In February 2020, Human Rights Watch issued a vaguely headlined "Statement on Return of Donation" announcing it was returning money that a Saudi businessman had made to the organization in 2012, a year after his company had been charged by HRW of being complicit in labor rights abuses. HRW initially stated that the money had been given on condition it not be used to support its LGBT-related work in the Middle East. HRW's "Statement on Return" - eight years after the donation - came only after the donation had been made public, rather than via an internal disclosure.

HRW's statement followed a familiar pattern when it comes to NGOs handling their involvement in controversy - downplaying the issue beneath a vague headline, expressing "regret," promising investigation, and assuring additional policies.

The statement did not acknowledge the donation amount (close to half a million dollars), publish the policy it referenced, indicate if or when investigation findings would be made public, and did not reference any failure on the part of then-Executive Director Kenneth Roth in accepting the money. Roth continued in his post, finally leaving only in 2022 after a nearly 30-year tenure.

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