Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center

10/23/2026

Egyptian independent media outlet Mada has unsuccessfully sought a license since 2018. The government is now taking its Editor-in-Chief Linah Attalah to trial for investigating prisons and refusing to be silenced. Don’t let Egypt bury independent journalism.

Just hours after Mada Masr joined seven independent Arab media outlets in a solidarity newsroom to fill the coverage gap following the arrest of Egyptian investigative platform Matsadaash’s entire newsroom, Lina Attalah was summoned on October 19, 2026, to appear before the Supreme State Security ...

10/23/2026

The Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award was inspired by my father’s 1966 Day of Affirmation speech in South Africa. He said, “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.”

This year’s gala will be my last as President of Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, and I’m thrilled to celebrate Spike Lee, Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, Jessica Sarowitz, Glenn Hutchins, and Dan Olofsson as I prepare to step into my next chapter.

Over the years, the Ripple of Hope Award has honored leaders across social justice, entertainment, business, and beyond, including President Barack Obama, Taylor Swift, Stacey Abrams, Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden, Magic Johnson, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Stephen Colbert. I feel immense gratitude for everyone who has made this work possible and for the community we’ve built together.

I look forward to seeing you all on December 9 as we celebrate this year’s laureates and the enduring power of hope in action.

🔗 More information: https://rekhrc.org/4eFV28k

10/23/2026

The man had been detained at an immigration center in Laredo, Texas, since June. Immigration officials said he had received proper medical care.

10/22/2026

In 1997-1999, Kerry Kennedy traveled the world interviewing human rights defenders for Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who Are Changing Our World, documenting the courage of people fighting for justice in their communities.

Those stories became the foundation for our Human Rights Education program, built on a simple belief: stories have the power to create connection and inspire action. More than two decades later, that mission continues through our Speak Truth to Power Video Contest, the Ethel Kennedy Young Women’s Leadership Summit, and the John Lewis Young Leaders Fellowship, giving young people the tools to confront injustice in their communities.

As we enter Kerry's last three months at the helm, the stories she brought forward, and the young people she inspired to tell their own, remain an enduring part of her legacy.

🔗 We hope you’ll join us on this walk down memory lane: rekhrc.org/4rcmHlM

10/21/2026

Can’t join Kerry Kennedy at a stop on her book tour? Tune in to our next book club on Wednesday, October 28, at 2:00 pm ET and hear Kerry share the remarkable story of her mother’s life, from her working-class roots in Chicago to her storybook romance with Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

Register for the discussion: https://rekhrc.org/4z4qR2k

More about the book: When her husband Robert F. Kennedy was killed in 1968, Ethel Skakel Kennedy, then pregnant with their eleventh child, drew national attention for her grace, dignity, and resolute commitment to furthering his work in human rights, even in her grief. But as her daughter Kerry witnessed, Ethel was so much more than a dutiful wife and keeper of Robert's legacy of service. She was courageous, curious, compassionate, boisterous, and witty, always guided by faith and an instinct for speaking truth to power.

10/21/2026

📣 Submissions are now open for the 2027 Robert F. Kennedy Book & Journalism Awards!

To be eligible, submissions must have been published, aired, or broadcast in 2026.

This year's categories include Book, Photography, Radio & Podcasts, Cartoon, Print/Written, Television, Reporting on Incarceration and Criminalization, and High School and College Journalism Awards.

📅 Submission deadline: January 24, 2027
🔗 Visit the awards guidelines for full eligibility requirements and submission instructions: rekhrc.org/4iiLsJc

We are grateful to the Zuckerman Family Foundation for their support of this year’s Book & Journalism Awards.

10/20/2026

Last week, students at Columbia University stepped up and brought the fight for human rights to their campus with their latest fundraising campaign!

Every donation made to the fundraiser helps us fight mass incarceration, end human rights abuses in the U.S. criminal and immigration systems, and advance systemic change for vulnerable communities at home and around the world.

And it’s not too late to make a difference! You can still support the students behind the campaign here: khrccolumbiauniversity.funraise.org

10/15/2026

Since February 2025, the Trump administration has imposed sanctions on ICC prosecutors and judges, a UN expert, and three human rights organizations. Now it is targeting the ICC as a whole, acting on its threat to dismantle the Court “brick by brick.”

Victims, their families, and survivors of mass atrocities are already paying the price as efforts to hold perpetrators accountable are deliberately obstructed and those pursuing justice are punished for doing their jobs.

We joined more than 180 organizations from over 60 countries, alongside dozens of legal experts, human rights defenders, and members of the European Parliament, to condemn these sanctions in the strongest terms.

🔗 Read our list of demands: rekhrc.org/47G98lT
🔗 Join our call to action NOW: forms.cloud.microsoft/e/tBwPJ57czJ

This unprecedented measure represents a direct attack against the rule of law, the independence of the Court and international justice, ultimately undermining the rights of millions of victims and survivors of mass atrocities worldwide.

10/15/2026

"If freedom is to be meaningful, independence must be accompanied by the desire to forge a nation patterned upon the people's desires. Otherwise, freedom can be meaningless in its motives and futile in its operation." - Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

10/14/2026

In 2022, our President Kerry Kennedy and a KHRC delegation traveled to Honduras, one year after the Inter-American Court of Human Rights held Honduras responsible for the murder of Vicky Hernández, a trans woman and LGBTQ+ activist.

Vicky was killed on the night of the 2009 Honduran coup. She was found shot in the head after leaving a friend’s home during a curfew imposed by the military. For years, authorities failed to properly investigate her death, and those responsible were never held accountable.

In 2021, KHRC and Red Lé***ca Cattrachas represented Vicky’s family before the Court, which found that Honduras had discriminated against Vicky because of her gender identity and failed to properly investigate her murder. When Kerry returned to Honduras in 2022, she met with government officials to demand they implement the Court’s order, including reparations for Vicky’s family. She also pressed for support for Vicky’s mother, Rosa, who was battling cancer.

As we enter Kerry’s final three months as our President, we’ll be looking back at the people, places, and moments that have shaped her extraordinary legacy.

🔗 We hope you’ll join us on this walk down memory lane: rekhrc.org/4rcmHlM