Princeton graduate students, faculty and visiting scholars are invited to learn more about our graduate students' current research. "When Do International Organizations Praise or Criticize? Evidence from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights" The literature on the international promotion of human rights norms has mostly considered how non-governmental organizations (NGOs) publicly criticize or praise governments for their human rights records. Less theoretical work has been devoted to explore the independent motivations international organizations have to engage in these actions. This paper presents a first attempt at explaining when does the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACmHR) decide to praise or criticize countries through press releases. It argues that “insider” NGOs are in a strategic position to play the role of information suppliers and exert influence over what the IACmHR decides to publicly speak about. The paper tests this expectation