Human Rights Award
The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award honors an individual or group of individuals who stand up to oppression at grave personal risk in the nonviolent pursuit of human rights. Since inception, the Human Rights Award has honored activists from 31 countries. We forge strategic partnerships with laureates whose work advances human rights causes all over the world. In combining resources and collaborating on strategy, our laureates amplify their transformative work to a worldwide audience.
Robert F. Kennedy pledged that “those with the courage to enter moral conflict will find themselves with companions in every corner of the globe.” Our team of lawyers and issue experts collaborate with partners around the world to create lasting change. Through legal advocacy, we have freed political prisoners, defended the rule of law in autocratic regimes and amplified the voices of human rights defenders in the United States and abroad.
Watch Past Ceremonies
2022 Ceremony
On June 7, 2022, we were proud to present the RFK Human Rights Award to Cameroonian human rights defenders Maximilienne C. Ngo Mbe and Felix Agbor Nkongho (Balla) in Washington, D.C.
2021 Ceremony
On October 27, 2021, laureate Guerline Jozef accepted the RFK Human Rights Award at a pop-up ceremony in San Diego, CA.
2020 Ceremony
Indigenous activist Alessandra Korap Munduruku accepts the 2020 Human Rights Award during a virtual ceremony.