Our Voices
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International Community Must Respond to Crackdown on Freedom of Expression in Bangladesh
The Bangladeshi authorities must end their escalating crackdown on human rights.
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Can Slavery Reparations Happen Under the Biden Administration?
Tags Share In an effort to correct the ongoing and state-sanctioned harms of slavery, support for H.R. 40—a bill that would create a slavery reparations commission—has been mounting in both the House and Senate. The overarching thought is that if there is ever an apology for slavery, it will be followed by a form of…
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New York Should Vaccinate the Incarcerated
Tags Share Prisoners are at risk and it affects their whole community. In the early months of the pandemic, New York emerged as a leader in its response. It instituted an early mask mandate and rebounded from being the epicenter of the virus to the state with the lowest transmission rate and most significant health…
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Biden Must Undo Trump’s Damaging Decision on Western Sahara
Tags Share In August 2012, my daughter Mariah and I took part in an international human rights delegation trip to Western Sahara, where we met with hundreds and hundreds of victims of abuse. People there told us they had been threatened, beaten, raped, tortured and had family members killed, all for criticising the Moroccan regime…
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Statement on the Passing of Sister Dianna Ortiz
Tags Share Sister Dianna Ortiz was a courageous activist, a truth teller, a woman of deep and abiding faith, and my dear friend. I came to know Sister Dianna in the early 1990s, and was immediately struck by her raw honesty and capacity to articulate the agony she suffered when she was kidnapped, raped, and…
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Dianna Ortiz, Nun Previously Abducted by Guatemalan Military, Dies at 62
Sister Dianna’s life was one of untold bravery. Her work advocating for survivors of state-sanctioned violence inspired countless people to transform their own pain into action, and ultimately, healing for the world.
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The Urgent Need for Civics Education
Tags Share If there was ever a time for a gut-check for America, this is it. A country torn at the seams into factions of progressive reform vs. status quo, Republican and Democrat, vindicated winners and sore, angry losers. A country still unable, 52 years after the death of Martin Luther King, to confront its…
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Global Leaders Must Swiftly Take Action in Myanmar
Tags Share IN THE FACE OF MYANMAR’S RECENT MILITARY COUP, WE URGE THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO IMPOSE STRONG, TARGETED SANCTIONS, AS WELL AS AN ARMS EMBARGO, AGAINST THE MEMBERS OF THE TATMADAW. Early Monday morning, the Myanmar military, known as the Tatmadaw, staged a military coup, detaining civilian government authorities, including elected leader State Counsellor…
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The Ongoing Government Persecution of Omoyele Sowore
We urge the international community to impose strong, targeted sanctions, as well as an arms embargo, against members of the Tatmadaw.
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Access to Care, Better Jobs Key for Returning Citizens to Succeed
Policy solutions need to start behind bars and continue once incarcerated individuals are released.
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Violence at the Capitol and Attacks on Our Democracy
Tags Share The violence that took place in the nation’s Capitol building yesterday was an attack on our democracy and on our people, and the political leaders responsible must be held accountable. Our organization is rooted in the quest for a more just and peaceful world for all people, and we cannot allow lies about…
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Statement on Abduction of Human Rights Defender Nicholas Opiyo
Tags Share Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights is alarmed by the arbitrary arrest and detention of prominent human rights defender Nicholas Opiyo in Uganda today. This occurs amid a broader and dangerous government crackdown on independent civil society throughout the country. Nichola Opiyo is a courageous and extraordinary human rights activist who has long championed…
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