Civic Space and Activists
We collaborate with local, regional, and international partners to hold governments accountable, create lasting legal change, and foster an environment allowing individual and collective actors to speak out, participate in public affairs, organize, protest, and otherwise freely exercise and enjoy their human rights. Through strategic litigation and targeted advocacy, we foster collaboration and dialogue between civil society and key actors and promote cross-pollination of the most protective legal standards and innovative approaches to legal issues. Our partnership model builds on the work of local organizations on the ground by jointly strategizing and litigating cases, supporting their litigation through filing Amicus briefs, and working together to assess, advise, and build their technical capacity. From litigating landmark cases, such as the first case on lethal violence against journalists before the Inter-American Court on Human Rights or a case on the protection for peaceful assembly before the African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights, to developing an innovative tool that maps key ongoing judicial cases worldwide, we are committed to protecting and defending civic space and democracy around the world.
114
Countries with serious civic space restrictions
88%
Rate of impunity for crimes of violence against journalists
44 of 180
U.S. ranking in World Press Freedom Index
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Ninety U.S. civil society groups express “deep concern” to FIFA about immigration policies ahead of 2026 World Cup
Tags Share Ninety U.S.-based civil society groups have warned FIFA that it risks becoming a “public relations tool to whitewash the reputation of an increasingly authoritarian government”, in a joint letter that calls on FIFA to publicly urge the US government to reverse immigration policies and practices introduced by the Trump administration. The letter describes…
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Chad: RFK Human Rights Condemns the Continued Detention of Opposition Leader Dr. Succès Masra
Tags Share RFK Human Rights condemns the arbitrary detention and judicial harassment of Chadian opposition political leader Dr. Succès Masra. We strongly urge the government of Chad to respect Dr. Masra’s rights to liberty, fair trial, and freedoms of expression and association, and to desist from attacks on opposition political parties and movements, in line…
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Mississippi Public Broadcasting: ‘Daddy Daughters:’ Honoring Civil Rights Fathers During Medgar Evers Centennial Celebration
Tags Share In Jackson, Mississippi, a moving panel brought together the daughters of civil rights leaders to honor what would have been Medgar Evers’ 100th birthday. The women shared personal stories of joy, resilience, and loss before a packed audience of civil rights veterans, students, and community members. Kerry Kennedy, president of RFK Human Rights…
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Mississippi Today: Daughters of civil rights heroes, writers hear echoes of past
Tags Share In Jackson, Mississippi, daughters of civil rights icons Medgar Evers, Vernon Dahmer, and Robert F. Kennedy gathered to share powerful personal stories in honor of what would have been Medgar Evers’ 100th birthday. Kerry Kennedy, president of RFK Human Rights, reflected on her father’s legacy of courage, recalling how he ran toward the…
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WJTV 12 News: Medgar Evers at 100: Celebration kicks off in Jackson
Tags Share On June 26, Jackson, Mississippi kicked off centennial celebrations honoring the life and legacy of civil rights icon Medgar Evers, who would have turned 100 this year. The multi-day tribute opened with community gatherings, public remembrances, and calls to carry forward Evers’ vision for justice. Kerry Kennedy, president of RFK Human Rights and…
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WAPT: Convening in the capital city: Leaders gather to honor civil rights icon
Tags Share “We’re all here tonight to celebrate these extraordinary icons of civil rights, who gave their lives for justice for our country, to stop segregation, to ensure voting rights for all, and it’s not just about looking back at history 60 years ago. But it’s really about taking lessons from history and applying them…
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This Week’s Spotlight on Human Rights
Tags Share Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center Sparks Major Concern as Construction Begins: ‘An Obscene Human Rights Violation’ Florida has begun building a new migrant detention center deep in the Everglades, springing into action after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) approved the development. But activists and locals have already raised major concerns, citing environmental and human…
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Translation of Letter from Reza Khandan to Iranian Judiciary
Tags Share On June 17, 2025, Reza Khandan and other inmates in Evin Prison wrote to the Iranian judiciary calling for their release. Khandan, a prominent human rights advocate, and his wife, the renowned human rights lawyer and women’s rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh, have long been targeted by Iranian authorities. Khandan has faced repeated arrests and…
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Mississippi Today: Slain senator’s daughter will join Medgar Evers centennial event
Tags Share Kerry Kennedy, president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, will join a panel on June 26 in Jackson, MS honoring the legacies of four civil rights leaders: Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Vernon Dahmer, through the voices of their daughters. The conversation, part of the Medgar Evers at 100…
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El Salvador: New Foreign Agents Law Threatens Rights and Freedoms of Civil Society Organizations and the Media
Tags Share In the context of serious human rights setbacks, the weakening of the rule of law, and the dismantling of institutional controls in El Salvador, the Legislative Assembly, controlled largely by President Bukele’s New Ideas party, passed a Foreign Agents Law without public debate. The Law purports to promote “transparency” on the influence of…
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El Salvador: La nueva Ley de Agentes Extranjeros amenaza los derechos y libertades de las organizaciones de la sociedad civil y los medios de comunicación
Tags Share En el contexto del grave retroceso en materia de derechos humanos, del debilitamiento del Estado de derecho y del desmantelamiento de los controles institucionales en El Salvador, la Asamblea Legislativa, controlada en gran medida por el partido Nuevas Ideas del presidente Bukele, aprobó una Ley de Agentes Extranjeros sin debate público. La ley…
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US police use lethal, military-grade force against Black people and civic space activists: report to UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Police use of lethal force in the United States is on the rise, with more police killings reported in 2024 than any other year on record. This gruesome milestone was reached due to increased access to military-grade weaponry, aggressive suppression of civic space, and the continuation of a historical pattern of violence against Black people.
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