera's Anas al-Sharif. I explain: www.cjr.org/feature/urge...

I discuss lessons from my book, Righting Wrongs: Governments have their reasons to violate rights – it’s a way to stay in power, to snuff out opposition. The rights movement changes that only through pressure. That comes from public outrage that we generate and deploy. www.rrr.org.au/on-demand/se...

As I explain, Israel's deliberate killing of al Jazeera's journalists is an effort to close the eyes and ears of the world so there won't be witnesses as Netanyahu plans to intensify his invasion by moving troops into Gaza City, killing more civilians. www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8o8...

I spoke with the Guardian about how even Trump can be shamed into supporting human rights — not frontally, but by playing off his fragile ego to get him to do the right thing for the wrong reason. www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1CJ...

In discussing my new book, Righting Wrongs, I explain how we can get Trump to do the right thing for the wrong reasons in Gaza. His quest for self-aggrandizement can be used to pressure Netanyahu to stop the genocide. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdli...

I joined ABC News's "7:30" program to discuss what can be done to stop Israel's genocidal starvation of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. We also address the misuse of charges of antisemitism to stifle legitimate criticism of Israel's war-crime strategy. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...

"In his important book published earlier this year, Righting Wrongs, Kenneth Roth...persuasively argues that exposing atrocities and advocating for justice is...a crucial, oftentimes the only, means of holding power accountable on the global stage." www.bostonreview.net/articles/gaz...

Despite feigning indifference, the Chinese government remains susceptible to international pressure, foremost because, given the lack of domestic elections, it craves the legitimacy that international acceptance can bring. That provides leverage for change. Excerpt: www.chinafile.com/library/exce...

On BBC "Weekend," I explained why Israel IS committing genocide in Gaza, despite the Israeli government's false denials. Beginning at 32:20. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Bosnia was the cite of genocide in the 1990s. I spoke to Bosnia's N1 TV about the deliberate dehumanization of people that so often precedes genocide. That is now happening in Gaza, where the Israeli government portrays Palestinians as "human animals." n1info.ba/svijet/roth-...

Why are we reluctant to recognize Israel’s genocide in Gaza? | Kenneth Roth

We shouldn't think of genocide only in terms of the maximalist killing of the Holocaust or the Rwandan slaughter. Genocide can also involve killing "part" of a group as a means to an end. That's what Israel is doing in Gaza, to advance ethnic cleansing. I explain: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

You don't get a Nobel Peace Prize for aiding and abetting genocide. If Trump wants one, he should use his enormous leverage to stop Israel's killing and starving of Palestinian civilians and to push for a Palestinian state. I explain in this interview: www.analystnews.org/posts/trump-...

It seems paradoxical to look to Trump to save the Palestinians, yet no recent US president has been better placed to insist that the Israeli government stop its extraordinary repression and brutality. We must press Trump to take the right steps. I explain: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Hague Group of countries just condemned Israel's genocide and took steps to avoid complicity with it. I discussed the origins of this important effort with Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla on Al Jazeera's Reframe. www.youtube.com/watch?v=f61h...

A renowned Israeli genocide scholar: "My inescapable conclusion has become that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people....I have been teaching classes on genocide for a quarter of a century. I can recognize one when I see one." www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/o...

The German government ultimately acknowledged its role in the Holocaust. The Japanese government has largely swept its WWII crimes under the rug. That has led to very different levels of comfort in promoting human rights abroad. A lesson for others. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/o...

As we mark the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia, the worst in Europe since the Holocaust, we must recognize that successful prosecutions have not been enough to end the denial and divisiveness. That has lessons for Israel, Rwanda, etc. nytimes.com/2025/07/11/o...

Netanyahu calculates that regardless of how horribly he treats Palestinians, the U.S. government will always back him, but Trump could change that calculation. Since there is no one to his right, Trump doesn't have to fear the backlash of drawing the line. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYDf...

On Activist Lawyer, I explain how I applied the skills I learned as a lawyer to defend rights (including against Trump) in a way not taught in law school, drawing from my book, Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments. activistlawyer.podbean.com/e/ep-110-rig...

It is testament to the accuracy and principled nature of Human Rights Watch's reporting on Israel that the HRW analysis of Israel's apartheid in the occupied territory is now accepted by every serious group and observer that has examined the issue. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdrJ...

Genocide can be a means to an end. It doesn't require Israel to kill every Palestinian civilian. It can occur by killing enough, or creating starvation and deprivation so severe, that the survivors flee. Just like what Myanmar did to the Rohingya. www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_qb...

On "30 with Guyon Espiner," I discuss how to address today's major human rights challenges -- Putin, Xi Jinping, Trump, Netanyahu, etc., as described in my new book, Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments. www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaFQ...

Gaza is “the first time in our lifetime that we are seeing genocide livestreamed to our phones and televisions every single day....The Global North has spat on human rights." -- Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla discusses the life-&-death struggle w/ me on Al Jazeera ReFrame. www.youtube.com/watch?v=f61h...

A strong analysis of Israel's shocking disregard for Palestinian civilian life in Gaza: "Crimes of the Century: How Israel, with the help of the U.S., broke not only Gaza but the foundations of humanitarian law." nymag.com/intelligence...

On Al Jazeera's Reframe, I speak with Emily Feng about the notable tightening of repression in China under Xi Jinping, motivated by his fear of a Soviet-like collapse of the Chinese Communist Party and the dissolution of a unified Chinese state. www.youtube.com/watch?v=iimq...

Rome's La Repubblica interviews me about my new book, Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments. www.repubblica.it/venerdi/2025...

Trump pretends that the danger is the protesters, but the danger really is Trump. His needless and dangerous deployment of troops in Los Angeles is his latest step taken from the Autocrat's Handbook. I explain in the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

On Al Jazeera's Reframe, I discuss the International Criminal Court with Argentine jurist Sylvia Fernandez, one of the founders. We are candid about ICC problems including Washington's unprincipled opposition but see the court's major evolution and enormous potential. www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...

I'm thrilled that the Economist has included in its list of the 40 best books published so far this year my new book, Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments. economist.com/culture/2025...

Despite the significant damage he is still causing, we may have reached peak Trump. Because of increasingly assertive and coordinated resistance, Trump's capacity to do harm is diminishing. That is the case I make in the Guardian as a spur to further resistance. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I discuss the current assault on academic freedom, often driven by efforts to suppress criticism of Israeli war crimes in Gaza, with Oxford's SWANA podcast: open.spotify.com/episode/4dxn...

On Al Jazeera's new program Reframe, I interview Stephen Walt about how to understand Trump's strategy and rationale as he undermines democracy at home and international law abroad. www.aljazeera.com/program/refr...

In L'Express, I address how progressives' identity politics makes it easier for the far right to pretend to serve the ethnic-majority working class (because progressives often ignore them) without offering a real program, as discussed in my new book Righting Wrongs. www.lexpress.fr/idees-et-deb...

The utterly wrongful killing of two Israeli embassy employees reflects the dangerous logic that unlawful violence by one side justifies unlawful violence by the other. It never does, as Palestinian civilians in Gaza see in Israel's response to Hamas's attack. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...