Human Rights Award GuidelinesGuidelines for Entry
Submission FormEligibility
Persons and organizations working nonviolently to promote and protect the human rights of people of any race, creed, religion, nationality, gender, or sexual orientation are eligible for the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. Nominees must not be part of a government institution or have an official role within a political party, although they can be affiliated with a political party. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights does not accept self-nominations, posthumous nominations, or nominations for the purposes of a lifetime achievement award.
Cash Prize
The award-winner will receive a one-time total cash prize of U.S. $30,000. Generally only one nominee receives the award per year; in the event that more than one is selected, the cash prize will be divided equally among the recipients.
Human Rights Support
As the sponsor of the only international human rights award program of its kind, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights forges multiyear strategic partnerships with the laureates and their organizations that are grounded in listening to and serving their real needs. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights coordinates with the human rights defenders to achieve sustainable social change using a rights-based approach and innovative tools including high-impact litigation; technical assistance; fact-finding delegations; public awareness campaigns; advocating to governments, the United Nations, regional bodies, and other international entities and NGOs; and generating domestic and international support for the growing ranks of award laureates. Together, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and the laureates develop and implement programs designed to realize social change goals and, ultimately, enhance the worldwide human rights movement.
Award Ceremony
A ceremony will be held to honor laureates in June of 2020, where travel to Washington, D.C. might be anticipated. Details will be announced at a later date.
Procedures for Nomination
Anyone can submit a nomination for the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights seeks nominations from a broad spectrum of individuals likely to know of appropriate candidates. While the Human Rights Award judges may not nominate candidates for the award, they may re-nominate candidates who were not selected in the previous year. There is no limit to the number of nominations an individual can make. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights will request and collect nominations and assemble supporting materials for presentation to the judges. Nominations that clearly fall outside the established criteria will not be presented to the judges.