For Immediate Release
Cambridge, Mass. – March 7, 2011 –Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) today announcedthat Hans Hogrefe has joined the organization as Chief Policy Officer andWashington Office Director. In this role, Hogrefe will be responsible forleading PHR’s policy and advocacy efforts. Hogrefe will be based in PHR’sWashington, D.C. office and report directly to Chief Executive Officer FrankDonaghue.
Tothis position, Hogrefe brings more than 15 years of human rights, advocacy andpolicy experience. Most recently,Hogrefe was the Democratic Staff Director for the bipartisan Tom Lantos HumanRights Commission in the House of Representatives, serving CommissionCo-Chairman James P. McGovern. Prior to his work at the Tom Lantos Human RightsCommission, Hogrefe worked for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs as theSenior Professional Majority Staff member, where he was responsible for the development,drafting and the legislative implementation of human rights legislation.
"Hans’experience defending and advocating for human rights in a nonpartisan manner,both within and outside of Congress, will be tremendously valuable to PHR as wecontinue to use science and medicine to investigate, document and advocate forreal change in people’s lives,” said PHR CEO Frank Donaghue.
For13 years, the German-born Hogrefe served the only Holocaust Survivor elected tothe U.S. Congress, Tom Lantos, as a Committee Staffer, Senior Legislative Aideand as Executive Director of theCongressional Human Rights Caucus. In that capacity, Hogrefe grew this group from a 13 membervoluntary organization in 1995 into a bicameral 240-member entity in 2006,which was formally institutionalized by the Speaker ofthe House of Representatives as the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in 2008.
"PHRhas a long history of advocating in DC and abroad for the human rights of allpeople, and I am excited to be joining the team,” said Hogrefe.
Hogrefereceived his Master’s degree in English, Political Science and History fromWestphalian Wilhems University in Muenster, Germany.
About Physicians forHuman Rights
Physiciansfor Human Rights (PHR) is an independent, non-profit organization that usesmedical and scientific expertise to investigate human rights violations andadvocate for justice, accountability, and the health and dignity of all people.We are supported by the expertise and passion of health professionals andconcerned citizens alike.
Since1986, PHR has conducted investigations in more than 40 countries around theworld, including Afghanistan, Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, the United States, theformer Yugoslavia, and Zimbabwe:
1988 First to document Iraq’suse of chemical weapons against Kurds
1996 Exhumed mass graves inthe Balkans
1996 Produced criticalforensic evidence of genocide in Rwanda
1997 Shared the Nobel PeacePrize for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines
2003 Warned of health andhuman rights catastrophe prior to the invasion of Iraq
2004 Documented and analyzedthe genocide in Darfur
2005 Detailed the story oftortured detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay
2010 Showed how CIA medicalpersonnel sought to improve waterboarding and other interrogation techniquesthat amount to torture
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a New York-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to prevent mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. Learn more here.