Staff Article
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The Crucial Role of Journalists in Protecting Peaceful Assembly
Tags Share When we think about journalists and human rights, we naturally think first about freedom of expression. Journalists, like all of us, have a right “to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds,” as stated in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). And their exercise…
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UN: Illuminating the Right to Peaceful Assembly
In our new blog series, we’re exploring the U.N. Human Rights Committee’s recently adopted General Comment 37.
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Two Steps Forward, One Step Back for Justice for the Rohingya
Tags Share Earlier this month, former members of the Myanmar Army provided the first public admission of guilt by soldiers who carried out the 2017 genocidal attacks against the Rohingya, marking a significant development in the effort to ensure justice and accountability for perpetrators. As Fortify Rights noted, the men are believed to be the…
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Eliminating Educational Disparities Once and For All
Tags Share As schools across the country have headed back to the books, both virtually and in person, some depressing news about ever-widening educational disparities have been released to coincide with the new academic year. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, an international organization focused on developing global standards and finding solutions to social,…
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Colombian Supreme Court Condemns Violent Repression of Anti-Government Protests
Tags Share On 22 September 2020, the Supreme Court of Colombia handed down judgment condemning the violent repression of anti-government protests in November 2019, during which security forces attacked, arrested and detained protesters, human rights defenders and journalists reporting on the national demonstrations. The Court ruled on a tutela*, filed by several citizens and civil…
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Fostering Dignity and Connection Even as the Pandemic Wears On
Tags Share As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, our endurance is tested anew each day. Amidst this, an ongoing reckoning on racism and police violence against the backdrop of an election year adds a challenging mix of anxiety and anger on one hand, and possibility and hope for real change on the other. Many of…
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Case Update for Rosalyn “Bird” Holmes
Tags Share In May 2018, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights paid the $60,000 bail of Rosalyn “Bird” Holmes, then 16. Bird was being detained in an adult jail 50 miles from her home in Memphis under Tennessee’s antiquated “safekeeping” laws, which kept individuals under 18 detained pretrial and other vulnerable populations, such as pregnant women,…
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Students Successfully Campaign to Rename School After John Lewis
Their teacher, Erik Manuel Giblin, a former RFK Human Rights team member, said the name change reflects both Lewis’ and RFK’s commitment to justice.
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Mastering a Masterclass at a Challenging and Historic Time
Tags Share This year, two major sources of upheaval—a worldwide pandemic compounded by mass protests over continued systemic racism—have presented educators with extraordinary new challenges. Now that much of teaching has shifted to a virtual environment, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights’ Speak Truth to Power Masterclass, presented in partnership with Discovery Education, Humanity United, and…
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Human Rights Law Must Recognize Short-Term Enforced Disappearances
Tags Share In our recent report on enforced disappearances in Venezuela, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and partner organization Foro Penal focused on Venezuelan security forces’ practice of disappearing victims for, on average, about five days and then either presenting them to the judicial authorities or releasing them without presentation. Enforced disappearances, we noted in…
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Bahamian Emancipation Day Continues to Ring Hollow
Emancipation Day in The Bahamas cannot truly be celebrated for those at risk of statelessness.
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