| Founder(s) | Kerry Kennedy |
|---|---|
| Type | Operating public charity (IRS exemption status): 501(c)(3)[1] |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
| Key people |
Lynn Delaney, Executive Director Monika Kalra Varma, Director, Center for Human Rights Philip W Johnston, Chairman of the Board |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Focus | Human Rights |
| Mission | "The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights is dedicated to advancing human rights."[2] |
| Method | Awards, Advocacy, Partnerships, Education |
| Website | [4] |
The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights is a human rights advocacy organization, a nonprofit charitable organization that works to realize Robert Kennedy's dream of a peaceful and just world by advancing human rights. It works to support recipients of the RFK Human Rights Award, supports investigative journalists and authors through the RFK Book and Journalism Awards, and educates the public and empowers students to create change in the classroom. It is based in Washington, D.C. In 2009, U2 lead singer Bono and Wyclef Jean were awarded the Ripple of Hope Award for their efforts to shed light on human rights violations around the globe.[3]
Contents |
After the assassination of Robert Kennedy in 1968, his family and friends founded a living memorial. As that effort grew, more projects came to honor his memory. Today the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights is dedicated to advancing human rights.[4]
The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights engages in long-term partnerships with human rights activists to initiate and support sustainable social justice movements. Established by Kerry Kennedy in 1987, RFK Center utilizes a professional human rights staff, the Kennedy family, and their networks to realize the change our partner activists seek; these include overcoming unjust social norms, changing policies and actions of governments, intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions (IFIs), and corporations. RFK Center works under the direction of partners on the ground, former winners of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, using innovative tools to achieve sustainable social change, including litigation, technical initiatives, advocating with governments, UN and other international entities and NGOs, and launching consumer awareness campaigns aimed at fostering corporate responsibility.
The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award was created by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in 1984 to honour individuals around the world who show courage and have made a significant contribution to human rights in their country.
In addition to receiving a financial award, laureates can partner with the RFK Memorial on projects to advance their human rights work, benefiting from the resources and technologies at the foundation's disposal. Some have achieved their goals, some are in exile from their home country. The majority continue to live in their home country and work with the support of the center to establish the human rights they are working for. Since 1984, awards have been given to 43 individuals & organizations, from 25 different countries. The 2009 award was presented by President Barack Obama.[5] In 2009, the RFK Center began a partnership with the California International Law Center (CILC) at the University of California, Davis School of Law focusing on the crisis in Darfur.[6]
The Robert F. Kennedy Book Award was founded in 1980, with the proceeds from Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.'s best-selling biography, Robert Kennedy and His Times. Each year the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights presents an award to the book which "most faithfully and forcefully reflects Robert Kennedy's purposes - his concern for the poor and the powerless, his struggle for honest and even-handed justice, his conviction that a decent society must assure all young people a fair chance, and his faith that a free democracy can act to remedy disparities of power and opportunity." The Robert F. Kennedy Book Award has been recognized as one of the most prestigious honors an author can receive.[7]
The Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award honors those who report on issues that reflect Robert F. Kennedy's concerns including human rights, social justice and the power of individual action in the United States and around the world. Entries include insights into the causes, conditions and remedies of injustice and critical analysis of relevant public policies, programs, attitudes and private endeavors.
Established in December 1968 by a group of reporters covering Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign, the award program has far exceeded the expectations of its founders. Led by a committee of six independent journalists, the Awards are judged by more than fifty journalists each year. It has become the largest program of its kind and one of few in which the winners are determined solely by their peers. Previous winners include World News anchor Diane Sawyer.[8]
Speak Truth to Power is the global human rights initiative founded by Kerry Kennedy and Nan Richardson, bringing people face-to-face with courageous human rights heroes. This multifaceted project presents inspiring stories of 51 women and men from over 40 countries who have stood up to oppression at great personal risk in the non-violent pursuit of human rights including demilitarization, children of war, environmental activism, and religious self-determination.[9]