Defender
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Raji Sourani
Biography: Raji Sourani is Gaza’s foremost human rights lawyer, and the founder and director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights and former director of the Gaza Center for Rights and Law. In the 1980s, Sourani was widely recognized for his effective defense of Palestinians before the Israeli military courts. In connection with his defense…
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Martin O’Brien
Biography: Martin O’Brien was the Country Representative for Northern Ireland and the Director of the Reconciliation & Human Rights Programme for Atlantic Philanthropies. This grantmaking program works actively to bring about lasting changes in the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa and the United States by…
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Hayathe Ayeva
Forced marriages, early pregnancies and juvenile delinquency, notably in rural areas of Africa, constitute barriers for young people to pursue their education and contribute to the development of their communities. While it is in their families and schools that they should find help, education and support, these spaces are usually congested with taboos, stereotypes and…
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Lakshita Kanhiya
From the shadows of discrimination, Lakshita Kanhiya emerged as a beacon of resilience and justice. Her early encounters with systemic bias fueled her passion to stand as a human rights advocate, dedicated to dismantling discrimination and violence against sexual and gender minorities. She turned adversity into an unyielding commitment for a more inclusive world. Robert…
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Emma Lembke
Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Emma Lembke grew up in an environment with two older siblings, where she was taught that her voice should be heard in times of distress. With a natural inclination to explore and listen to stories, Emma early on recognized the power of online platforms’ navigation in connecting people from…
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Lena Vann
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Young Defender Lena Vann, a passionate activist from North Carolina A&T University, is dedicated to addressing the intersection of race and menstrual justice. Hailing from an immigrant background, she firmly believes in uplifting others and supporting her community with an open hand. As Miss Freshman at her school, Lena took…
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Sam Hiner
Across the globe, there’s been a backlash to the harms that social media has on individuals, particularly the most vulnerable populations. In the U.S., as demands for change to laws that shield social media giants from being held accountable for the harms of its platforms, legislation to actually change that has been unable to move.…
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Benjie Aquino
For Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Young Defender Benjie Aquino, improving human rights in the Philippines meant providing activists with paralegal training. What he viewed as “legal empowerment”, this training aimed to provide the necessary tools and protections for his fellow activists to continue work without retribution from the government. During the pandemic, the Philippine…
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Gwyneth Murphy
New Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Young Defender Gwyneth Murphy was overwhelmed by the massive crowds of students that flooded Georgetown’s main campus on a Saturday morning when the University witnessed its first campus-wide Human Rights Summit. The crowd gathered for one reason: to learn more about human rights. And even though Georgetown is renowned…
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Hyeon Kim
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Young Defender Hyeon Kim leads the University Students’ Association for Unification (USAU), the largest Korean human rights organization for college students, boasting over 330 college students from the North and South Koreas. His introduction to the topic began when his grandfather, a North Korean defector, left the country at the…
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Christian Yohannes
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Young Defender Christian Yohannes is a 20-year-old George Washington University junior, from Leesburg, Virginia and a product of Loudoun County Public Schools. He is the son of Ethiopian immigrants, a community activist, a former White House Intern in the Biden-Harris Administration, and the youngest Second Vice-President in Loudoun County’s NAACP…
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Doan Viet Hoat
Biography: Doan Viet Hoat is known as the Sakharov of Vietnam for his intellectual range and outspoken role as leader of the democratic movement, even from the prison cell. Hoat protested the South Vietnamese government’s suppression of Buddhists in the 1960s while still a student. He went to study in the US and got a…
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