Sarah Leah Whitson is an American human rights lawyer. From 2020 to 2026 she served as founding executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN). From 2004 to 2020 she was director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch. While with Goldman Sachs from 1997 to 2004 she also served as general counsel to the Center for Economic and Social Rights and engaged in other advocacy work. She is co-author of From Apartheid to Democracy: A Blueprint for Peace in Israel-Palestine, published in 2025.
Early life and education Whitson was reared by an Armenian American mother, Ashi Whitson, who was born in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City and immigrated to the United States in 1960. Her father was from Texas. Whitson was a student at Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School for 12 years in Los Angeles and spent childhood summers with family in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan."Minority Report Human Rights Watch Fights a Civil War over Israel". The New Republic. April 27, 2010.
In 1988, Whitson graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley, located in Berkeley, California, taking time to study abroad in Egypt. In 1991, she graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from the Harvard Law School, where she was a classmate of Barack Obama's.
Whitson has written articles for such publications as Foreign Policy and Huffington Post.
Career
Early career
After completing law school, Whitson worked for Goldman Sachs, the investment banking firm, and the law firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton.
At the same time, according to the New Republic, she "pursued activism on the side, volunteering for, among other groups, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (where she was co-organizer of a delegation in 2002 that lobbied Kofi Annan to press ahead with a United Nations investigation of Israel's Jenin operation) and MADRE (a women's rights group, with which she traveled to Lebanon on a solidarity mission in 1996 after an Israeli bombing campaign)." She served two terms on the board of directors of the New York chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, in 2001 and 2002.Bernstein, David (November 5, 2009). "Human Rights Watch Needs To Shake Up Its Staff". The San Francisco Examiner."Kofi Annan Assures ADC Leaders About Jenin Mission". American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
Prior to working for HRW, she also served as general counsel to the Center for Economic and Social Rights, and traveled on human-rights missions to Iraq for that organization. In addition, she was a volunteer member of the Lawyer's Committee for Human Rights and the Armenian Bar Association, of which she remains a member. Moreover, Whitson was engaged in human-rights work for the Harvard Study Team and International Study Team missions examining the impact of war and sanctions on the Iraqi civilian population. She also participated in the International Human Rights Law Group's election-monitoring mission in Kurdish-controlled Northern Iraq.
Human Rights Watch
Whitson served as the director of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) division of Human Rights Watch (HRW) from 2004 to 2020, publishing articles on the Middle East in international and regional publications and has leading dozens of advocacy missions throughout the region and has overseen numerous research missions and reports on human rights conditions there.
Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) In 2020 Whitson launched Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) in the wake of the murder of DAWN founder Jamal Khashoggi, and served as founding executive director until 2026. At DAWN, Whitson developed litigation and advocacy strategies targeting policies of the United States and corporations, initiated projects on arms sales, sanctions, foreign influence, and transnational repression, pursued accountability for Khashoggi's murder, and established DAWN as a leading advocacy group for democracy, human rights, and justice in the Middle East and North Africa. She left DAWN in 2026, stating she had full confidence in her successor Omar Shakir.
Continuing advocacy and analysis Whitson is co-author, with Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man of From Apartheid to Democracy: A Blueprint for Peace in Israel-Palestine, published in 2025 by the University of California Press, and after leaving DAWN continued to engage in advocacy and analysis with a March 2026 article published by the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft on Israel's actions in the 2026 Iran War.
Whitson's criticisms of Middle Eastern/North African governments
Algeria
In 2010, the Algerian government banned demonstrations in the capital and arrested organizers who claimed that state TV is merely a "propaganda machine." Whitson condemned the government's reaction and stated that it revealed "the sorry state of civil liberties in Algeria."Human Rights Watch. (May 3, 2010). "Algeria: Stop Suppressing Protests." Human Rights Watch. Retrieved May 28, 2014. In 2012, Algerian authorities were accused of delaying the trials of key terrorism cases. In the process of these delays, they detained some defendants for months and, in some cases, years in prison. Whitson criticized these delays, stating that president Abdelaziz Bouteflika-the president of Algeria- constantly speaks about judicial reform, "but when it comes to trying suspected militants, reform does not yet mean fairness."Genocide Watch. (June 18, 2012). "Algeria: Long Delays Tainting Terrorism Trials. " Genocide Watch. May 28, 2014. In May 2014 the Algerian government began to restrict workers' rights to form labor organizations. Human Rights Watch urged the International Labor Organization to push Algeria to remove this law. Whitson specifically commented on the issue and stated that Algeria should respect labor rights and let "workers organize unions and conduct union businesses without government interference."All Africa. (May 27, 2014). "Algeria: Workers’ Rights Trampled – ILO Should Urge Algeria to Allow Independent Unions to Operate Freely." All Africa. May 29, 2014.
Bahrain
In 2010, when the Bahraini government established a travel ban against human rights defenders, Whitson stated that authorities are preventing human rights activists from "spreading information about a recent spate of arrests of opposition members" and called upon the government to lift the travel ban.Bahrain Center for Human Rights. (September 29, 2010). "HRW: Bahrain: Rescind Travel Ban on Rights Defenders. " Bahrain Center for Human Rights. Retrieved May 28, 2014. In March 2013, human rights activist Sayed Al-Muhafdha was sentenced to 30 days in jail after tweeting a picture of an injured protester. Whitson criticized the ruling and stated that tweeting a picture does not constitute "inciting violence".Erlich, Reese. (March 18, 2013). "Bahrain: 30 Days in Jail for One Tweet." Global Post. Retrieved May 28, 2014. Further, in April 2013 the government of Bahrain detained opposition protesters and raided their homes. Whitson criticized the Bahraini government and their "commitment to reform" and emphasized the importance of free speech and assembly.Human Rights Watch. (April 10, 2013). "Bahrain: Targeted Raids and Arbitrary Detentions." Human Rights Watch. Retrieved May 28, 2014. Whitson also noted that the Bahraini government is "not serious about reform" and simply thinks that it can persuade Western allies otherwise.Whitson, Sarah Leah. (March 15, 2013). "Is Bahrain Serious About Reform." CNN. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
Egypt
Since the military overthrow of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's security forces have launched a campaign of persecution against the Muslim Brotherhood, "with mass killings of protesters, dragnet arrests of its supporters and attempts to ban the Brotherhood," Whitson wrote in The New York Times.Whitson, Sarah Leah. "The government cracks down, and Egypt Shrugs" (15 May, 2013). LA Times Retrieved 21 April 2014 She also noted that Egypt's military-backed government killed more than 1,000 protesters in 2013 – without being held to account. She criticized an Egyptian court for sentencing 529 Muslim Brotherhood members to death in a mass trial, even though only 70 of the accused appeared in court.Whitson, Sarah Leah. "Egypt: Shocking Death Sentences Follow Sham Trial". 25 March 2014. HRW Retrieved 21 April 2014.
Medea Benjamin writing for Huffington Post quoted her as accusing Egypt's military government of trampling on Egyptian's basic freedoms.
Iran
Whitson has criticized Iran for locking up political prisoners, as well as for what she calls its "patently unfair justice system," especially for those facing execution.Memarian, Omid (15 March 2014). "UN Rights Rapporteur Forced to Grade Iran from Afar ". Lobelog. Retrieved 16 May 2014. She has also come down against Iran's treatment and legal discrimination of women, as well as the jailing of women's rights activists. "The detention of these women activists is a stark reminder that Iran's government deprives its people of their most basic and fundamental rights" added Whitson.Iran Media Focus. (9 March 2014). "Special International Women’s Day feature- Saluting “Women Behind Bars". Iran Media Focus. Retrieved 16 May 2014. She has criticized the personal status of Iranian women in matters related to marriage, divorce, inheritance, and child custody.Human Rights Watch (8 March 2014). "Iran: Free Women Activists". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 16 May 2014. In 2011, Whitson spoke out against Iran's politically motivated trial of two American hikers, Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, on supposed espionage charges, calling the trial "little more than a political jab at the United States."Human Rights Watch (12 May 2011): "Iran: Free Unjustly Detained American Hikers". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 22 May 2014. In 2009, following disputed Iranian presidential elections, Whitson condemned abuses of the pro-government Basij militias who were violently raiding the homes of opposition supporters, who had protested the election results, and beating residents in an attempt to end these protests.Al Jazeera (28 June 2009). "Reformists reject Iran poll recount". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
Iraq